Alex Nitkin

Chicago

Solutions Reporter at Better Government Association

Solutions Reporter at Illinois Answers Project

Gov't Finance & Accountability reporter, @IllinoisAnswers/@BetterGov. Formerly of @thedailylinechi, @trdchicago & @DNAinfoChi. Tips: [email protected]

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Articles

Amid Budget Tensions, City Council Members Push to Bring Some Sunshine to City Spending

1 week ago | illinoisanswers.org | Alex Nitkin

The clash last year over Chicago’s 2025 budget left many alderpeople with a common complaint about the mayor’s office: They often couldn’t get straight answers on city finance issues, they said. Even when they did, many didn’t trust the numbers.
Quiet Use Of Bonuses For City Council Aides On The Rise

4 weeks ago | blockclubchicago.org | Alex Nitkin

CITY HALL — Amid City Council budget negotiations late last year, Ald. David Moore (17th) asked city officials to send him a list of Chicago’s highest-paid employees. He was floored when he saw that his own aide, Cordarryl Jackson, was listed — erroneously — as having the third-highest salary out of the city’s 30,000-plus employees, at $247,000. “Oh my goodness,” Moore said, laughing as he reviewed the list.
Quiet use of bonuses for City Council aides on the rise

4 weeks ago | chicagobusiness.com | Alex Nitkin

Amid City Council budget negotiations late last year, Ald. David Moore (17th) asked city officials to send him a list of Chicago’s highest-paid employees. He was floored when he saw that his own aide, Cordarryl Jackson, was listed — erroneously — as having the third-highest salary out of the city’s 30,000-plus employees, at $247,000. “Oh my goodness,” Moore said, laughing as he reviewed the list.
Quiet Use of Bonuses for City Council Aides on the Rise

1 month ago | illinoisanswers.org | Alex Nitkin

Amid City Council budget negotiations late last year, Ald. David Moore (17th) asked city officials to send him a list of Chicago’s highest-paid employees. He was floored when he saw that his own aide, Cordarryl Jackson, was listed — erroneously — as having the third-highest salary out of the city’s 30,000-plus employees, at $247,000. “Oh my goodness,” Moore said, laughing as he reviewed the list.
Quiet Use of Bonuses for City Council Aides on the Rise

1 month ago | news.wttw.com | Alex Nitkin

Politics Quiet Use of Bonuses for City Council Aides on the Rise by Alex Nitkin, Illinois Answers Project Amid City Council budget negotiations late last year, Ald. David Moore (17th) asked city officials to send him a list of Chicago’s highest-paid employees. He was floored when he saw that his own aide, Cordarryl Jackson, was listed — erroneously — as having the third-highest salary out of the city’s 30,000-plus employees, at $247,000.
Daywatch: Hundreds of misclassified properties fixed

1 month ago | ourcommunitynow.com | Alex Nitkin |Brad Biggs |Paul Sullivan

Good morning, Chicago.The corrections come as Cook County Assessor Fritz Kaegi’s office in recent months audited key records tied to thousands of properties across the county following last August’s report, which found the office had misclassified and undervalued properties by missing new construction and significant property improvements.In all, using publicly available sales and satellite data, the Tribune and Illinois Answers found the office had failed to accurately assess at least 620...
Cook County assessor fixes hundreds of misclassified properties following Tribune-Illinois Answers investigation

1 month ago | bnd.com | Alex Nitkin |A.D. Quig

This story is a collaboration between the Illinois Answers Project and the Chicago Tribune. Nearly half a billion dollars in taxable real estate value has been added onto the Cook County rolls after the county assessor fixed hundreds of mistakes identified in an investigation by the Illinois Answers Project and Chicago Tribune.
Cook County assessor fixes hundreds of misclassified properties following Tribune-Illinois Answers investigation

1 month ago | chicagotribune.com | Alex Nitkin |A.D. Quig

This story is a collaboration between the Illinois Answers Project and the Chicago Tribune. Nearly half a billion dollars in taxable real estate value has been added onto the Cook County rolls after the county assessor fixed hundreds of mistakes identified in an investigation by the Illinois Answers Project and Chicago Tribune.
Week in Review: End of the Line for Dorval Carter at CTA; First Partially Elected School Board Sworn In

Jan 17, 2025 | news.wttw.com | Melody Mercado |Laura Washington |Alex Nitkin

Week in Review: End of the Line for Dorval Carter at CTA; First Partially Elected School Board Sworn In It’s the end of the line for the head of the Chicago Transit Authority. With Red Line extension funding secured, the much-criticized CTA President Dorval Carter makes his exit. But with a deficit of more than half a billion dollars, the agency faces considerable challenges ahead. Meanwhile, the Regional Transportation Authority is seeking greater oversight authority.
Chicago is Debating Lowering its Speed Limit. Other Cities Aren’t Waiting.

Jan 7, 2025 | blockclubchicago.org | Alex Nitkin

CHICAGO — As a proposal to lower Chicago’s default speed limit stagnates in the City Council, the city is falling further behind other major cities that have long had lower limits in place, with improved safety. For at least a decade, cities from coast to coast have been lowering speed limits to 25 or 20 miles per hour — starting with New York City, which made the sweeping move in 2014 and is now weighing whether to push further.