Property taxes can be a doozy. Or rather, how they are calculated can be. WTTW News Explains walks you through the ins and outs of the process. 

A lawyer is using what she learned in that role to create art that helps people better understand the reality of Cook County’s criminal justice system.

The second-installment of property owners’ 2021 tax bills will be more than 150 days late amid months of bureaucratic wrangling and finger pointing among Cook County officials.

Property owners will receive their tax bills soon — and homeowners might be a bit let down. Zoro, an e-commerce platform for business supplies, is joining the list of companies moving from the suburbs to the city. And McDonald's is rolling out what they say is their largest global campaign to date for the World Cup.

Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle secured a fourth term in office, defeating Republican challenger Bob Fioretti.

In areas that are solidly Democratic or Republican, races were virtually decided over the summer, in the primary contest. But particularly in the suburbs, it's not always as cut and dried.

Approximately 62% of applicants have jobs, and nearly half have sought medical attention at a hospital’s emergency room in the past year, officials said. An initial lottery will identify 10,000 applicants to verify the information contained in their applications.

Funded by the American Rescue Plan Act, the program will pay 3,250 residents of Cook County $500 a month for two years. It is the largest publicly-funded guaranteed income pilot in the nation to date.

The guaranteed income pilot program, known as Cook County Promise, began accepting applications this week. Funded by the American Rescue Plan Act, the program will pay 3,250 residents of Cook County $500 a month for two years.

The program, which is expected to include 3,250 households, will launch a test of a basic-income program with $41.5 million from the federal COVID-19 relief package signed into law by President Joe Biden in March 2021, Cook County President Toni Preckwinkle said.

When attempting to access any of the specific courtrooms, users will now find live videos replaced with the following message from YouTube: “This account has been terminated due to multiple or severe violations of YouTube's policy against spam, deceptive practices, and misleading content or other Terms of Service violations.”

Both Chicago and Cook County are in the process of launching guaranteed income programs that will provide more than 8,000 residents with $500 a month, no strings attached. While applications for Cook County residents will open in the fall, Chicago residents have started receiving monthly payments.

Participants in the the Circuit Court of Cook County’s Restorative Justice Community Court spent six to nine months learning conflict resolution and job skills, as well as receiving emotional support.  

Cook County Assessor Fritz Kaegi defeated challenger Kari Steele in his bid for a second term in what was the county’s most expensive and high-profile Democratic primary contest on Tuesday.

Cook County budget officials will only have to close an $18.2 million budget shortfall in 2023, the smallest gap in a decade, avoiding tax hikes and layoffs. Thebudget has been boosted by sales taxes, corporate income taxes and revenue generated by the construction boom. 

Cook County Board of Commissioners President Toni Preckwinkle and Oak Park lawyer Richard Boykin clashed over whether Preckwinkle’s efforts to reform the county’s criminal justice system is fueling the surge of crime during a debate held Wednesday evening on “Chicago Tonight.”