Cook County Assessor Fritz Kaegi has vowed to fix what has been a broken assessment system, but it’s meant some big increases for business owners who say they can’t afford it.

Suburban Dixmoor residents went more than a week without water. Could other places face a similar water emergency?

Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle’s $8 billion plan calls for Cook County’s workforce to grow by approximately 1,600 employees to a total workforce of more than 23,000 workers in 2022.

Cook County Board of Commissioners President Toni Preckwinkle has announced she will run for a fourth term as the county’s top elected official, putting her response to the COVID-19 pandemic at the center of her bid for reelection.

“We've committed to strategies and measurable outcomes that hold us accountable to the public. It's not enough just to talk about equity. We must act,” Cook County President Toni Preckwinkle said.

The order covers all of the employees who work for the office of Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle as well as those covered by Cook County Employment Plan, officials said.

Starting Monday, everyone in suburban Cook County, regardless of vaccination status, will be required to wear a mask indoors, officials announced Friday. 

Chief Judge Timothy Evans issued an order allowing nearly all domestic violence proceedings to go forward by videoconference or teleconference, saying it’s being done “in order to better serve victims” in these cases.

There are four ways to appeal property tax assessments in Cook County. But is that a good thing? Former state Rep. Barbara Flynn Currie and Assessor Fritz Kaegi weigh in.

Cook County officials said every hospitalization and death at this point “is entirely preventable” and again urged residents to roll up their sleeves. “Please, get vaccinated,” said Cook County Chief Medical Examiner Dr. Ponni Arunkumar. “You will make a difference.”

Cook County residents, including Chicagoans, can now get a free ride to a nearby vaccination site, thanks to the new “Destination: Vaccination” program.

More than 100 people were shot over the Fourth of July weekend in Chicago, one of the city’s deadliest in years. Some officials are blaming the courts for the recent violence. Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx and Public Defender Sharone Mitchell Jr. respond.

A year after Cook County officials faced the largest budget deficit in a decade, they find themselves flush with cash, thanks to $1 billion in COVID-19 relief funds and an economy recovering faster than expected from the ravages of the pandemic, according to a budget forecast.

Opioid-related overdoses in Cook County increased by more than 40% last year. While this spike began in December 2019 — before COVID-19 was widespread — the pandemic accelerated the trend. We discuss the state of the opioid epidemic in the Chicago area.

Breaking the cycle of drug and alcohol addiction is a challenge made even tougher once the criminal justice system gets involved. A new program is helping those recovering find refuge in their own homes.

Roughly 50 social media influencers are using their platforms to encourage people to get vaccinated by sharing their own experiences with the shots. “I want to do my part to get back to normal,” said McKinley Nelson of Project sWish.