Officials have released footage showing the fatal shooting of Krystal Rivera following months of work covering the case by Peter Nickeas, @ctoner.bsky.social and our friends in @cstguild.bsky.social. Another example of invaluable work made by our members.

Officer Krystal Rivera’s Partner Hid After Fatally Shooting Her and Failed to Provide Aid, New Video Shows Body camera videos released Friday show that officer Carlos Baker ran up a stairwell after encountering an armed man and firing the gunshot that killed Rivera.

Video released in the shooting death of Ofc Krystal Rivera from last summer. Been going through material, this story has been / will continue to be updated.
illinoisanswers.org/2026/04/17/o...

Officer Krystal Rivera’s Partner Hid After Fatally Shooting Her and Failed to Provide Aid, New Video Shows Body camera videos released Friday show that officer Carlos Baker ran up a stairwell after encountering an armed man and firing the gunshot that killed Rivera.

illinoisanswers.org/2026/04/17/o... Our latest on the Carlos Baker Krystal Rivera shooting following the release of body cam footage that @illinoisanswers.bsky.social and @chicago.suntimes.com fought in court to release

BEYOND THE BYLINE: Our featured speaker is award-winning journalist Errin Haines, editor-at-large for The 19th, president of #NABJ and contributor at MS NOW.

Get your tickets here: https://bit.ly/4triTgP

Beyond the Byline and the Richard H. Driehaus Foundation Awards for Investigative Reporting Join us for Beyond the Byline: Featuring the 22nd Richard H. Driehaus Foundation Awards for Investigative Reporting on Thursday, May 7, from 3:30–8:30 p.m. at Venue SIX10 in downtown Chicago. […]

Join us @illinoisanswers.bsky.social on May 7 for Beyond the Byline! Come for food, drinks, storytelling sessions, awards and a conversation with @errinhaines.bsky.social of @19thnews.org ! illinoisanswers.org/event/beyond...

Mentally ill man restrained in chair for 3 days settles case in Williamson County A man with mental illness who says he was strapped down to a chair for three days at Williamson County Jail reached a settlement in his civil rights case against […]

“There’s nothing in this world that was more terrifying.”

Travis Braden, 39, says he was strapped down to a restraint chair for 3 days in the Williamson County Jail while in a mental health crisis. He sued the county and settled for $27,500.

If you haven’t seen this @kmbc9.bsky.social documentary featuring our @illinoisanswers.bsky.social reporting on the use of restraint chairs in Illinois county jails, check it out here: www.kmbc.com/article/kmbc...

Chicago Cops Did Little to Probe Gun Stolen From Police Station and Used in Three Shootings, New Records Show The Glock was later used in three shootings, but no one was ever charged in the gun's theft, nor was any officer disciplined.

A Chicago police sergeant told internal affairs he thought another cop stole a gun from his district tact office.

CPD Internal affairs didn't add the theft allegation to their case file, closed the case without more interviews, only reopened their case after we asked CPD about the theft. #chicago

Chicago cops did little to probe gun stolen from police station and used in three shootings, new records show The Chicago Police Department fought to keep secret any details of its investigation into a Glock handgun that was taken from a room full of cops at the Gresham District station in late 2023. In the end, no one was charged, and no cops were disciplined.

chicago.suntimes.com/the-watchdog... Chicago police didn't interview most of the cops who were in the room when a Glock went missing. A supervisor said he thought another cop stole it. No one has been disciplined or charged in the theft of the gun, later used in shootings across the South side

Mentally ill man restrained in chair for 3 days settles case in Williamson County A man with mental illness who says he was strapped down to a chair for three days at Williamson County Jail reached a settlement in his civil rights case against […]

Almost two years ago now, we wrote about a man with mental illness who was restrained in a chair for 3 days in an Illinois county jail. Now, he has received a settlement in his civil rights case. @illinoisanswers.bsky.social illinoisanswers.org/2026/04/07/t...

Trump Administration Sues Illinois Over State’s Attempts to Regulate Prediction Markets The feds argue they have primary authority to regulate the popular markets, not the states. Illinois says the move puts profits over people.

For Illinois, the litigation could have wide financial implications for the gambling industry. Sportsbooks such as FanDuel and DraftKings, which are subject to state regulation, alone have brought in more than $1.1 billion in state tax revenue since opening six years ago. https://bit.ly/4tmJc7w

Trump Administration Sues Illinois Over State’s Attempts to Regulate Prediction Markets The feds argue they have primary authority to regulate the popular markets, not the states. Illinois says the move puts profits over people.

illinoisanswers.org/2026/04/03/p... My story about the Trump administration suing Illinois over the state's attempts to reign in prediction markets as "illegal gambling"

We reported on this toward the end of last year (illinoisanswers.org/2025/11/13/f...) and Wired picked up a lot more details from the CBP records and videos. (We have an open dispute with the Illinois Public Access Counselor for records related to this, still.)

🚨 @illinoisanswers.bsky.social and @chicago.suntimes.com won a court case to release the records including body cam footage of last summer's fatal police shooting of Ofc. Krystal Rivera by her partner, Ofc. Carlos Baker.

Cool to see our @illinoisanswers.bsky.social EIC @rubybailey.bsky.social featured in this @soljourno.bsky.social newsletter, highlighting stories by @skpineda.bsky.social and @binghuihuang.bsky.social ⬇︎

us1.campaign-archive.com?e=881bb552d0...

us1.campaign-archive.com?e=d1e8d80c8a...

Proactive building inspections one step closer to reality in Chicago — but questions of funding and logistics remain Chicago took a step toward beefing up its safety oversight of apartment buildings on Wednesday following years of criticism that the city’s patchwork of reactive building inspections has cost the […]

New: Chicago officials have for years resisted calls to mandate proactive apartment safety inspections, even as renters keep dying in preventable fires.
The City Council just passed an ordinance directing departments to study the idea in earnest.
illinoisanswers.org/2026/03/18/p...

Proactive building inspections one step closer to reality in Chicago — but questions of funding and logistics remain Chicago took a step toward beefing up its safety oversight of apartment buildings on Wednesday following years of criticism that the city’s patchwork of reactive building inspections has cost the […]

"Chicago took a step toward beefing up its safety oversight of apartment buildings on Wednesday following years of criticism that the city’s patchwork of reactive building inspections has cost the lives of vulnerable tenants" @alexnitkin.bsky.social illinoisanswers.org/2026/03/18/p...

Illinois Regulators Say Prediction Markets Are Illegal Gambling, But Bettors — and the Trump Family — Love Them Prediction markets rake in millions from wagers on sports but pay nothing in state betting taxes and ignore other state regulations.

Illinois Regulators Say Prediction Markets Are Illegal Gambling, But Bettors — and the Trump Family — Love Them
@ctoner.bsky.social @hannahmeisel.bsky.social @illinoisanswers.bsky.social illinoisanswers.org/2026/03/13/p...

Chicago's Quantum Ambitions Come With a Water Question Editor’s Note: Illinois Answers published a story last year examining the massive public investment aimed at developing the quantum industry in South Chicago. This week, we end a three-part explainer ...

Chicago’s Quantum Ambitions Come With a Water Question by @binghuihuang.bsky.social @illinoisanswers.bsky.social illinoisanswers.org/2026/03/09/c...

Welcome to the BGA Union page! We are a wall-to-wall union at the Better Government Association and an affiliate of the SAG-AFTRA broadcast unit. Follow us here for union updates, news, and the work of our incredible journalists, analysts, and audience and events teams! #UnionStrong

Illinois Regulators Say Prediction Markets Are Illegal Gambling, But Bettors — and the Trump Family — Love Them Prediction markets rake in millions from wagers on sports but pay nothing in state betting taxes and ignore other state regulations.

illinoisanswers.org/2026/03/13/p... My latest about the Polymarket CEO giving a UChicago freshman $20k to start a campus prediction market club, Coinbase suing Illinois while donating $20k to House and Senate Dems, and the prediction markets running wild in defiance of state gambling regulators

Wasted Waters: How Southern Illinois is Coping with Decades of Sewage Flooding… and Why it Still Isn’t Solved. Five dozen communities in Southern Illinois account for a third of the reported sanitary sewer overflows in the state in the last decade. But with low revenues, population declines, and bureaucratic d...

Lexi, Lacretia and I have all done reporting on the water and sanitation issues in Cahokia Heights, where residents say sewage backups have been happening for decades and they haven't trusted their drinking water supply for years illinoisanswers.org/2025/06/17/w...

E. coli found in drinking water of Southern Illinois city that floods with sewage Cahokia Heights residents have found E. coli in their drinking water through community-organized testing of samples from kitchen taps. The results raise new questions about infrastructure in a communi...

E. coli found in drinking water of Southern Illinois city that floods with sewage — from me, Lexi Cortes of the Belleville News-Democrat and Lacretia Wimbley of @stlpublicradio.bsky.social illinoisanswers.org/2026/03/09/e...

Chicago police officer ‘inadvertently’ fired Taser a year before fatally shooting his partner Officials have said Officer Carlos Baker unintentionally shot and killed Officer Krystal Rivera during a chase last June. He previously reported that he mistakenly discharged his Taser after a high-sp...

chicago.suntimes.com/the-watchdog... Between his rejection to the tactical team for disciplinary issues, and his promotion, Carlos Baker had a accidental Taser trigger pull and a 90 mph chase that ended in a 7 car crash he didn't initially report. @illinoisanswers.bsky.social @chicago.suntimes.com

Chicago Police Officer ‘Inadvertently’ Fired Taser a Year Before Fatally Shooting His Partner Officials say Officer Carlos Baker unintentionally shot and killed Officer Krystal Rivera last June. He previously reported he mistakenly discharged his Taser after a high-speed chase that ended in a ...

NEW: Chicago Police Officer ‘Inadvertently’ Fired Taser a Year Before Fatally Shooting His Partner
illinoisanswers.org/2026/02/19/chicago-polic...

Feds accuse former Carlyle police chief of wire fraud, theft Article Summary A federal grand jury in East St. Louis returned a four-count indictment against former Carlyle Police Chief Mark

"A Metro East police chief spent more than $100k of public money intended to combat drug use & support a local fire protection district on...basketball tickets, travel, and a diamond engagement ring."

The latest from me, @bhundsdorfer.bsky.social capitolnewsillinois.com/news/feds-ac...

Edwardsville Officials Assured Residents on Facebook The City Had ‘No Formal Proposal’ For a Data Center — But City Emails Tell a Fuller Story The massive facilities are a hot topic in the Metro East, as a developer, Cloverleaf, eyes three towns as possible sites. Dozens of emails obtained by Illinois Answers Project show detailed discussion...

New from me for @illinoisanswers.bsky.social —

Edwardsville officials assured residents on Facebook the city had ‘no formal proposal’ for a data center, but city emails tell a fuller story

illinoisanswers.org/2026/02/21/e...

Story also available at theintelligencer.com

Chicago's quantum hub has some of the highest state funding per job. Here's the breakdown Editor’s Note:  This is the second of three explainers examining key issues in the 128-acre Illinois Quantum & Microelectronics Park, or IQMP. Today, we look at the project’s potential for […]

State officials say high incentives reflect competition for quantum companies, high wages and capital costs, but questions remain about how accessible these jobs will be for local residents.
https://bit.ly/4rt6Xty

Videos shed new light on off-duty cop’s armed standoff with police in Plainfield He roamed in and out of his house with guns and ammo draped across his body, spurring officers to close streets and warn residents to stay inside as they called in neighboring police, drones, a SWAT team and an armored vehicle to the standoff.

He roamed in and out of his house with guns and ammo draped across his body, spurring officers to close streets and warn residents to stay inside as they called in neighboring police, drones, a SWAT team and an armored vehicle to the standoff.