April Flood Victims Could Get Federal Grants, Loans

Gov. Pat Quinn is pushing for 11 Illinois counties to be named major disaster areas.

Governor Pat Quinn today asked President Barack Obama to declare 11 Illinois counties major disaster areas following the storms and heavy rainfall that moved through the state in mid-April. If the governor’s request is approved, residents in those counties will be eligible to apply for grants and low-interest federal loans to help recover from the historic flooding. Counties included in the request are Cook, DeKalb, DuPage, Fulton, Grundy, Kane, Kendall, Lake, LaSalle, McHenry and Will. “We must do everything possible to help families impacted by this historic flooding as they rebuild their lives,” Governor Quinn said. “Today we are making a strong case to President Obama to help expedite the review and approval process so the people of …

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Cook County Air Quality Gets Failing Grade

According to the American Lung Association's 2013 "State of the Air," Cook County gets an "F."

Slip and Fail? Cook County Jail Officer Caught on Video Faking Injury

Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart releases a surveillance video that purports to show a corrections officer didn't slip and fall as he claimed in a workers compensation claim.

Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart wants you to know he's keeping an eye on the "duty injury king" — a corrections officer known among his peers for submitting false injury claims while on the job — and others like him. The sheriff's office released a video tape Wednesday that purports to show the time and location where a corrections officer claimed he slipped and fell, injuring his back on Nov. 20. The officer is now suspended without pay, and the sheriff wants to press criminal charges. The sheriff's office's claim about the video states: On November 20th of last year a Correctional Officer submitted a false injury report claiming that he sustained a back injury while returning from transporting a detainee. He reported to other staff the he …

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tommy d.

11:00 pm on Wednesday, May 8, 2013

wow,,,you both know of a crooked cop in oak lawn,,,,,,,,after,police'ing,they get to be your '''detectives'''------''boy,this town is going to crap,,,,'''is vorberg in jail--------------   more ›

'Violence Tax' Goes into Effect in Cook County

A lawsuit supported in part by Chuck’s Gun Shop in south suburban Riverdale is not enough to get in the way of President Preckwinkle’s new $25 firearm sales tax.

A $25 tax is being added to the purchase of all firearms sold in Cook County. The news comes in spite of a lawsuit filed by several Chicago-area gun dealers, including Chuck’s Gun Shop in Riverdale. The new tax, launched April 1, is part of a policy instated by Cook County President Toni Preckwinkle to help fund the Cook County Health and Hospitals System. At their flagship, Stroger Hospital, more than 30 percent of the trauma center patients are gunshot victims, each costing roughly $50,000 to treat, according to Preckinkle. The $600,000 expected annual revenue from the tax will ideally help offset those costs, reports Sun-Times Media. "This new policy will help us provide more resources to our vital public health system, which on a daily…

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High Turnout in River Forest, Low Turnout in Forest Park

The Cook County voter turnout was 18.8 percent in the Tuesday election. Oak Park and River Forest voters were above that figure, but Forest Park was below it.

On Tuesday, 18.8 percent of voters made it out to the polls in suburban Cook County to vote in this year's local election, according to the Cook County Clerk's website.  Voter turnout in the area varied, but River Forest had the highest at 31.15 percent of the 7,770 registered voters. Oak Park was also above the county average, with 22.87 percent of the 35,578 registered voters casting a ballot.  Forest Park was below the rest of the county, at 15.89 percent of the 8,981 registered voters.  While the turnout was higher than other area counties, it was an average turnout for a local election in Cook County. Since 2005, turnout in Cook County has ranged from as low as 16.7 percent of voters casting their ballot in 2011 to as high as 27 …

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Cook County Cigarette Prices Jump $1

The county hopes to help smokers quit the habit and raise more money with this recent tax hike.

Cook County smokers will have to shell out more than ever after last Friday’s $1 cigarette tax hike. This comes on top of an additional $1 jump on the state level last June. The county is hoping to receive an extra $25.6 million from the increase, but historic examples suggest the figure might be wishful thinking, according to the Chicago Tribune. In additional to the estimated revenue, Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle hopes the initiative will deter youths from smoking and help current smokers kick the habit. Get the rest of the story by the Chicago Tribune.

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Cook County Passes Gun-Transfer Ordinance Fining Failure to Report

The ordinance targets illegal “straw purchasers” by levying fines on gun owners who do not report a lost, stolen, destroyed or otherwise transferred weapon.

Making good on Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle’s pledge to crack down on “straw purchasers” who legally purchase and illegally resell firearms, the Board passed an ordinance Tuesday imposing fines up to $2,000 on gun owners who do not report when a firearm is sold, lost, stolen or otherwise leaves their possession.  According to the Associated Press, Chicago law enforcement believes that many of the guns used in crimes in the city are first legally purchased—many in suburban Cook—then resold to persons who could not buy a gun legally themselves.  "The 'burbs are flooding Chicago with guns continuously," Commissioner Jesus "Chuy" Garcia told the AP. "This ordinance raises the bar on the responsibility of gun owners as it …

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Cook County Real Estate Database

Want to see who sold their home in Cook County? Patch has compiled a searchable ongoing list of property sales in Cook County, based on data from the Cook County Recorder of Deeds.

Want to know how much that house down the block sold for or how many million dollar home sales there were in your community last year? Patch has put together a searchable real estate database of Cook County property sales that is updated twice a month as new data is received from the Cook County Recorder of Deeds. You can search by address (the field will fill in automatically as you start typing, but be patient — it may take a moment to catch up with you), or search a full town or a specific price range within a town. You can also search by the buyer or seller's name (and those fields will fill automatically as well). If no price is listed, or other information is missing, it is because it was not included in the information from the …

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Early Voting Ends at 5 p.m.

If voters don't vote early, there is always the actual primary on Tuesday.

Cook County voters have until 5 p.m. today to participate in Early Voting before Tuesday’s Presidential Primary. Cook County Clerk David Orr said if voters are concerned that they won’t make it to their polling places on Tuesday, then they should vote today. Today also is the deadline for the Clerk’s office to receive mail ballot applications, Orr said. Voters do not need an excuse to early vote or vote by mail. More than 12,697 suburban Cook County voters have requested mail ballots. Although not all voters will return a voted ballot, mail voting is on track to exceed the 8,835 mail ballots cast in the 2008 Presidential Primary Election. Early Voting turnout is expected to surpass turnout from the 2010 primary, if tradition holds and the …

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Cook County Setting Up One-Stop Tax Info Website

Property owners will soon have a new tool to get extensive tax information.

Cook County government officials have announced the creation of a consolidated website that will offer one-stop shopping for property tax information. Cook County’s new Property Tax Portal, which goes live April 1, is a collaborative effort that combines information from various county offices into one unified site, saving time and promoting efficiency. The new portal compiles information from the county's Treasurer’s Office, Assessor’s Office, the Recorder of Deeds, the County Clerk’s Office and the Board of Review, among others. The site will give residents online access to information they may never have been aware of before—such as appeal or exemption opportunities or liens on their properties. Currently, property owners who want to …

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