In a normal, pre-pandemic year in Cook County, between 40,000 and 42,000 people die. But in 2020, that figure topped 52,000. In 2021 it remained high, at more than 47,000. It will likely stay unusually high in 2022.

Although sex crimes overall are notoriously underreported, and data is not easily accesible, in Cicero some of the reasons may be locally specific, advocacy experts say. Non-English speakers face language barriers, people worry if they do come forward, it will not lead to arrests and even when advocates assist, the experience can be fraught with officer communication problems and delays.

For Lakeidra Chavis’ “Aftershocks” series on the experience of surviving gun violence in Chicago, she looked at nearly 15,000 claims the state processed between 2015 and 2020 for victim compensation. Less than 4 in 10 applicants in Illinois received any reimbursement. That data, and much, were available thanks to public records requests, and in this guide Chavis’ share how she obtained, analyzed, and reported on this under-investigated issue.

Residents and visitors of Illinois will soon become part of a statewide data analysis effort that will allow traffic planners to observe and study individual and group travel patterns within the state.

In this week’s FOIA round-up, analysis shows that men still vastly outnumber women in Congressional nominations to service academies, the Chicago Tribune obtained documents revealing that Chicago Police Department has been compiling profiles on citizens who spoke at their monthly board meetings, and an Oregon judge’s recent ruling could have a disastrous impact on the state’s public records law.