Cook County plan links transportation and racial equity

Center Street in Harvey

After years of using revenue from a road tax to pay for criminal justice costs, including the jail, Cook County will put the money back into transportation in next year’s budget.

The decision by the Board of Commissioners last month underscores how expenses for criminal justice affect local government budgets and claim a large share of taxpayer dollars – often to the detriment of other services, according to advocates for criminal justice reform.

The jail is a significant part of the county budget at $327 million out of a total budget of $ 4.5 billion in 2016…Please click here to read La Risa Lynch’s story in the Chicago Reporter.