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Investigations | Illinois, Chicago, Cook County got $11B in…
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Thursday, October 15th 2026

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Tracking COVID cash

Illinois, Chicago, Cook County got $11B in pandemic aid but there were gaps in oversight and transparency

A.D. Quig is a local government reporter for the Chicago Tribune. Photo taken on Wednesday, Feb. 26, 2025. (Eileen T. Meslar/Chicago Tribune)
By | dpetrella@chicagotribune.com | Chicago Tribune and | aquig@chicagotribune.com | Chicago Tribune
PUBLISHED:
Gov. JB Pritzker joined Mayor Lori Lightfoot, right, Cook County President Toni Preckwinkle, second from left, and public health experts in updating residents on March 12, 2020, in the early days of the pandemic. Illinois, Chicago and Cook County received $11 billion through the American Rescue Plan Act amid the COVID-19 pandemic. A Tribune-University of Chicago Mansueto Institute analysis revealed few efforts to identify potential waste and abuse of that money. (E. Jason Wambsgans/Chicago Tribune)
Gov. JB Pritzker joined Mayor Lori Lightfoot, right, Cook County President Toni Preckwinkle, second from left, and public health experts in updating residents on March 12, 2020, in the early days of the pandemic. Illinois, Chicago and Cook County received $11 billion through the American Rescue Plan Act amid the COVID-19 pandemic. A Tribune-University of Chicago Mansueto Institute analysis revealed few efforts to identify potential waste and abuse of that money. (E. Jason Wambsgans/Chicago Tribune)
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The Tribune and the University of Chicago's Mansueto Institute examined how Illinois, Chicago and Cook County used aid through the American Rescue Plan Act. The analysis revealed maze-like money trails and few public efforts to identify potential waste and abuse.
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