Cook County has a new tool to help return vacant and abandoned properties to the tax rolls.The Cook County Board voted unanimously to create the Cook County Land Bank Authority.
Board President Toni Preckwinkle is signing a contract Tuesday that will drastically reduce the cost of phone calls for jail detainees and their families.
Lawmakers in other parts of the country, most recently the District of Columbia, have approved bills modeled after the policy. Some Republicans want the trend stopped.
Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle and Sheriff Tom Dart say they're reviewing a controversial phone contract at the jail that charges inmates inflated phone rates.
