{
  "id": 2046597,
  "title": "Illinois spent big during COVID and the migrant crisis. Who was watching the bills?",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/20/illinois-spent-big-during-covid-and-the-migrant-crisis-who-was-2046597",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-08-20T00:42:03.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "The Korea Times",
    "slug": "the-korea-times-koreatimes",
    "url": "https://www.koreatimes.co.kr/opinion/20260820/illinois-spent-big-during-covid-and-the-migrant-crisis-who-was-watching-the-bills"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "In the spring of 2023, the Chicago Tribune revealed that a contractor handling migrant shelter operations in Illinois was submitting extraordinarily high bills during a single week. Favorite Staffing had their employees working 84-hour weeks, with one worker reportedly putting in five 12-hour shifts, a 14-hour shift, and a 16-hour shift within that week. This resulted in a staggering $15,525 bill from the city for just one worker in that short period. While there was no evidence of fraud, the Tribune questioned how such a high percentage of workers could be logging such extraordinary hours. Now, the state of Illinois is facing its own scrutiny following a report from Illinois Auditor General Christopher Meister.",
  "summary": "Remember all the way back in 2023, during the height of the migrant influx, when Tribune reporting uncovered that a city contractor running operations at migrant shelters was submitting some eye-popping bills? During one week in March of that year, the majority of Favorite Staffing workers at city migrant shelters logged 84-hour workweeks, according to examined invoices. That meant their staff…",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 2,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "The Korea Times",
        "title": "Illinois spent big during COVID and the migrant crisis. Who was watching the bills?",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/20/illinois-spent-big-during-covid-and-the-migrant-crisis-who-was",
        "published": "2026-08-20T00:27:03.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}