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Chris Essig is the deputy data visuals editor at the Texas Tribune. He helps lead a team of developers who build charts, maintain public databases and analyze data for reporters to help them hold elected officials accountable. Chris has been a newsroom developer for 10 years and has worked in several local newsrooms. As a native of the Midwest, Chris received his journalism degree from Eastern Illinois University and spent six years in Iowa working at The Gazette in Cedar Rapids and at the Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier in Waterloo.
The U.S. Supreme Court could soon alter the political future of Texas when it decides whether the Trump administration can ask about citizenship on the upcoming census. Full Story
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A Texas Tribune study analyzed 560 cases from four Texas counties to shine a light on how the controversial practice of civil asset forfeiture is used by law enforcement. Full Story
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How would lawmakers' proposals to provide property tax relief affect tax bills? It depends on where you live and what kind of home you own. Full Story
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Proposals in the Texas House would spend $6.6 billion from the state’s savings account; the Senate would spend $4.4 billion. Full Story
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State lawmakers are trying to reform a complicated taxing system where everything from suburban growth to gentrification and a homeowner’s age influence how much Texans pay their local governments. Full Story
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The fight over property tax rates is really about state leaders telling local officials how much their revenues can grow before voters get to step in. Full Story
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Several government entities — from appraisal districts to city councils — play independent roles that collectively determine how much money Texas landowners owe local governments each year. Full Story
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As lawmakers debate costly investments in property tax reduction and public schools, they're eyeing the state savings account for a sizable withdrawal. Full Story
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Four out of every five committee chairs this session are men, and 72 percent of chairs are white. Full Story
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Beto O'Rourke surged to a 15-point edge over Ted Cruz in Hays County during last week's election, even though the Central Texas county hadn't voted for a Democrat at the top of the ticket since 1992. Full Story
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In Williamson, Hays, Collin and Fort Bend counties, Republicans saw their dominance falter on Tuesday. Full Story
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Republicans hoped to keep a majority Texas House seats from Dallas County when they redrew district boundaries in 2011. Seven years later, they've only held onto two of 14. Full Story
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It was the closest a Democrat came to toppling a Republican incumbent U.S. senator since 1978. And while O'Rourke beat Cruz in some traditional GOP strongholds, it wasn't enough to overcome rural Texas counties and some suburbs that remain fiercely loyal to Cruz. Full Story
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U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz won re-election in 2018 against Democrat Beto O'Rourke by about 2.6 percentage points. Here's a look at the margins of victory for every U.S. Senate election in Texas since 1961. Full Story
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Early voter turnout in the 2018 midterms surpassed turnout from the 2012 presidential election in the 30 Texas counties where most registered voters in the state — 78 percent — live. Full Story
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Demographics, income and location all play roles in the difficulties Texans face finding an affordable home in a neighborhood they like. Full Story
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We analyzed housing data in hundreds of Texas ZIP codes to create a searchable tool so readers can see how affordable their neighborhood is. Full Story
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Despite all the focus on November, many in Texas politics are keeping a close eye on January. That's when the 150-member Texas House will pick its new House speaker. Just last week, two more candidates entered the race. Full Story
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Several new facilities have already opened this summer, and the federal government has requested up to 15,500 beds at two Texas military bases. Full Story
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How exactly are families being separated at the border? Here's where parents and children go after they're apprehended. Full Story
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