December 2019 Archive
IRS Reforms Free File Program, Drops Agreement Not to Compete With TurboTax
The changes come after ProPublica’s reporting showed how TurboTax maker Intuit tricked customers into paying for tax prep they could have gotten for free.
What Happens When Sheriffs Release Violent Offenders to Avoid Paying Their Medical Bills
Sheriffs regularly release sick and injured inmates to avoid paying their hospital bills. But in Alabama, some defendants charged with violent offenses like murder have been let out. And some have gone on to commit new crimes.
The Family Wanted a Do Not Resuscitate Order. The Doctors Didn’t.
Andy Jurtschenko told his children that he didn’t want to be a burden on them. But after he suffered brain damage during a heart transplant at a New Jersey hospital, his medical team deflected their request for a DNR.
Our Journalists Stopped Calling People Hard-to-Reach and Listened to Them. Here’s What Worked.
We researched why people were reluctant to talk about medical debt, and designed an outreach strategy based on what we learned.
Adrift: How the Marine Corps Failed Squadron 242
Falling from 15,000 feet, two Marines hit the Pacific Ocean at 800 feet per minute. They were bruised and cold, their rescue equipment failed and help was hours away.
Faulty Equipment, Lapsed Training, Repeated Warnings: How a Preventable Disaster Killed Six Marines
Marine commanders did not act on dozens of pleas for additional manpower, machinery and time. When a training exercise ended in death, leadership blamed the very men they had neglected.
The Men Who Lost Their Lives When Their Tanker Went Down in a Doomed Military Training Flight
There were five Marines inside the KC-130J Hercules fuel tanker high above the Pacific when it went down. Here are brief profiles of the lost tanker crew.
Chicago Psychiatric Hospital Will Lose Federal Money, and Its License Is Threatened After Allegations of Abuse
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services terminated an agreement and accompanying federal funding for Chicago Lakeshore Hospital, and the Illinois Department of Public Health is moving forward with plans to revoke the facility’s license.
California Gave Billions in Taxpayer Dollars to Improve Jails. But That’s Not How These Sheriffs Are Spending It.
California has given counties more than $8 billion to handle thousands of new inmates. But lax spending rules and limited scrutiny have allowed some sheriffs to use that money for other things, which may violate state law.
How Oil Companies Avoided Environmental Accountability After 10.8 Million Gallons Spilled
Louisiana still hasn’t finished investigating 540 oil spills after Hurricane Katrina. The state is likely leaving millions of dollars in remediation fines on the table — money that environmental groups say they need as storms get stronger.
The Best of Us: ProPublica Illinois 2019
In our second(ish) year of existence, here’s a selection of our work that, as a whole, best shows who we are as a newsroom, what we do and why we do it.
How Some Sheriffs Force Their Inmates Into Medical Debt
Sheriffs in multiple Alabama counties refuse to pay for some of their jail inmates’ health care needs. The inmates are personally billed, and their bills can end up with collection agencies while they are still behind bars, wrecking their credit.
How a Police Officer in Iowa Helped Protect an Alaskan Police Force — From Thousands of Miles Away
He read our story about Alaska’s policing problems and began raising money to send supplies to the small Police Department in Savoonga. His efforts may save his fellow officers’ lives.
A Half-Million Chicago Drivers Have Unpaid Sticker Tickets, but Only 11,400 Applied for the City’s Relief Program
Advocates for ticket reform say they’re disappointed the city didn’t do more to encourage Chicago motorists to sign up for its debt relief program. The city says more reforms are coming.
What It Looks Like When a Hospital We Investigated Erases $11.9 Million in Medical Debt
After our investigation, Methodist Le Bonheur hospital system erased thousands of patients’ medical debt. Many will no longer have to choose between those bills and their children or themselves. We want you to meet four of them.
Inside Documents Show How Amazon Chose Speed Over Safety in Building Its Delivery Network
Amazon ignored or dismissed safety concerns about its delivery network to prioritize speed and explosive growth, according to new documents and interviews with insiders.
Like Voldemort, Ransomware Is Too Scary to Be Named
Wary of alarming investors, companies victimized by ransomware attacks often tell the SEC that “malware” or a “security incident” disrupted their operations.
This Former Firefighter Has a Criminal Past. Now, He’s on the Board That Advises the State on Its EMS System.
Albert F. Peterson III has been disciplined by state health regulators, and he has a number of criminal charges. “I’m not that person anymore,” he said of his past.
Alaska’s Law Enforcement Crisis Is a Public Emergency. Here’s How Experts Want to Fix It.
More than a third of Alaska communities have no local police of any kind. Criminals have been hired as cops in some remote villages. A federal emergency has been declared and millions of dollars are promised, but here’s what else experts recommend.
We Found Villages That Hired Criminals as Cops. Now Officials Want It To Change.
The Anchorage Daily News and ProPublica found small Alaska cities have employed police whose criminal records should have prevented them from being hired. Now, the state board is working to ensure they meet basic hiring standards.
