Archive - Illinois
ProPublica Opens Application for Five Two-Year Partnerships Through Our Local Reporting Network
This opportunity is open to reporters with a proven track record of investigations and impact working in local or regional newsrooms. The deadline to apply is Nov. 1.
Mississippi Courts Won’t Say How They Provide Lawyers for Poor Clients
Six years ago, the Mississippi Supreme Court told judges around the state to file plans showing how they meet their obligations to poor defendants. This summer, amid increased scrutiny of public defense in the state, the first one was filed.
Concerned About Your OB-GYN Visit? A Guide to What Should Happen — and What Shouldn’t.
As we’ve reported on sexual misconduct by OB-GYNs, many women told us they didn’t know what was normal. With the help of providers, patients and experts, we created this guide.
“Where Is There to Go?” He Needs Gender-Affirming Surgery, but His State Is Fighting to Deny Coverage.
A North Carolina policy that denies state employees coverage for gender-affirming care has been on hold pending appeal. For one transgender worker still awaiting surgery, the anxiety is “like somebody has got their hands around my neck.”
Wall Street Bet Big on Used-Car Loans for Years. Now a Crisis May Be Looming.
The used-car market’s hot streak may be ending as borrowers struggle to make payments and regulators say some auto lenders are “setting up consumers to fail.”
How Columbia Ignored Women, Undermined Prosecutors and Protected a Predator For More Than 20 Years
For decades, patients warned Columbia about the behavior of obstetrician Robert Hadden. One even called 911 and had him arrested. Columbia let him keep working.
Regulators Blast Union Pacific for Running Unsafe Trains
The nation’s largest freight rail carrier failed to fix and continued to use faulty equipment, according to the Federal Railroad Administration. Managers reportedly pressured inspectors to leave the yard so they could keep freight moving.
New Mexico AG to Investigate Gallup-McKinley School District for Harsh Discipline of Native American Students
Gallup-McKinley County Schools enrolls a quarter of New Mexico’s Native students but was responsible for at least three-quarters of Native expulsions over four years.
Virginia’s Public Universities Have a Long History of Displacing Black Residents
Schools including Old Dominion and the flagship University of Virginia have expanded by dislodging Black families, sometimes by the threat or use of eminent domain.
“I Want the Anger to Be Your Anger”: Bringing a ProPublica Investigation From Page to Screen
For his new documentary, “Silver Dollar Road,” Oscar-nominated director Raoul Peck spent years building on ProPublica’s coverage of how Black families are dispossessed of their land. “These were people I knew, these were situations that I knew.”
He Fled a Traffic Stop in Louisiana. Now He’s in Prison for Life.
After 12 years behind bars, Markus Lanieux thought he had a deal for his release. Then Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry filed a legal challenge that could derail hope for those imprisoned under the state's "three strikes" sentencing rules.
Eight Things You Need to Know About the Navy’s Failed Multibillion-Dollar Littoral Combat Ship Program
The key takeaways from ProPublica’s investigation into the decades long project that could end up costing American taxpayers more than $100 billion.
The Inside Story of How the Navy Spent Billions on the “Little Crappy Ship”
Littoral combat ships were supposed to launch the Navy into the future. Instead they broke down across the globe and many of their weapons never worked. Now the Navy is getting rid of them. One is less than five years old.
Idaho Created a $25 Million Fund to Fix Unsafe Schools. Why Is Nobody Using It?
About a decade ago, one school district went to the state for money to fix its crumbling buildings. It got a fraction of what it asked for. Since then, no other district has even applied.
The Texas Attorney General Is Supposed to Represent State Agencies. Ken Paxton Has Repeatedly Refused To.
Records obtained by ProPublica and The Texas Tribune give deeper insight into how Paxton’s representation denials often pushed agencies to look for outside legal counsel that was ultimately funded by taxpayers.
Why the Destruction of a Black Neighborhood Matters to Me — and Should Matter to Everyone
As a teenager, I competed in track meets at Christopher Newport University. As a reporter, I unearthed the painful history behind the campus’s location.
Erasing the “Black Spot”: How a Virginia College Expanded by Uprooting a Black Neighborhood
Sixty-plus years ago, the white leaders of Newport News, Virginia, seized the core of a thriving Black community to build a college. The school has been gobbling up the remaining houses ever since.
Wealthy Family Wants to Reopen Major Industrial Polluter in Alabama Despite Mounting Debts and Proposed Regulation
A new EPA proposal could soon limit the toxic emissions that pollute Birmingham’s historically Black north side. It could also complicate plans to reopen a shuttered plant owned by the family of West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice.
