Archive - Illinois
The Accelerationists’ App: How Telegram Became the “Center of Gravity” for a New Breed of Domestic Terrorists
From attempting to incite racially motivated violence to encouraging attacks on critical infrastructure, the alleged crimes planned and advertised by extremists on Telegram go far beyond the charges facing CEO Pavel Durov.
How LA’s Illegal Short-Term Rentals Hide in Plain Sight on Booking Sites
Los Angeles officials are struggling to crack down on illegal rentals during a housing crisis. Here’s how to make sure you’re a responsible vacationer.
Our Editor Won a 6-Year Legal Battle. It Didn’t Feel Like a Victory.
After publishing a story on a doctor accused of violating federal research rules and skirting ethical guidelines, ProPublica’s Charles Ornstein was named in a libel suit. An appeals court recently dismissed the case, but the experience took a toll.
Exec at Trump Media Jumped the Line for U.S. Visa After Company Lobbied GOP Lawmaker
A former aide to Rep. Don Bacon, a Nebraska Republican, said she intervened on the company’s behalf even though she thought it was inappropriate. “It was specifically the congressman that suggested I needed to deal with it.”
Biden EPA Rejects Plastics Industry’s Fuzzy Math That Misleads Customers About Recycled Content
The plastics industry uses a controversial accounting method to inflate the recycled content it advertises in products. A new EPA policy won’t allow it for any products it endorses as a “Safer Choice.”
Nonprofit Explorer Now Shows Which Organizations Are Trending
When a nonprofit is in the news, people turn to Nonprofit Explorer to check its finances. Now we’ve added a feature that lets anyone see which organizations lots of people are looking up.
What Mental Health Care Protections Exist in Your State?
Insurers have wide latitude on when and how they can deny mental health care. We looked at the laws in all 50 states and found that some are charting new paths to secure mental health care access.
Officials Voted Down a Controversial Georgia Election Rule, Saying It Violated the Law. Then a Similar Version Passed.
The rule, which was pushed by nationally prominent election deniers, only changed in minor ways between being voted down in May and approved in August. Those adjustments made it even less compliant with existing law, experts say.
The Unequal Effects of School Closings
As more families opt for charter and private schools or homeschooling in the wake of the pandemic, cities around the country are shuttering schools. The effects fall hardest on majority-Black schools and special-needs students.
Why It’s So Hard to Find a Therapist Who Takes Insurance
Those who need therapy often have to pay out of pocket or go without care, even if they have health insurance. Hundreds of mental health providers told us they fled networks because insurers made their jobs impossible and their lives miserable.
DOJ Files Antitrust Suit Against RealPage, Maker of Rent-Setting Algorithm
The lawsuit, which comes in the wake of a ProPublica investigation into the Texas company, accuses RealPage of taking part in an illegal price-fixing scheme to reduce competition among landlords to boost prices — and profits.
A 10-Year-Old Pointed a Finger Gun. The Principal Kicked Him Out of His Tennessee School for a Year.
A 2023 state law requires a yearlong expulsion for any student who threatens mass violence on school property. But some students have been kicked out even when school officials determined that the threat was not credible.
This College’s 38-Acre Land Donation to a Christian School Drew Little Attention. Experts Say It Appears to Violate the Law.
The donation raises questions about government oversight at a time when Texas officials are increasingly blurring the lines between church and state.
A Vexing To-Do List for Michigan’s Gretchen Whitmer
As the governor, now a rising Democratic star, finishes out her final term, key populist pledges have been unfulfilled and her presidential resume is still being written.
Cookie & Zo’e: A Georgia Family Wrestles With School Choice 60 Years After the Start of Desegregation
In a new ProPublica short documentary, Samaria “Cookie” Mitcham Bailey and her great-granddaughter Zo’e Johnson reflect on their experiences in a town where schools are still largely segregated.
In a Town Full of Segregation Academies, One Black Family Grapples With the Best School Choice for Their Daughter
Schools in Macon, Georgia, are still largely segregated. Zo’e Johnson’s family is torn over whether they can afford for her to stay at her mostly white private school — and whether the cost makes sense.
Facing a National Shortage of Baby Formula, Trade Officials Opposed a Plan to Boost Imports
When the U.S. supply of baby formula collapsed in 2022, federal trade officials repeatedly argued against lifting the tariff on imports. Among their concerns: that it would raise “lots of questions from domestic dairy producers.”
Trump Assassination Attempt Laid Bare Long-standing Vulnerabilities in the Secret Service
A Spotlight PA, ProPublica and Butler Eagle investigation found the process for securing campaign events was susceptible to attack for years.
