Local Reporting Network Archive
This Lawyer Fought Housing Segregation. Now Wealthy Suburbanites Want to Fire His Firm.
Westport is the second Connecticut town this year to pressure one of the state’s leading law firms to abandon its affordable housing work — or risk losing the local school system as a client.
We Reported on a Nonprofit Hospital System That Sues Poor Patients. It Just Freed Thousands From Debt.
After an investigation by MLK50 and ProPublica, Methodist Le Bonheur Healthcare is erasing debt for unpaid hospital bills owed by more than 6,500 patients. Our reporting found the hospital had profited by aggressively pursuing patients who couldn’t pay.
Justice Department Will Fund More Prosecutors, Jails and Cops in Rural Alaska
To improve what it calls a public safety emergency, the DOJ detailed how it will spend $10.5 million. Alaska Native advocates want long-term reforms to increase their role in local justice systems as well.
Thousands of Poor Patients Face Lawsuits From Nonprofit Hospitals That Trap Them in Debt
Across the country, low-income patients are overcoming stigmas surrounding poverty to speak out about nonprofit hospitals that sue them. Federal officials are noticing. Help us keep the pressure on.
Assaults, Bullying, Rape: A Lawsuit Against One Professor Claims a University Didn’t Stop Him
Former University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign professor Gary Gang Xu assaulted and threatened students while university officials downplayed complaints, a lawsuit says. He ultimately resigned, taking $10,000 as part of his separation agreement.
We Reported on Troubled Prisons. Now, Officials and a Gang Have a Shared Goal: Reform.
Following our reporting, top Republicans and Democrats want to take a closer look at Mississippi’s prison system. Meanwhile, one gang says it has turned in more than 250 weapons to show it’s against violence.
She Leapt From a Moving Car to Escape Her Rapist. Then, She Waited 18 Years for an Arrest.
Anna Sattler’s rape kit sat untested since 2001 as Alaska’s backlog got worse. Now, an ex-Iditarod musher faces charges, and she’s speaking publicly about the attack for the first time.
Lawmakers and Students Say Professors Who Sexually Harass Should Face Stronger Consequences
After NPR Illinois and ProPublica found that several University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign professors who violated policies were allowed to quietly resign and take paid leave with their reputations intact, lawmakers called for reforms.
How Kentucky Gambled for Hundreds of Millions of Dollars From a Broadband Program It Didn’t Qualify for
Former Gov. Steve Beshear’s administration was warned multiple times that its rural broadband bet wouldn’t get certain federal funds. Meet the officials and conflicted consultants who didn’t listen and doomed the plan.
ProPublica Wants Pitches for State Government Investigations. Apply for a Spot in Our Local Reporting Network.
ProPublica’s Local Reporting Network produces impactful accountability stories that wouldn’t be done otherwise. Now, we’re looking for seven partners to work with in 2020.
One Campus. Seven Professors Facing Harassment Accusations. Few Consequences.
We found several sexual harassment allegations against University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign faculty that haven’t been publicly reported. Here’s a rundown of the accusations, the consequences each faced and their responses.
At the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Preserving the Reputations of Sexual Harassers
An administrator resigned amid sexual harassment accusations. Another college hired him. A professor was found to have stalked a coworker. She agreed to retire, then won a Fulbright grant. Campus leaders vow reforms, but many say it’s a long road.
Have You Experienced Sexual Misconduct at an Illinois University or College? We Want to Hear From You.
We’d like to hear about your experience with misconduct on campus, or if you were subjected to it but did not or could not file a report. We need help understanding flaws in the systems intended to hold perpetrators accountable.
State Tax Breaks Rewarded Companies Connected to One Powerful Man. The Governor Just Killed Them — for Now.
New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy vetoed the state’s controversial tax incentive program after a WNYC-ProPublica investigation into its connection to George E. Norcross III, and months of scrutiny.
Some of the Country’s Worst Prisons Have Escaped Justice Department Action
Prisons in Alabama are so bad, the Department of Justice said they violate Eighth Amendment protections against cruel and unusual punishment. We found prisons in Mississippi that may be even worse.
Inside The Prison Where Inmates Set Each Other On Fire and Gangs Have More Power Than Guards
At South Mississippi Correctional Institution, inmates have been on perpetual lockdown for seven months and gangs enforce rules. With frequent beatings, burnings and escapes, the prison has become a violent tinderbox.
A Year After an Inmate Was Choked to Death in Jail, a Murder Charge but Few Details
Lorenzo Herrera, 19, was found dead in a Fresno County Jail cell in March 2018. A man has been charged, but detectives say they’re still trying to determine if there are additional suspects.
Welcome to the Greenbrier, the Governor-Owned Luxury Resort Filled With Conflicts of Interest
Gov. Jim Justice is West Virginia’s richest man and owns its most storied resort. When lobbyists and state agencies book there, he profits. Here’s how the governor, dubbed “Big Jim,” became West Virginia’s little Trump.
Trump Called Baltimore “Vermin Infested” While the Federal Government Fails to Clean Up Rodents in Subsidized Housing
Baltimore’s public housing is among the most dilapidated and dangerous in the country — nearly half of complexes failed inspection — and Trump just spent a week attacking the city on Twitter.
ProPublica Local Reporting Network Selects Youngstown, Ohio, Partner
We’re adding The Business Journal in Youngstown to our local network as the city’s only daily newspaper prepares to close.
