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Unfounded Health Concerns Are Powering a Solar Backlash
Critics claim large solar farms are a public health threat. Despite little reputable evidence for this, their fears have helped undercut efforts across the U.S. to broaden energy sources, slowing installations even as customer costs are rising.
Reporting From the Midwest
Our team in the Midwest covers Illinois, Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota and Missouri. Based in Chicago, it grew out of our first regional publishing operation, which focused on people living and working in Illinois. Read more.
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Featured Stories
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They Said a 3D Printer Would Bring Housing to This Town. It Was Yet Another Broken Promise.
I spotted the printer abandoned off a country road. Finding out how it got there is a whole other story of tangled politics, tiny banks with big business deals, and the future of a town some say cannot be saved.
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A Protester Threw a Snowball. Federal Agents Responded With Tear Gas and Pepper Balls.
A new investigation from ProPublica and FRONTLINE examines federal agents’ response to protesters and bystanders at the Trump administration’s immigration sweeps. “We see, just, use of excessive force after use of excess force,” one expert said.
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3D-Printed Homes, an Abandoned $590,000 Deposit, the FBI: What Really Happened in This Small Town?
Two men promised a $1.1 million 3D printer could fix Cairo, Illinois’ housing crisis. More than a year later, the one duplex it printed still isn’t finished. And the more we asked questions, the weirder things got.
Midwest Staff
Midwest Editor
George Papajohn
Deputy Midwest Editor
Steve Mills
Reporters
Anna Clark, Jodi S. Cohen, Vernal Coleman, Duaa Eldeib, Jeremy Kohler, Jessica Lussenhop, Megan O’Matz, Melissa Sanchez and Jennifer Smith Richards
Local Reporting Network Partners
ProPublica is supporting local and regional newsrooms as they work on important investigative projects affecting their communities. Some of our past and present partners in the region:
Chicago Tribune
Chicago, Illinois
The Southern Illinoisan
Carbondale, Illinois
WBEZ
Chicago, Illinois
The Daily Herald
Arlington Heights, Illinois
The Business Journal
Youngstown, Ohio
Outlier Media
Detroit, Michigan
More Stories
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“This Is What It Means to Be Minnesotan”: Why My Neighbors Continue to Stand Up Against ICE
After ICE came to Minneapolis, ProPublica journalist Peter DiCampo saw his community step up to patrol the streets, drive strangers to work and provide aid to families in hiding. These are his neighbors, in their city, in their own words.
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Minnesota Kicks Off Legal Battle With Trump Administration to Hold ICE Shooters Accountable
With the federal government refusing to identify agents or share evidence, the dispute has become a game of constitutional chicken over states’ rights versus federal immunity, with implications for others hoping to hold agents criminally accountable.
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Walkway Over Dangerous Train Crossing Is Dead After Norfolk Southern Backtracks on Funds, Mayor Says
The mayor of Hammond, Indiana, says the rail company had promised to help pay for a pedestrian bridge after ProPublica and InvestigateTV documented dozens of children crawling through trains to get to school. The company denies making this pledge.
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Transportation Lobbyists Have Donated Thousands to Sean Duffy’s Son-in-Law as He Runs for Congress
Industry money has been pouring into the congressional campaign of Michael Alfonso, a 26-year-old political unknown from Wisconsin. The candidate’s father-in-law happens to be the U.S. secretary of transportation.
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New Moms in Wisconsin to Get Extension of Vital Benefits After GOP Powerbroker Ends Holdout
State Assembly Speaker Robin Vos had repeatedly blocked lawmakers from voting on a bipartisan bill to extend postpartum Medicaid coverage. The legislation now goes to Gov. Tony Evers, who is expected to sign it into law.
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What Meetings Among Trump Lawyers Reveal About the FBI’s Seizure of Election Records in Georgia
Thomas Albus, the federal prosecutor from Missouri overseeing an investigation into the 2020 vote in Georgia, had several meetings set up with top administration lawyers last fall to discuss election integrity.
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“Not Ready for Prime Time.” A Federal Tool to Check Voter Citizenship Keeps Making Mistakes.
The Department of Homeland Security pushed out the revamped tool while it was still adding data. That led to widespread misidentification, particularly for citizens born outside the U.S.
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Trump Is Threatening to Block the Michigan-Canada Bridge. He Used to Cheer It.
President Donald Trump threw his support behind the Gordie Howe International Bridge in his first term. Now it’s a symbol of the growing tensions between the U.S. and Canada, with Michigan caught in the middle.
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“You’re Not Going to Investigate a Federal Officer”
It doesn’t happen often, but local law enforcement can arrest and charge federal agents. Legal experts say there’s a moral obligation to at least try to hold federal immigration officers accountable when they violate the Constitution and the law.
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The Real Story Behind the Midnight Immigration Raid on a Chicago Apartment Building
The Trump administration has claimed the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua had taken over the building. But new documents make no mention of the gang and reveal federal agents had information about “illegal aliens unlawfully occupying apartments.”
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Two CBP Agents Identified in Alex Pretti Shooting
The two federal immigration agents who fired on Minneapolis protester Alex Pretti are identified in government records as Border Patrol agent Jesus Ochoa and Customs and Border Protection officer Raymundo Gutierrez.
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What We Saw in Minneapolis
Our visual journalists documented the days surrounding Alex Pretti’s killing in Minneapolis.
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A Black Teen Died Over a $12 Shoplifting Attempt. 13 Years Later, Two Men Plead Guilty in His Killing.
16-year-old Corey Stingley died from asphyxiation after being pinned down by customers in a convenience store. Under a special agreement, the family of the teen finally feels that “truth, understanding and a measure of healing” has taken place.
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A Father’s Quest for Justice Finds Resolution After 13 Years
Restrained by three white men for attempted shoplifting, a Black teen died from asphyxiation. His father refused to accept that no one would be held responsible. More than a decade later, his idea of justice has shifted — and may finally be achieved.
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Lawmaker Calls for Stronger Mandatory Reporting Rules Following Our Investigation Into Church Abuse Case
Mandatory reporters in Minnesota can be charged with a misdemeanor if they do not report child abuse to authorities. But violators of the statute are rarely convicted, and fines are often similar to traffic tickets.
