Desperate Times Led Wisconsin Tribe to High-Interest Lending, Dubious Partnerships and Legal Jeopardy
Facing financial ruin, the Lac du Flambeau tribe began offering short-term loans online with annual rates often over 600%. But as the tribe rose in an industry derided for predatory practices, it put its reputation at risk and drew costly lawsuits.
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.
Emails Reveal How Walz Struggled to Deal With Unrest, Reach Consensus With Critics After Police Killings
Spring 2021 saw escalating tensions in Minnesota: Police had killed Daunte Wright less than a year after George Floyd. Caught between the demands of Black organizers and Republican lawmakers, Tim Walz struggled to chart a course for police reform.
In an Unprecedented Move, Ohio Is Funding the Construction of Private Religious Schools
The state is giving millions in taxpayer dollars directly to private schools to help them renovate and expand their campuses. It may be the next frontier in the push to increase the use of school vouchers, proponents say.
School District With Highest Student Arrest Rate in the Nation Agrees to Reform How It Disciplines Disabled Students
Following a ProPublica-Chicago Tribune investigation, the Garrison School in Illinois will change its disciplinary practices and provide services to those who missed class due to being arrested or sent to a seclusion room.
Midwest News 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
- Abrams Reporting Fellow
- Emily Hopkins
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
Maylia and Jack: A Story of Teens and Fentanyl
Police knew she was selling fake Percocet but did not stop her. His mother sought the right treatment for his addiction but could not find it. Two teens got caught up in a system unprepared to handle kids on either side of the drug trade.
El Departamento de Justicia llega a un acuerdo con un Sheriff de Wisconsin para mejorar servicios para quienes no hablan inglés
Años después de que los agentes del Condado Dane culparan por error a un trabajador inmigrante por la muerte de su hijo en una granja lechera, la oficina del alguacil acordó reformas destinadas a garantizar que los residentes que hablan inglés limitado puedan obtener los servicios necesarios.
DOJ Reaches Agreement With Wisconsin Sheriff’s Office to Improve Services for People Who Don’t Speak English
Years after deputies in Dane County, Wisconsin, mistakenly blamed an immigrant worker for his son’s death on a dairy farm, the sheriff’s office has agreed to reforms meant to ensure that residents who speak limited English can get needed services.
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.
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.
Missouri Outlawed Abortion, and Now It’s Funding an Anti-Abortion Group That Works in Other States
With millions in expanded tax credits and direct state funding going to anti-abortion groups, the nonprofit Coalition Life has expanded its operations beyond Missouri and into states where the procedure is still legal.
Historic Gun Suit Survives Serious Legal Threat Engineered by Indiana Republicans
A judge ruled that a law passed by Indiana’s GOP supermajority that tried to retroactively prevent cities from suing gun manufacturers goes too far. The decision allows one city’s decadeslong suit against gunmakers to continue.
A Wisconsin Tribe Built a Lending Empire Charging 600% Annual Rates to Borrowers
The Lac du Flambeau tribe is at the center of a $1 billion class-action settlement that comes after years of fending off claims of predatory lending practices.
The Government Spends Millions to Open Grocery Stores in Food Deserts. The Real Test Is Their Survival.
The community of Cairo, Illinois, once a food desert, welcomed its new market last year with balloons and cheers. But the store is struggling — exposing problems with the programs set up to help.
Why We Investigated Matthew Trewhella, the Far-Right Wisconsin Pastor Influencing Republican Politics
Some people said militant anti-abortion activist Matthew Trewhella was a ’90s figure who’s no longer relevant, but our reporting shows he’s influencing policies, bills and movements today.
Federal Law Thwarted Chicago’s Attempt to Sue Gun Makers. But Now It Has a New Strategy.
Taking advantage of a new state law, Chicago's lawsuit accuses Glock of manufacturing pistols with designs that allow modification and failing to make changes that would protect the public.
Two Reporters Covering Education in the Midwest Followed the Money … to a School in New York
Jennifer Smith Richards and Jodi S. Cohen are based in Chicago and cover the Midwest. But when they looked into where vulnerable Illinois students wound up, they found themselves at an unregulated, for-profit school in New York.
The Gospel of Matthew Trewhella: How a Militant Anti-Abortion Activist Is Influencing Republican Politics
The Wisconsin pastor was once a political pariah. But now his book is being quoted by politicians and former Trump officials. One activist is using it to disrupt elections.
The Failure to Track Data on Stillbirths Undermines Efforts to Prevent Them
Fetal death records are often missing cause of death, race and other crucial information. ProPublica found that the problem is only getting worse.
Three States Have Warned Against Sending Students to an Unregulated Boarding School for Youth With Autism
After visiting Shrub Oak International School, officials from Connecticut, Washington and Massachusetts have advised districts of troubling conditions at the school where a ProPublica investigation uncovered reports of abuse and neglect.
