100 Students in a School Meant for 1,000: Inside Chicago’s Refusal to Deal With Its Nearly Empty Schools
Declining school enrollment has left 30% of Chicago public schools at least half-empty. The city’s failure to address this problem has come at a high cost to the district — and its students.
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.
Red State Voters Approved Progressive Measures. GOP Lawmakers Are Trying to Undermine Them.
In the wake of ballot measures that increased abortion access and improved sick leave for workers, a coordinated effort is unfolding across the country to restrict direct democracy — and shift power to partisan legislatures.
Illinois Lawmakers Ban Police From Ticketing and Fining Students for Minor Infractions in School
The legislation comes after a ProPublica-Chicago Tribune investigation revealed that even though state law bans schools from fining students directly, districts skirt the law by calling on police to issue citations for violating local ordinances.
The Untold Story of How Ed Martin Ghostwrote Online Attacks Against a Judge — and Still Became a Top Trump Prosecutor
Martin’s career is dotted with ethical and professional questions, records show. Some of the most serious ones about the interim U.S. attorney for D.C. have remained buried in court filings, overlooked by the press or never reported — until now.
Midwest News Staff
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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:
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Former Chicago Cop Pleads Guilty to Aggravated Battery of Two Female Colleagues
Eric Tabb is one of 14 Chicago officers accused of sexual assault in the past decade with at least one other alleged incident of sexual misconduct. The cases reveal how the department failed to vigorously investigate such allegations involving police.
“The Federal Government Is Gone”: Under Trump, the Fight Against Extremist Violence Is Left Up to the States
As the White House redirects counterterrorism personnel and funds toward mass deportations, a state-level scramble is on to preserve efforts once supported by Washington. The result is a patchwork approach that leaves many areas uncovered.
Help Us Report on Sexual Assault and Misconduct by the Chicago Police Department
We want to talk to people who have experienced sexual assault or sexual misconduct — which includes sexual harassment and unwanted, inappropriate touching or comments — by Chicago police officers, on or off duty.
Chicago Police Dismissed a Recruit’s Claims That a Colleague Sexually Assaulted Her. Then He was Accused Again and Again.
The Invisible Institute and ProPublica reviewed over 300 complaints accusing Chicago officers of sexual assault and misconduct. Time and time again, the police department downplayed or ignored claims, enabling officers to become repeat offenders.
A Teacher Dragged a 6-Year-Old With Autism by His Ankle. Federal Civil Rights Officials Might Not Do Anything.
The Garrison School is part of a special education district that had students arrested at the highest rate in the country. It had pledged to change how it disciplines kids after a ProPublica-Chicago Tribune investigation and subsequent federal probe.
Millions of People Depend on the Great Lakes’ Water Supply. Trump Decimated the Lab Protecting It.
The Trump administration’s slashing of budgets and staff have Great Lakes scientists concerned that they have lost the ability to protect the public from toxic algal blooms, which can kill animals and sicken people.
White Supremacist Terrorgram Network Allegedly Inspired Teen Accused of Killing Parents and Plotting Trump Assassination
Court documents reveal that Nikita Casap’s alleged manifesto calling for Trump’s assassination cited multiple Terrorgram publications and urged people to read the writings of a network member who murdered two people outside an LGTBQ+ bar in 2022.
What Reality TV Gets Wrong About Criminal Investigations. (Spoiler: So Much.)
When Edgar Barrientos-Quintana was cleared of murder charges last year, reporter Jessica Lussenhop noticed something she had never seen before in a wrongful conviction case: the involvement of popular true crime show “The First 48.”
Will Extreme Spending and Partisanship Undermine Trust in State Supreme Courts?
The millions in campaign funding poured into the Wisconsin Supreme Court election spotlights the increasing partisanship around these supposedly neutral court roles. It also feeds a growing concern nationally about the independence of state high courts.
In An Era of Big Money, the University of Illinois Shrugs Off Rules on Athletes’ NIL Deals
Records show that a fraction of the school’s athletes are complying with a state law requiring them to disclose endorsements. In the wild west of college sports, Illinois’ flagship university says the rules are losing relevance.
The Art Institute of Chicago Returned a Sculpture to Nepal But Obscured Its Connection to a Wealthy Donor
The famed museum recently returned a 12th-century Buddha sculpture that it says was stolen from the Kathmandu Valley. However, the institute’s announcement failed to mention the statue had once belonged to wealthy donor Marilynn Alsdorf.
“A Wholly Inaccurate Picture”: Reality Cop Show “The First 48” and the Wrongly Convicted Man
Edgar Barrientos-Quintana spent 16 years behind bars wrongly convicted for a shooting featured on “The First 48.” The Minnesota attorney general’s office effectively alleged that the show shaped the case instead of the case shaping the show.
Police Across the U.S. Welcomed Cop Show “The First 48.” Then Relationships Soured.
Partnerships between police and the popular reality show, once enthusiastic and mutually beneficial, have often turned into breakups. Here’s how that has played out in three cities.
How Elon Musk, George Soros and Other Billionaires Are Shaping the Most Expensive Court Race in U.S. History
Ten years ago, Wisconsin approved unlimited political spending. Now, as spending for its Supreme Court race surpasses more than $80 million, some campaign reformers are wondering if the state is reaching a tipping point.
A University, a Rural Town and Their Fight to Survive Trump’s War on Higher Education
The administration’s research funding and DEI cuts present an existential threat to regional public universities like Southern Illinois University, the economic backbone of the conservative rural region it serves.
