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After Grace’s Story, Michigan Will Study Its Juvenile Justice System

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer appointed a task force to examine the state’s juvenile justice system and recommend reforms after a Black teen was jailed for not doing her online coursework.

by Jodi S. Cohen, ProPublica, and Dave Boucher, Detroit Free Press,

Reporting From the Midwest

Our team in the Midwest covers Illinois, Michigan, Wisconsin 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.

A Crisis of Undiagnosed Cancers Is Emerging in the Pandemic’s Second Year

A factory worker didn’t want to call in sick or catch COVID-19, so she tried to ignore the pain. Now she has stage 4 cancer.

by Duaa Eldeib, video by Alex Garcia,

The Quiet Rooms

Illinois Dramatically Limits Use of Seclusion and Face-Down Restraints in Schools

A new bill will ban school workers from locking children in seclusion spaces and limit most uses of isolated timeout and physical restraint. A ProPublica and Chicago Tribune investigation found widespread abuse of the practices in Illinois.

by Jennifer Smith Richards, Chicago Tribune, and Jodi S. Cohen, ProPublica, ProPublica,

The Quiet Rooms

Illinois Continued to Seclude and Restrain Students This Year Even Though Many Schools Were Closed

Even during the coronavirus pandemic with limited in-person learning, staff at Illinois schools secluded and restrained students more than 15,000 times during the 2020-21 school year, new data shows.

by Jennifer Smith Richards, Chicago Tribune, and Jodi S. Cohen, ProPublica,

Midwest News Staff

Midwest Editor
Louise Kiernan
Deputy Midwest Editor
Steve Mills
Reporters
Tony Briscoe, Anna Clark, Jodi S. Cohen, Vernal Coleman, Mick Dumke, Duaa Eldeib, Jeremy Kohler, Megan O’Matz and Melissa Sanchez
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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
The Southern Illinoisan
Carbondale, Illinois
WBEZ
Chicago
The Daily Herald
Arlington Heights, Illinois
The Business Journal
Youngstown, Ohio

Missouri Lawmakers Approve Reforms to Controversial Clean-Energy Loan Program

Lawmakers approve consumer protections and oversight to PACE loans that have disproportionately burdened borrowers in Black neighborhoods.

by Jeremy Kohler and Haru Coryne,

Una crisis de cánceres sin diagnosticar está surgiendo en el segundo año de la pandemia

Una trabajadora de una fábrica no quiso pedir baja por enfermedad ni contagiarse de COVD-19, así que intentó ignorar el dolor. Ahora tiene cáncer en estado 4.

por Duaa Eldeib, video by Alex Garcia,

Clean-Energy Loans Trapped Black Homeowners in Debt. The Legislature Just Started Trying to Fix the Problem.

Lawmakers in Missouri are exploring ways to rein in the state’s clean-energy loan program, which ProPublica found disproportionately harms Black homeowners.

by Jeremy Kohler and Haru Coryne,

The Child Care Industry Was Collapsing. Mrs. Jackie Bet Everything on an Impossible Dream to Save It.

Jackie Thomas was $29,134 in debt and in trouble with state regulators. She hadn’t slept in days. If a judge ruled against her, she’d fail the mothers who could only keep their jobs thanks to the 24-hour child care she offered.

by Lizzie Presser,

State-Supported “Clean Energy” Loans Are Putting Borrowers At Risk of Losing Their Homes

Dozens of Missouri homeowners who used PACE loans to fix up their houses ended up trapped in debt and could soon see their homes sold at auction.

by Jeremy Kohler and Haru Coryne,

Barreras falsas: estas cosas no deberían impedirle vacunarse contra COVID-19

Se supone que las vacunas contra el coronavirus son gratuitas y están disponibles para todos en Estados Unidos, independientemente de su seguro o de su situación migratoria. Para algunos, no ha sido así.

por Caroline Chen y Maryam Jameel,

False Barriers: These Things Should Not Prevent You From Getting a COVID Vaccine

Vaccinations for the coronavirus are supposed to be free and available to all Americans regardless of insurance or immigration status. For some, that isn’t how it has been playing out. Here are common false barriers to look out for.

by Caroline Chen and Maryam Jameel,

The City That Pinned Its Renewal on a Self-Chilling Beverage Can Wants Its Money Back

A company promised to create 237 jobs making the first ever self-chilling beverage can, winning big public subsidies in return. Four years later, there are no jobs and you still put your beer in the fridge. The city may demand the subsidies back.

by Dan O’Brien, The Business Journal,

The Murder Chicago Didn’t Want to Solve

In 1963, a Black politician named Ben Lewis was shot to death in Chicago. Clues suggest the murder was a professional hit. Decades later, it remains no accident authorities never solved the crime.

by Mick Dumke,

Megan O’Matz Joins ProPublica’s Midwest Newsroom

by ProPublica,

Why Opening Restaurants Is Exactly What the Coronavirus Wants Us to Do

Governors continue to open indoor dining and other activities before vaccinations become widespread. Experts warn this could create superspreading playgrounds for dangerous variants and squander our best shot at getting the pandemic under control.

Caroline Chen,

After Hundreds of Meatpacking Workers Died From COVID-19, Congress Wants Answers

A key House subcommittee cited reports by ProPublica and other news outlets in launching an investigation into how the country’s meatpacking companies handled the pandemic, which has killed hundreds of workers to date.

by Bernice Yeung and Michael Grabell,

Has Your Family Paid Fees or Fines to a Juvenile Justice System?

Has your family faced financial hardship as a result of a delinquency case? We’d like to hear from you.

by Jodi S. Cohen and Adriana Gallardo,

The Unfinished Business of Flint’s Water Crisis

Criminal charges and a class-action settlement may seem like the last chapter in Flint’s story, but many of the most important reforms at the root of the city’s water crisis remain undone.

by Anna Clark,

How Many Vaccine Shots Go to Waste? Several States Aren’t Counting.

The CDC says health facilities should report unused and spoiled COVID-19 vaccines, but many are failing to do so. At a time when there aren’t enough shots to meet demand, significant numbers may be going in the trash.

by Ryan Gabrielson, Caroline Chen and Mollie Simon,

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