Tony Briscoe

Reporter

Photo of Tony Briscoe

Tony Briscoe was a reporter for ProPublica. He previously worked at The Chicago Tribune as an environmental reporter, writing extensively about issues facing the Great Lakes and the impacts of climate change in the Midwest. His reporting on the Illinois EPA’s environmental justice program revealed lapses in state outreach efforts to low-income and minority communities, leading to reform in community engagement practices. Briscoe placed second in the environmental writing category at the 86th National Headliner Awards for his series exploring how global warming is jeopardizing the Great Lakes. He was awarded the 2019 Peter Lisagor Award for best science and environmental reporting in Chicago. A graduate of Michigan State University, Briscoe began his career as a breaking news reporter at The Detroit News.

Legislator Pushes for Law Requiring Illinois Hospitals to Report All Assaults to Police

In response to a ProPublica investigation, Illinois State Sen. Julie Morrison said she will propose a law mandating that hospitals notify police about suspected patient-on-patient sexual assaults.

A Patient in a Psychiatric Ward Was Seen on Video Possibly Being Sexually Assaulted. No One Reported It.

Roseland Community Hospital in Chicago kept quiet about a possible sexual assault of one patient by another in its psychiatric unit. Only after ProPublica asked questions did Illinois’ public health officials alert law enforcement.

Conservationists See Rare Nature Sanctuaries. Black Farmers See a Legacy Bought Out From Under Them.

In Pembroke, the well-intended efforts of mostly white nature conservationists overlook one thing: The township’s Black farming community has never fully supported them. Now, a generations-old way of life is threatened by the push for conservation.

“In Those Pictures, You Can See the Community”

In East and West Garfield Park, Chicago, we sought out residents’ archives to shed light on a neighborhood the city neglected.

These Cities Tried to Tackle Disinvestment. Here Are Lessons From What Happened.

Local governments have made efforts to revive commerce in neglected Black neighborhoods around the country. It hasn’t always worked. But Chicago can learn from their experiences.

Photo collage of buildings being torn down in East Garfield Park.

Disinvested: How Government and Private Industry Let the Main Street of a Black Neighborhood Crumble

A half-century after Chicago’s uprisings in 1968, a once-thriving retail strip in East Garfield Park still suffers from broken promises, bad policy and neglect.

He Faced a Criminal Charge for Not Self-Isolating When He Had COVID-19 Symptoms. Prosecutors Just Dropped the Case.

In March, a southern Illinois man who was under isolation orders for showing COVID-19 symptoms entered a busy gas station. An employee recognized him from Facebook. Prosecutors charged him with reckless conduct. Now, the case has been dismissed.

Millions of Homeowners Who Need Flood Insurance Don’t Know It — Thanks to FEMA

It is FEMA’s job to warn homeowners about major flood risks, but its approach is notoriously limited. In Cook County alone, researchers found about six times as many properties in danger as FEMA estimated. Look up your address with a new tool.

COVID-19 Took Black Lives First. It Didn’t Have To.

In Chicago, 70 of the city’s 100 first recorded victims of COVID-19 were black. Their lives were rich, and their deaths cannot be dismissed as inevitable. Immediate factors could — and should — have been addressed.

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