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Illinois Newsletter

Dive Deeper Into Our Reporting

Each of our email newsletters are written by a ProPublica Illinois journalist, and we also republish each edition here online. One week, you may get a reporter’s take on what’s left out of a recent story. Another week, maybe you’ll read a Q&A between a reporter and a source on a particular topic. Sometimes, we may ask you to weigh in on a specific topic or issue. Your input can help fill gaps in our reporting, as well as shape what we cover and how we cover it. Regardless, it’s unlikely you’ll ever get a lonely, skeletal feed of headlines in your inbox. We’re all people here.

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Impact of Our Reporting
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The Pandemic and Illinois Schools

Illinois Will Start Sharing Data About COVID-19 Outbreaks in Schools

As educators and parents assess the risk of returning to the classroom, some felt frustrated by the lack of public data about COVID-19 in schools. After a ProPublica and Chicago Tribune investigation, the state will start publishing the data.

124 stories published since 2017

The Stolen Childhood of Teenage Factory Workers

La niñez robada de obreros adolescentes

The Questionable Line Items of Illinois’ COVID-19 Spending

Your Guide to Voting in Illinois

What’s It Like to Be a Contact Tracer? We Spoke With 3 to Find Out.

When Is a Meeting Not a Meeting and a Lawmaker Not a Lawmaker? When It’s Lori Lightfoot’s Chicago.

Mobilizing the National Guard Doesn’t Mean Your State Is Under Martial Law. Usually.

Hundreds of Children Are Stuck in Psychiatric Hospitals Each Year Despite the State’s Promises to Find Them Homes

Trabajadoras temporales luchan contra supuesto acoso sexual y dicen que sufren represalias por hacerlo

Temp Workers Fight Back Against Alleged Sexual Harassment and Say They Face Retaliation for Doing So

A Closer Look at the Public Art at Chicago Police Stations

In Lori Lightfoot’s Chicago, Bridges Have Become Barricades

Illinois Has Promised to “Infuse Love” in Its Juvenile Justice System, but What Will Actually Change?

4 Perspectives on the Christopher Columbus Statues

What People Who Live in Mostly White Towns Need to Know About History

“I Can’t Breathe.” It Happens at Schools, Too.

The Nation’s First Reparations Package to Survivors of Police Torture Included a Public Memorial. Survivors Are Still Waiting.

I’ve Reported on How Chicago’s Ticketing System Has Hurt Black Residents. Now, the Conversation About Reform Is Changing.

Slavery Existed in Illinois, but Schools Don’t Always Teach That History

A Sundown Town Sees Its First Black Lives Matter Protest

Police Brutality, COVID-19 and Overdoses in Chicago Follow the Same Deadly Pattern

A Nurse With One Lung Had COVID-19. Other Nurses Saved Her.

Families Were Grieving and Planning Funerals. They Still Wanted to Share Their Stories.

How We Used FOIA to Track Ventilator and Hospital Bed Availability in Illinois

What Other States Can Learn From What Happened in Illinois After It Legalized Gambling

A State Senator Had Thousands of Dollars in Ticket Debt. Now She’s Fighting to Make Sure Others Won’t.

It’s Time for Sundown Towns to Become a More Visible Part of Illinois History. But How?

Sexual Abuse Reports From Illinois’ Catholic Dioceses Are Still Missing A Lot of Data

Use This Tool to Find Potential Conflicts of Interest at Public Universities. We Did.

Inside a Training Course Where School Workers Learn How to Physically Restrain Students

The Best of Us: ProPublica Illinois 2019

My Home Is a Place That Feels Safe. For Too Many Families, That’s Not the Case.

A 7-Year-Old Complained About a Scary Office at School. This Is the Video His Parents Saw — a Month Later.

Recreational Marijuana Becomes Legal in Illinois on Jan. 1. Here’s How Communities Across the State Are Dealing With the New Law.

How People Are Using Our Chicago Parking Ticket Data in Their Research

Readers Choked Back Tears. Some Struggled to Keep Reading. We Understand.

What Readers Told Us About Our Story, “The Legend of A-N-N-A”

An Illinois Superhero You’ve Never Heard Of

How Much Money Has Your Doctor Received From Drug Companies?

I’m Looking for My Next Story

Where Do Illinois Lawmakers Stand on Impeachment?

Here’s What to Expect From Chicago City Council’s Ticket Reform

As Students From China Flock to University of Illinois, Lawsuit Alleges Ex-Professor Targeted Female Chinese Students

How a Video Gambling Company Helped Bankroll Local Politicians

Inside the Illinois House Hearing on the Financial Aid Scandal

How We Got the Story About Parents Transferring Guardianship of Their Kids to Win Financial Aid They Wouldn’t Otherwise Qualify For

She’s Risked Arrest by Driving With a Suspended License for Seven Years. This Week She Got Some Big News.

“How in 2019 Do We Not Have Enough Spanish-Speaking Caseworkers?”

Tuberculosis. Chicken Pox. Traumatized: 5 Updates on Immigrant Youth Shelters in Illinois.

How Chicago, a Hospital and Private Companies Make Money Off the Poor

What We’re Watching

During Donald Trump’s second presidency, ProPublica will focus on the areas most in need of scrutiny. Here are some of the issues our reporters will be watching — and how to get in touch with them securely.

Learn more about our reporting team. We will continue to share our areas of interest as the news develops.

Photo of Sharon Lerner
Sharon Lerner

I cover health and the environment and the agencies that govern them, including the Environmental Protection Agency.

Photo of Andy Kroll
Andy Kroll

I cover justice and the rule of law, including the Justice Department, U.S. attorneys and the courts.

Photo of Melissa Sanchez
Melissa Sanchez

I report on immigration and labor, and I am based in Chicago.

Photo of Jesse Coburn
Jesse Coburn

I cover housing and transportation, including the companies working in those fields and the regulators overseeing them.

If you don’t have a specific tip or story in mind, we could still use your help. Sign up to be a member of our federal worker source network to stay in touch.

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Most Read

    More Than a Dozen U.S. Officials Sold Stocks Before Trump’s Tariffs Sent the Market Plunging

    Records show well-timed trades by executive branch employees and congressional aides. Even if they had no insider information, ethics experts say such trading undermines faith in government and the markets.

    The “Invasion” Invention: The Far Right’s Long Legal Battle to Make Immigrants the Enemy

    The Trump administration is using the claim that immigrants have “invaded” the country to justify possibly suspending habeas corpus, part of the constitutional right to due process. A faction of the far right has been building this case for years.

    The Price of Remission

    When I was diagnosed with cancer, I set out to understand why a single pill of Revlimid cost the same as a new iPhone. I’ve covered high drug prices as a reporter for years. What I discovered shocked even me.

    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.

    Local Reporting Network

    Helene’s Unheard Warnings

    As Hurricane Helene barreled toward Yancey County in North Carolina, communities along the Cane River in the Black Mountains were particularly vulnerable. But there were no evacuation orders, and few grasped what was coming.