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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.

Check out the archive of newsletters on this page. If you really like something we’re doing on here — or really don’t — or if you have ideas that can help shape our newsletter, let us know. We’re all ears.

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124 stories published since 2017

How to Clean Up the “Hot Mess” That Is Chicago’s Ticketing and Debt Collection Practices — According to a City Task Force

Let’s Break Down Some Numbers in Illinois’ New Gambling Expansion Bill

Of Course This Happened in Illinois. Why Wouldn’t It?

Losing Aldermanic Privilege, and How Unprepared Illinois Is for the Next Recession

Three Ways Chicago’s City Council Keeps Its Committees Out of the Public Eye

We Stick With Our Stories Until We See Results

Zero Tolerance: Inside the Secretive Network of Immigrant Youth Shelters in Illinois

Chicago in a Single Tweet, and News From Elections Around the State

Legalized Betting Could Change How We Watch Sports

The University of Illinois Withheld Public Records for Months. Guess What They Showed?

5 Things You Need to Know About the Closing of Immigrant Youth Shelters in Illinois

When Illinois Laws Meet Real People

Feeling Trapped by Vehicle Tickets? Let’s Talk About It — Live

Happy Holidays From ProPublica Illinois

How to Use the Ticket Trap, Our New Database That Lets You Explore How Chicago Tickets Motorists and Collects Debt

We Want to Hear About Your Experiences With Vehicle Tickets, So We Created a Facebook Group

What Chicago Voters Can Look Forward to in a Very Crowded Mayoral Election

Here’s What We’ve Been Reading This Week

What We’re Thankful For: Being Able to Make a Difference in Illinois

Get Out of Jail for a Price: The First Investigation From Our Illinois Reporting Project

Reporting on the Layers of Potential Harm for Children in Psychiatric Hospitals

What We Learned From Letting a Mother and Her Son Tell Their Own Story

Explore Racial Disparities in Hundreds of Illinois Schools and Districts

It’s Our Birthday

Illinoisans on Illinois: Tips and Tales From Around the State

Southbound on the Amtrak Saluki, and Getting to Know Illinois

What More Can We Learn From Chicago Ticket Data?

Crossing the Divide: The Challenges and Rewards of Working in Spanish-Language Media

Did Three Immigrant Teens Run Away From a Chicago Shelter Last Month?

Why Trump Should Have Read “Ask ProPublica Illinois” Before He Tweeted

Looking at the Archives From the Time of the 1968 Democratic National Convention in Chicago and Seeing Familiar Themes

“Do Something, Please,” Doctors Testify at DCFS Hearing

When Mapping the Many Disparities in Chicago, It Can Feel Like It’s the Same Story Being Told

We’re Writing About Problems at the Immigrant Shelters Housing Children and Teens — in English and Español

The “Terrible” Consequences of Chicago’s Ticketing Policies

Download the Gang Databases We Got From Illinois State Police, Cook County Sheriff’s Office and Chicago Police Department

All the Ways You Can Help Our Reporting Right Now

How ProPublica Illinois and WBEZ Worked Together to Find Thousands of Duplicate Tickets in Chicago

I Went in Search of Abandoned African-American Cemeteries

Who Are You, Readers? And Do You Trust Us?

Understand “Variety.” Listen to Young People. Pay Attention to Changing Community Reputations.

Where Is “Home” for Children in State Custody?

About That Hate Crime at a Western Illinois Cemetery

How Journalist Susie Cagle’s Illustrations Help Us “Follow The Money”

You’re Entitled to Government Transparency

Takeaways From Our Urbana-Champaign Free Street Theater Journalism Workshop

Those Questions You’ve Been Asking About Journalism? We Ask Them, Too.

How We Found Sources for Our Research Misconduct Story — And How You Can Help Us Find More

Chicago’s Gang Database Isn’t Just About Gangs

Six Things We’ve Learned in Six Months

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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    A Racist Harvard Scientist Commissioned Photos of Enslaved People. One Possible Descendant Wants to Reclaim Their Story.

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