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What Americans Owe and Why

156 stories published since 2015

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

by Melissa Sanchez,

Chicago Mayor Proposes Reforms That Would Make Life Easier for Thousands of Black and Low-Income Drivers

by Melissa Sanchez, ProPublica Illinois, and Elliott Ramos, WBEZ Chicago,

Hate Getting Parking Tickets in Chicago? Here’s How You Can Start Change-Making Conversations About the City’s Ticketing System.

by Derrick Clifton,

Nonprofit Christian Hospital Suspends Debt Collection Lawsuits Amid Furor Over Suing Its Own Employees

by Wendi C. Thomas, MLK50: Justice Through Journalism,

Chicago Can’t Hold Impounded Vehicles After Drivers File for Bankruptcy, Court Says

by Melissa Sanchez,

Millionaire CEO of Nonprofit Hospital That Sues the Poor Promises Review of Policies

by Wendi C. Thomas, MLK50: Justice Through Journalism,

Have You Been Sued by a Hospital, Doctor or Other Memphis Institution? Tell Us About It.

by Beena Raghavendran, ProPublica, and Wendi C. Thomas, MLK50: Justice Through Journalism,

Low-Wage Workers Are Being Sued for Unpaid Medical Bills by a Nonprofit Christian Hospital That Employs Them

by Wendi C. Thomas, MLK50: Justice Through Journalism,

The Nonprofit Hospital That Makes Millions, Owns a Collection Agency and Relentlessly Sues the Poor

by Wendi C. Thomas, MLK50: Justice Through Journalism,

How We Tallied Medical Debt Lawsuits and Wage Garnishments in Memphis

by Wendi C. Thomas, MLK50: Justice Through Journalism, and Lylla Younes and Doris Burke, ProPublica,

This Memphis Hospital System Flouts IRS Rules by Not Publicly Posting Financial Assistance Policies

by Wendi C. Thomas, MLK50: Justice Through Journalism,

As Illinois Expands Gambling, It Will Also Try to Determine How Many Gambling Addicts It Has

by Dan Mihalopoulos, WBEZ Chicago, and Jason Grotto, ProPublica Illinois,

Anatomy of the Gambling Bill

by Jason Grotto and David Eads,

Illinois Is Poised to Become the Gambling Capital of the Midwest

by Jason Grotto, ProPublica Illinois, and Dan Mihalopoulos, WBEZ Chicago,

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

by Logan Jaffe,

Riverboat Gambling Eyes a Move to Dry Land, Sports Teams Backing Sports Betting and Other Quiet Expansions

by Derrick Clifton,

Many People are Too Broke for Bankruptcy. A New Report Suggests Some Fixes.

by Paul Kiel,

The Missing Millions: Some States Are Still Waiting for the Gambling Windfall

by Derrick Clifton,

Legalized Betting Could Change How We Watch Sports

by Derrick Clifton,

The Ticket Trap: Front to Back

by David Eads,

How Has the “Crack Cocaine of Gambling” Affected Illinois? The State Hasn’t Bothered to Check.

by Jason Grotto and Sandhya Kambhampati, ProPublica Illinois, and Dan Mihalopoulos, WBEZ Chicago,

Everybody in Chicago’s Mayor’s Race Says They Want Ticket Reform

by Melissa Sanchez, ProPublica, and Elliott Ramos, WBEZ Chicago,

How Illinois Bet on Video Gambling and Lost

by Jason Grotto and Sandhya Kambhampati, ProPublica, and Dan Mihalopoulos, WBEZ Chicago,

Do You Know Someone Struggling With Video Gambling? ​Help Us Understand Video Slot and Poker Addiction in Illinois.

by Logan Jaffe,

How We Analyzed Video Gambling in Illinois

by Sandhya Kambhampati and Jason Grotto,

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

by Derrick Clifton,

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

by David Eads,

The Ticket Trap

by David Eads and Melissa Sanchez,

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

by Helga Salinas,

Chicago Task Force Will Take on Ticket and Debt Collection Reform

by Melissa Sanchez, ProPublica, and Elliott Ramos, WBEZ Chicago,

Chicago Throws Out 23,000 Duplicate Tickets Issued Since 1992 to Motorists Who Didn’t Have Vehicle Stickers

by Melissa Sanchez, ProPublica, and Elliott Ramos, WBEZ Chicago,

Chicago City Council Approves Modest First Reforms on Ticketing and Debt

by Melissa Sanchez, ProPublica, and Elliott Ramos, WBEZ Chicago,

Top Chicago Alderman Adds to Growing Momentum for Ticket and Debt Reform

by Melissa Sanchez, ProPublica, and Elliott Ramos, WBEZ Chicago,

Chicago Considers Wiping Away Old Ticket Debt for Motorists Who File for Chapter 7 Bankruptcy

by Melissa Sanchez,

Chicago Alderman Proposes Reining in Ticket Penalties That Drove Thousands of Black Motorists Into Debt

by Melissa Sanchez, ProPublica, and Elliott Ramos, WBEZ Chicago,

Chicago City Clerk Calls for Reforms of Vehicle Sticker Program

by Melissa Sanchez, ProPublica, and Elliott Ramos, WBEZ Chicago,

Download Chicago’s Parking Ticket Data Yourself

by Katlyn Alo and Melissa Sanchez,

What’s the City of Chicago Doing About Its Problem With Duplicate Sticker Tickets?

by Melissa Sanchez, ProPublica, and Elliott Ramos, WBEZ Chicago,

The “Terrible” Consequences of Chicago’s Ticketing Policies

by Helga Salinas,

Chicago Hiked the Cost of Vehicle City Sticker Violations to Boost Revenue. But It’s Driven More Low-Income, Black Motorists Into Debt.

by Melissa Sanchez, ProPublica, and Elliott Ramos, WBEZ Chicago,

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

by Melissa Sanchez, ProPublica, and Elliott Ramos, WBEZ Chicago,

Chicago Begins To Rethink How Bankruptcy Lawyers Get Paid

by Melissa Sanchez,

Some States No Longer Suspend Driver’s Licenses for Unpaid Fines. Will Illinois Join Them?

by Melissa Sanchez,

She Owed $102,158.40 in Unpaid Tickets, but She’s Not in the Story

by Melissa Sanchez,

How Chicago Ticket Debt Sends Black Motorists Into Bankruptcy

by Melissa Sanchez and Sandhya Kambhampati,

The Many Roads to Bankruptcy

by Melissa Sanchez,

Without Fanfare, Equifax Makes Bankruptcy Change That Affects Hundreds of Thousands

by Paul Kiel,

Chicago’s Bankruptcy Boom

by Paul Kiel and Hannah Fresques,

Bankruptcy: What’s the Difference Between Chapter 7 and Chapter 13?

by Paul Kiel,

Data Analysis: Bankruptcy and Race in America

by Paul Kiel and Hannah Fresques,

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.

Most Read

    The USDA Wouldn’t Let Her Give Up Her House When She Couldn’t Pay Her Mortgage. Instead, It Crushed Her With Debt.

    The USDA failed to follow its own guidance for a rural mortgage program, taking years to foreclose on delinquent loans. As a result, 55 Maine borrowers racked up, on average, $110,000 in additional debt before the agency moved to take the homes.

    by Sawyer Loftus, Bangor Daily News,

    Local Reporting Network

    He Came to the U.S. to Support His Sick Child. He Was Detained. Then He Disappeared.

    Like most of the more than 230 Venezuelan men deported to a Salvadoran prison, José Manuel Ramos Bastidas had followed U.S. immigration rules. Then Trump rewrote them.

    by Melissa Sanchez, ProPublica; Perla Trevizo, ProPublica and The Texas Tribune; Mica Rosenberg and Jeff Ernsthausen, ProPublica; Ronna Rísquez, Alianza Rebelde Investiga; and Adrián González, Cazadores de Fake News,

    The Most Interesting Email I Ever Received: Remembering the Incredible Life of DIY Geneticist Jill Viles

    In 2013, ProPublica reporter David Epstein was contacted by a woman with a wild story and a batch of photos she believed were clues to the mystery of her condition. Turns out, she was right.

    by David Epstein,

    Trump Administration Prepares to Drop Seven Major Housing Discrimination Cases

    Federal housing officials spent years investigating cities from Chicago to Memphis to Corpus Christi for putting industrial plants and unwanted facilities in poor, nonwhite neighborhoods. Now, under Trump, the agency plans to drop the cases.

    by Jesse Coburn,

    RFK Jr. Wants to Change a Program That Stopped Vaccine Makers From Leaving the U.S. Market. They Could Flee Again.

    The Vaccine Injury Compensation Program stabilizes the nation’s childhood immunization system while paying those harmed by rare side effects. If the program topples, it could threaten access to vaccines.

    by Patricia Callahan,