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Politics

Holding Political Actors Accountable

395 stories published since 2016

How Fundraisers Convinced Conservatives to Donate $10 Million — Then Kept Almost All of It.

by Derek Willis, ProPublica, and Maggie Severns, Politico,

Political Operatives Got Donors to Give Millions. The Money Wasn’t Used As Promised. Here’s How They Did It.

by Derek Willis and Moiz Syed,

The Questions Mueller Didn’t Ask

by Eric Umansky,

Federal Election Agency, Hungry for Funds, Now Pays for Officials to Get to Office

by Jessica Huseman,

Follow the 2020 Money Trail

by Derek Willis,

Meet the Congressman Defending Questionable Tax Breaks for a Company Connected to His Rich Brother

by Susan Schmidt, special to ProPublica,

A Huge Tax Break Went to a Politically Connected Company in New Jersey Despite Red Flags

by Jeff Pillets and Nancy Solomon, WNYC, and Alex Mierjeski, ProPublica,

More Instances of Fraud and Mismanagement Over New Jersey Tax Incentives Surface in New Report

by Jeff Pillets and Nancy Solomon, WNYC,

The Tax Break Application Had a False Answer. Now the State Has Put the Break on Hold.

by Nancy Solomon, WNYC, and Jeff Pillets,

Illinois Video Gambling Tax Hike Will Be Decided by Lawmakers With Financial Ties to the Industry

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

Emails Show How Much Pull Political Bosses Had Over State Tax Breaks

by Nancy Solomon and Jeff Pillets, WNYC,

New York City’s Early Voting Plan Will Favor White, Affluent Voters, Advocacy Groups Say

by Jessica Huseman,

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

by Logan Jaffe,

At Chicago’s City Council, Committees Are Used to Reward Political Favors and Fund Patronage

by Mick Dumke,

New Jersey Task Force Examines Tax Breaks for George Norcross Projects

by Nancy Solomon, WNYC, and Jeff Pillets,

How Companies and Allies of One Powerful Democrat Got $1.1 Billion in Tax Breaks

by Nancy Solomon, WNYC, and Jeff Pillets,

Have a Complaint About a South Carolina Judge? Help Us Investigate.

by Joseph Cranney, The Post and Courier, and Karim Doumar, ProPublica,

South Carolina: The State Where Judges Rule Themselves in Secret

by Joseph Cranney, The Post and Courier,

Kentucky’s Secretary of State Turns Up Heat in Fight With Elections Board

by Jessica Huseman, ProPublica, and Daniel Desrochers, Lexington Herald-Leader,

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

by Logan Jaffe,

Trump, All About Winning, Sees Losses in Court Pile Up

by Joe Sexton,

Promises, Tamales and Even Truth-Telling: Chicago’s Mayoral Race Hits the Final Stretch

by Mick Dumke,

VA’s Private Care Program Headed for Tech Trouble, Review Finds

by Isaac Arnsdorf,

Kentucky Legislature Passes Bill Stripping Grimes of Authority Over State Board of Elections

by Jessica Huseman,

Senators Urge IRS to Focus on Big-Time Tax Cheats, Citing ProPublica Stories

by Paul Kiel and Jesse Eisinger,

Chicago’s Election Signals Break from the Past — in Wards and at City Hall

by Mick Dumke,

At Chicago City Hall, the Legislative Branch Rarely Does Much Legislating

by Mick Dumke,

Cook County Takes Steps to Erase Its Regional Gang Database

by Mick Dumke,

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,

Trump Inauguration Chief Tom Barrack’s “Rules for Success” — “Trump, Inc.” Podcast

by Justin Elliott, ProPublica, and Ilya Marritz, WNYC,

The VA Is Paying for a Top Official’s Cross-Country Commute

by Isaac Arnsdorf,

Former Trump Officials Are Supposed to Avoid Lobbying. Except 33 Haven’t.

by Derek Kravitz for ProPublica,

New Evidence Emerges of Possible Wrongdoing by Trump Inaugural Committee

by Justin Elliott, ProPublica, and Ilya Marritz, WNYC,

The Curious Case of a Kentucky Cybersecurity Contract

by Jessica Huseman, ProPublica, and Daniel Desrochers, Lexington Herald-Leader,

A Power Grab in Kentucky Sparks a Revolt

by Jessica Huseman, ProPublica, and Daniel Desrochers, Lexington Herald-Leader,

A Onetime Rising Democratic Star Faces Questions About Voter Privacy

by Jessica Huseman, ProPublica, and Daniel Desrochers, Lexington Herald-Leader,

How Illinois Bet on Video Gambling and Lost

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

Will Pelosi Open the Floor to Bipartisan Ideas?

by Derek Willis,

What We Learned From Collecting 100,000 Targeted Facebook Ads

by Jeremy B. Merrill,

Updated: The Hidden Money Funding the Midterms

by Derek Willis, ProPublica, and Maggie Severns, Politico,

VA Was “Taken Advantage Of” by Paying Billions in Fees, Secretary Says

by Isaac Arnsdorf,

The Laquan McDonald Shooting Keeps Exposing Critical Flaws in Illinois’ Freedom of Information Act

by Mick Dumke,

In Louisiana, More Than a Third of Ex-Lawmakers Continue to Try to Influence Their Old Colleagues

by Andrea Gallo, The Times-Picayune | The Advocate,

Elkhart’s Mayor Says He Won’t Run for Re-election, Amid Revelations of Misconduct in the Police Ranks

by Christian Sheckler, South Bend Tribune, and Ken Armstrong, ProPublica,

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

by Lakeidra Chavis,

How to Get Your Lawmakers to Listen

by Cynthia Gordy Giwa,

Capitol Words

by Matthew Gerring, ProPublica, and George Bixby, Will Horning, Jeiran Jahani, Rick Mangi, Dmitri Rappaport, and Albert Toledo, Chartbeat,

Why the Perfect Red-State Democrat Lost

by Alec MacGillis,

The Election Is Over. And Now the Next Elections Begin.

by Mick Dumke,

Aging Machines, Crowds, Humidity: Problems at the Polls Were Mundane but Widespread

by Ian MacDougall, Jessica Huseman, and Isaac Arnsdorf,