Three Chicago Schools Get Expensive STEAM Makeovers. Can the Effort Reverse Declining Enrollment?
After years of allowing chronically underenrolled public schools to struggle, Chicago is spending millions to transform three into STEAM academies, hoping to draw families back to the neighborhood schools that many of them abandoned.
Reporting From the Midwest
Our team in the Midwest covers Illinois, Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota and Missouri. Based in Chicago, it grew out of our first regional publishing operation, which focused on people living and working in Illinois. Read more.
Trump’s Pick to Help Run the FBI Has a History of Prosecuting Influential Democrats
Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey’s targeting of Democrats is legally questionable, experts say, but it’s helped to further his career nationally: “The more outrageous you are, the more you are going to attract the attention of Donald Trump.”
A Doctor Challenged the Opinion of a Powerful Child Abuse Specialist. Then He Lost His Job.
A Minneapolis pediatrician said he felt pressured to “fall in line” with child abuse specialist Dr. Nancy Harper and her team. Then he was given a choice: resign or be fired.
This Doctor Specializes in Diagnosing Child Abuse. Some of Her Conclusions Have Been Called Into Question.
Dr. Nancy Harper is a leading child abuse pediatrician who testifies in trials across the Midwest. She’s claimed to have never incorrectly diagnosed a shaken baby syndrome case, but some judges and juries seem to disagree.
Midwest News Staff
- Midwest Editor
- George Papajohn
- Deputy Midwest Editor
- Steve Mills
- Reporters
- Anna Clark, Jodi S. Cohen, Vernal Coleman, Duaa Eldeib, Jeremy Kohler, Jessica Lussenhop, Megan O’Matz, Melissa Sanchez and Jennifer Smith Richards
Local Reporting Network Partners
ProPublica is supporting local and regional newsrooms as they work on important investigative projects affecting their communities. Some of our past and present partners in the region:
- Chicago Tribune
- Chicago, Illinois
- The Southern Illinoisan
- Carbondale, Illinois
- WBEZ
- Chicago, Illinois
- The Daily Herald
- Arlington Heights, Illinois
- The Business Journal
- Youngstown, Ohio
- Outlier Media
- Detroit, Michigan
Amid Rise of RFK Jr., Officials Waver on Drinking Water Fluoridation — Even in the State Where It Started
As federal agencies review their guidance on fluoridation and the nation’s top health official calls fluoride “industrial waste,” state and local governments are pulling back on the practice, upending a decadeslong public health success story.
“Just Let Me Die”: After Insurance Repeatedly Denied a Couple’s Claims, One Psychiatrist Was Their Last Hope
After a North Carolina man attempted suicide twice, his wife tried to get him help at an inpatient clinic. But their insurance provider refused to cover the treatment, deeming it “not medically necessary.”
The Floods Kept Coming. He Needed to Grow a Crop That Would Thrive in Water — or to Quit.
One Illinois man’s decadeslong fight to convert his fields into rice paddies demonstrates how it’s possible to bring diversity to the Corn Belt, but improbable so long as federal farm policy remains focused on soybeans and corn.
The Federal Farm Policy Trap: Why Some Farmers Are Stuck Raising Crops That No Longer Thrive
Some farmers keep growing in flood- and drought-prone fields because subsidies soften the losses, while federal programs meant to help them change course have been underfunded and mired in bureaucracy. Under Trump, those programs may weaken further.
100 Students in a School Meant for 1,000: Inside Chicago’s Refusal to Deal With Its Nearly Empty Schools
Declining school enrollment has left 30% of Chicago public schools at least half-empty. The city’s failure to address this problem has come at a high cost to the district — and its students.
Former Chicago Cop Pleads Guilty to Aggravated Battery of Two Female Colleagues
Eric Tabb is one of 14 Chicago officers accused of sexual assault in the past decade with at least one other alleged incident of sexual misconduct. The cases reveal how the department failed to vigorously investigate such allegations involving police.
Red State Voters Approved Progressive Measures. GOP Lawmakers Are Trying to Undermine Them.
In the wake of ballot measures that increased abortion access and improved sick leave for workers, a coordinated effort is unfolding across the country to restrict direct democracy — and shift power to partisan legislatures.
“The Federal Government Is Gone”: Under Trump, the Fight Against Extremist Violence Is Left Up to the States
As the White House redirects counterterrorism personnel and funds toward mass deportations, a state-level scramble is on to preserve efforts once supported by Washington. The result is a patchwork approach that leaves many areas uncovered.
Illinois Lawmakers Ban Police From Ticketing and Fining Students for Minor Infractions in School
The legislation comes after a ProPublica-Chicago Tribune investigation revealed that even though state law bans schools from fining students directly, districts skirt the law by calling on police to issue citations for violating local ordinances.
Help Us Report on Sexual Assault and Misconduct by the Chicago Police Department
We want to talk to people who have experienced sexual assault or sexual misconduct — which includes sexual harassment and unwanted, inappropriate touching or comments — by Chicago police officers, on or off duty.
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.
A Teacher Dragged a 6-Year-Old With Autism by His Ankle. Federal Civil Rights Officials Might Not Do Anything.
The Garrison School is part of a special education district that had students arrested at the highest rate in the country. It had pledged to change how it disciplines kids after a ProPublica-Chicago Tribune investigation and subsequent federal probe.
Millions of People Depend on the Great Lakes’ Water Supply. Trump Decimated the Lab Protecting It.
The Trump administration’s slashing of budgets and staff have Great Lakes scientists concerned that they have lost the ability to protect the public from toxic algal blooms, which can kill animals and sicken people.
The Untold Story of How Ed Martin Ghostwrote Online Attacks Against a Judge — and Still Became a Top Trump Prosecutor
Martin’s career is dotted with ethical and professional questions, records show. Some of the most serious ones about the interim U.S. attorney for D.C. have remained buried in court filings, overlooked by the press or never reported — until now.
White Supremacist Terrorgram Network Allegedly Inspired Teen Accused of Killing Parents and Plotting Trump Assassination
Court documents reveal that Nikita Casap’s alleged manifesto calling for Trump’s assassination cited multiple Terrorgram publications and urged people to read the writings of a network member who murdered two people outside an LGTBQ+ bar in 2022.
