Archive - Illinois
Landlords Evicted Maui Residents and Housed Wildfire Survivors for More Money. FEMA Didn’t Take Basic Steps to Stop It.
FEMA officials said they didn’t want their housing program for survivors of Maui’s 2023 wildfires to displace any residents. But they didn’t bar the agency’s contractors from leasing properties previously occupied by long-term tenants.
How Trump Plans to Seize the Power of the Purse From Congress
The second-term president likely will seek to cut off spending that lawmakers have already appropriated, setting off a constitutional struggle within the branches. If successful, he could wield the power to punish perceived foes.
Immigrants’ Resentment Over New Arrivals Helped Boost Trump’s Popularity With Latino Voters
Across the U.S., Latino immigrants who’ve been in the country a long time felt that asylum-seekers got preferential treatment. “Those of us who have been here for years get nothing,” said one woman from Mexico who has lived in Wisconsin for decades.
A Third Woman Died Under Texas’ Abortion Ban. Doctors Are Avoiding D&Cs and Reaching for Riskier Miscarriage Treatments.
Thirty-five-year-old Porsha Ngumezi’s case raises questions about how abortion bans are pressuring doctors to avoid standard care even in straightforward miscarriages.
Illinois’ AG Said It’s Illegal for Schools to Use Police to Ticket Students. But His Office Told Only One District.
Despite the attorney general’s declaration that Illinois schools should stop using police to discipline students, officers statewide continue to ticket kids with costly fines. One lawmaker will again pursue legislation to end the practice.
Segregation Academies in Mississippi Are Benefiting From Public Dollars, as They Did in the 1960s
ProPublica identified 20 schools in the state that likely opened as segregation academies and have received almost $10 million over the past six years from the state’s tax credit donation program.
How Lincare Cashed In on the Disastrous Recall of Philips Breathing Machines — at the Expense of Patients
Amid reports of thousands of injuries and hundreds of deaths, Lincare was supposed to supply the most ailing patients with new CPAP machines, but instead diverted the devices to new customers who would deliver greater profits for the company.
Cities Say They Store Property Taken From Homeless Encampments. People Rarely Get Their Things Back.
Storage programs are meant to protect people’s property rights and allow them to reclaim their possessions. But they rarely accomplish either objective, according to a ProPublica investigation of cities with the largest homeless populations.
Georgia Dismissed All Members of Maternal Mortality Committee After ProPublica Obtained Internal Details of Two Deaths
In a letter, the state’s public health commissioner said the action was taken because “confidential information provided to the Maternal Mortality Review Committee was inappropriately shared with outside individuals.”
In Five Years, Chicago Has Barely Made Progress on Its Court-Ordered Police Reforms. Here’s Why.
Chicago police agreed to judicial oversight in 2019. Since then, a series of mayors and police chiefs let efforts languish and no one in a position of oversight has pushed forcefully to keep the process on track, WTTW News and ProPublica found.
Texas Lawmakers Push for New Exceptions to State’s Strict Abortion Ban After the Deaths of Two Women
The new legislation, prompted by ProPublica’s reporting, comes after 111 Texas doctors signed a public letter urging that the ban be changed because it “does not allow us as medical professionals to do our jobs.”
Finding Focus: How a Visual Storyteller Gets the Right Image — and the Right Tone
Photography is a powerful journalistic tool, providing visual evidence and evoking emotions that urge us to understand the experiences of others. Here, ProPublica’s Sarahbeth Maney offers suggestions for aspiring visual storytellers.
How UnitedHealth’s Playbook for Limiting Mental Health Coverage Puts Countless Americans’ Treatment at Risk
United used an algorithm system to identify patients who it determined were getting too much therapy and then limited coverage. It was deemed illegal in three states, but similar practices persist due to a patchwork of regulation.
Segregation Academies Across the South Are Getting Millions in Taxpayer Dollars
North Carolina offers an especially telling window into what is happening across this once legally segregated region where legislatures are now rapidly expanding and adopting controversial voucher-style programs.
Microsoft's "Free" Plan to Upgrade Government Cybersecurity Was Designed to Box Out Competitors and Drive Profits, Insiders Say
When the White House welcomed Microsoft’s offer of $150 million in tech services, it helped the world’s largest software provider tighten its grip on federal business and freeze out competitors.
Senator Slams Gun Industry’s “Invasive and Dangerous” Sharing of Customer Data With Political Operatives
In response to a ProPublica investigation, Sen. Richard Blumenthal demanded answers from the gun industry about its “covert program” to collect information on gun owners for political purposes.
State Regulators Know Health Insurance Directories Are Full of Wrong Information. They’re Doing Little to Fix It.
State agencies say they’re holding insurers accountable for errors in provider directories. But ProPublica found that the actual actions taken so far do not match the regulators’ rhetoric.
Meet ProPublica’s 2024 Class of Emerging Reporters
These five student journalists will receive stipends and mentorship from ProPublica’s staff as they begin to navigate careers in investigative journalism.
