Local Reporting Network Archive
Sears Helped Build a Giant Entertainment Arena. Now, a Suburb Pays Millions to Keep It Running.
A Chicago suburb is on the hook for millions to operate the Sears Centre arena — an amount that in some years accounts for as much as 14% of its budget.
Nearing Bankruptcy, Sears Claimed Fast-Food Workers and Baristas as Employees to Keep Tax Breaks
Politicians who helped draft Sears’ tax deals said they were designed to retain thousands of corporate jobs. Contractors, landscapers and temporary employees who worked in Sears’ buildings were never meant to help the company qualify for tax breaks.
The Sears Headquarters Deal Cost Taxpayers $500 Million. 30 Years Later, There’s Little to Show for It.
Was the multimillion dollar deal to keep Sears in Illinois worth it? An economic study commissioned by ProPublica and the Daily Herald suggests it wasn’t. Here’s why.
Sears’ Headquarters Was Supposed to Turn a Sleepy Suburb Into a Boomtown. It Never Happened.
To lure Sears into a Chicago suburb, officials crafted the largest tax break package ever awarded to a company in Illinois. It resulted in revenue shortfalls, disappearing jobs and unexpected tax burdens, a Daily Herald and ProPublica review showed.
How We Reported on the $500 Million Sears Deal
To investigate the Sears deal, ProPublica and the Daily Herald reviewed thousands of pages of records, court filings and internal Sears documents. We also commissioned an economic study to examine the long-term effect of the tax deals.
An Elementary School Repeatedly Dismissed Allegations Against Its Principal. Then, an FBI Agent Pretended to Be a 13-Year-Old Girl.
The principal for one of Alaska’s largest rural elementary schools, in a region with some of the highest sex crime rates in the country and a state with a history of failing to protect students, was allowed to remain on the job until the FBI got involved.
These Companies Got Millions in Tax Breaks to Bring Jobs to Youngstown. They Created Next to None.
When the American steel industry collapsed, few places were hit as hard as Youngstown, Ohio. Desperate for investment, officials awarded millions in property tax breaks to companies promising new jobs. But those efforts have largely failed to deliver.
Why a Struggling Rust Belt City Pinned Its Revival on a Self-Chilling Beverage Can
Welcome to Youngstown, Ohio, home of Chill-Can, the self-chilling beverage container you’ve probably never heard of. Officials have gambled millions of dollars and demolished a neighborhood for the product. Not one job has been created yet.
ProPublica and Local Reporting Partner Anchorage Daily News Win Pulitzer Prizes for National Reporting and Public Service
The two designations are ProPublica’s 6th Pulitzer win in 12 years and the first Pulitzer awarded to a Local Reporting Network partner.
These Workers Packed Lip Gloss and Pandora Charm Bracelets. They Were Labeled “Essential” but Didn’t Feel Safe.
PFS, which packs and ships jewelry and cosmetics, stayed open even as employees have tested positive for coronavirus. Some temporary workers say they quit over a lack of workplace protections, but agencies keep sending people to $9 an hour jobs.
This Rural Nursing Home Has Lost Nearly a Quarter of Its Residents to COVID-19. Now Its State Is Reopening.
Of Georgia’s more than 1,100 virus deaths, 12% are from long-term care facilities in a region that holds just 3% of the population. As the state reopens, staff know that risks of exposure will only increase.
Inside the Jail With One of the Country’s Largest Coronavirus Outbreaks
Correctional officers, health care staff and detainees describe how COVID-19 spread through Cook County Jail in Chicago as the sheriff came under fire for his handling of the crisis. “You’re working in a petri dish,” one staffer said.
This Hospital Has Only 8 Nurses. They Are Also the Janitors.
Eight nurses are the overwhelming majority of employees who remain at Haskell County Community Hospital in Oklahoma. The future of the 25-bed hospital, which has been whittled down to operating only an emergency room since 2019, is increasingly grim.
A School on Navajo Nation Stayed Open. Then People Started Showing Symptoms.
The federal government has released little information about the spread of coronavirus in Navajo schools. Now, some students and school staff are sick with symptoms consistent with COVID-19.
In This Remote Town, Spring Means Salmon — and Thousands of Fishermen From Coronavirus Hot Spots
A remote fishing region will soon be flooded with seasonal workers. The hospital is equipped for only four COVID-19 patients and its chief operating officer is out of a job after emailing a coronavirus conspiracy meme. Welcome to Dillingham, Alaska.
Intellectual Disability Service Providers Want to Protect Clients. The State Isn’t Telling Them How.
Bars, restaurants, nursing homes and assisted living facilities have closed or are practicing social distancing in Arizona. But group homes and other programs have received little guidance, putting people with intellectual disabilities at risk.
This VA Hospital Cited “Misleading” Data to Restrict Mask Use for Health Care Workers
Workers at a VA hospital in New Mexico have been told not to wear face masks in certain cases, even though earlier CDC guidance said masks can protect against spread of the coronavirus.
People With Intellectual Disabilities May Be Denied Lifesaving Care Under These Plans as Coronavirus Spreads
Disaster preparedness plans in Washington and Alabama say people with cognitive issues are a lower priority for lifesaving treatment. Disability advocacy organizations have asked the federal government to clarify the plans.
Medical Workers Treating Coronavirus Are Resorting to Homemade Masks
Wearing swim goggles for face protection and trash bags for surgical gowns, frontline healthcare workers have been forced to fend for themselves amid federal stockpile shortages.
