Archive - Midwest

Illinois Continued to Seclude and Restrain Students This Year Even Though Many Schools Were Closed

Even during the coronavirus pandemic with limited in-person learning, staff at Illinois schools secluded and restrained students more than 15,000 times during the 2020-21 school year, new data shows.

Missouri Lawmakers Approve Reforms to Controversial Clean-Energy Loan Program

Lawmakers approve consumer protections and oversight to PACE loans that have disproportionately burdened borrowers in Black neighborhoods.

Una crisis de cánceres sin diagnosticar está surgiendo en el segundo año de la pandemia

Una trabajadora de una fábrica no quiso pedir baja por enfermedad ni contagiarse de COVD-19, así que intentó ignorar el dolor. Ahora tiene cáncer en estado 4.

Clean-Energy Loans Trapped Black Homeowners in Debt. The Legislature Just Started Trying to Fix the Problem.

Lawmakers in Missouri are exploring ways to rein in the state’s clean-energy loan program, which ProPublica found disproportionately harms Black homeowners.

A Crisis of Undiagnosed Cancers Is Emerging in the Pandemic’s Second Year

A factory worker didn’t want to call in sick or catch COVID-19, so she tried to ignore the pain. Now she has stage 4 cancer.

The Child Care Industry Was Collapsing. Mrs. Jackie Bet Everything on an Impossible Dream to Save It.

Jackie Thomas was $29,134 in debt and in trouble with state regulators. She hadn’t slept in days. If a judge ruled against her, she’d fail the mothers who could only keep their jobs thanks to the 24-hour child care she offered.

State-Supported “Clean Energy” Loans Are Putting Borrowers at Risk of Losing Their Homes

Dozens of Missouri homeowners who used PACE loans to fix up their houses ended up trapped in debt and could soon see their homes sold at auction.

Barreras falsas: estas cosas no deberían impedirle vacunarse contra COVID-19

Se supone que las vacunas contra el coronavirus son gratuitas y están disponibles para todos en Estados Unidos, independientemente de su seguro o de su situación migratoria. Para algunos, no ha sido así.

False Barriers: These Things Should Not Prevent You From Getting a COVID Vaccine

Vaccinations for the coronavirus are supposed to be free and available to all Americans regardless of insurance or immigration status. For some, that isn’t how it has been playing out. Here are common false barriers to look out for.

The City That Pinned Its Renewal on a Self-Chilling Beverage Can Wants Its Money Back

A company promised to create 237 jobs making the first ever self-chilling beverage can, winning big public subsidies in return. Four years later, there are no jobs and you still put your beer in the fridge. The city may demand the subsidies back.

The Murder Chicago Didn’t Want to Solve

In 1963, a Black politician named Ben Lewis was shot to death in Chicago. Clues suggest the murder was a professional hit. Decades later, it remains no accident authorities never solved the crime.

Why Opening Restaurants Is Exactly What the Coronavirus Wants Us to Do

Governors continue to open indoor dining and other activities before vaccinations become widespread. Experts warn this could create superspreading playgrounds for dangerous variants and squander our best shot at getting the pandemic under control.

After Hundreds of Meatpacking Workers Died From COVID-19, Congress Wants Answers

A key House subcommittee cited reports by ProPublica and other news outlets in launching an investigation into how the country’s meatpacking companies handled the pandemic, which has killed hundreds of workers to date.

Has Your Family Paid Fees or Fines to a Juvenile Justice System?

Has your family faced financial hardship as a result of a delinquency case? We’d like to hear from you.

The Unfinished Business of Flint’s Water Crisis

Criminal charges and a class-action settlement may seem like the last chapter in Flint’s story, but many of the most important reforms at the root of the city’s water crisis remain undone.

How Many Vaccine Shots Go to Waste? Several States Aren’t Counting.

The CDC says health facilities should report unused and spoiled COVID-19 vaccines, but many are failing to do so. At a time when there aren’t enough shots to meet demand, significant numbers may be going in the trash.

Thousands of Illinois Drivers Would Get Their Licenses Back Under a Criminal Justice Reform Bill

If Gov. J.B. Pritzker signs the measure that lawmakers passed this week, motorists will no longer lose their licenses for unpaid red-light and speed camera tickets.

Bill Banning Locked Seclusion and Face-Down Restraints in Illinois Schools Stalls as Lawmakers Run Out of Time

Illinois lawmakers pledge to try again to prohibit what one called “horrific and barbaric” methods of controlling students.

She Photographed Police Abuse at a 2014 BLM March Then Watched the Image Go Viral During Capitol Riot

The much-shared pairing of photojournalist Natalie Keyssar’s image of a peaceful Black man being assaulted against a photo of white rioters walking free in the Capitol “represents the rage and sadness I feel.”

Follow ProPublica

Latest Stories from ProPublica