Archive - Midwest
Purdue President Condemns Tactics Used to Censor Chinese Students on U.S. Campuses
After a ProPublica story showed how China is censoring dissenting students on U.S. campuses, including Purdue, university President Mitch Daniels vowed to sanction students who report classmates for exercising free speech.
When Home Is a Toxic Hot Spot
More than a thousand people talked to ProPublica about living in hot spots for cancer-causing air pollution. Most never got a warning from the EPA. They are rallying neighbors, packing civic meetings and signing petitions for reform.
Legislator Pushes for Law Requiring Illinois Hospitals to Report All Assaults to Police
In response to a ProPublica investigation, Illinois State Sen. Julie Morrison said she will propose a law mandating that hospitals notify police about suspected patient-on-patient sexual assaults.
Storm Drains Keep Swallowing People During Floods
An alarming number of people (especially children) have drowned after disappearing into storm drains during floods. The deadly problem should be easy for federal, state and local government agencies to fix, but tragedy strikes again and again.
A Patient in a Psychiatric Ward Was Seen on Video Possibly Being Sexually Assaulted. No One Reported It.
Roseland Community Hospital in Chicago kept quiet about a possible sexual assault of one patient by another in its psychiatric unit. Only after ProPublica asked questions did Illinois’ public health officials alert law enforcement.
Lawmakers Call for Immediate Action at Chicago Shelter Housing Afghan Children
After ProPublica’s report that Afghan children at a Chicago shelter were hurting themselves, Sen. Dick Durbin asked federal officials to investigate. In the meantime, Heartland Alliance, the facility’s operator, now has interpreters in its shelters.
Dozens of Traumatized Afghan Kids Struggle Inside a Shelter That’s Ill-Equipped to Care for Them
Some Afghan children at a Chicago shelter have hurt themselves or others, leaving workers overwhelmed. Employees say the shelter has never experienced this level of chaos and isn’t equipped to provide kids with services they need.
Conservationists See Rare Nature Sanctuaries. Black Farmers See a Legacy Bought Out From Under Them.
In Pembroke, the well-intended efforts of mostly white nature conservationists overlook one thing: The township’s Black farming community has never fully supported them. Now, a generations-old way of life is threatened by the push for conservation.
The View From Here: Rethinking What Local News Can and Should Be
In a series of live virtual events, ProPublica asked news leaders from Phoenix, Atlanta and Detroit to share their thoughts about the local news ecosystem in their communities. From trends to challenges, here’s what they had to say.
We’re Losing Our Humanity, and the Pandemic Is to Blame
“What the hell is happening? I feel like we are living on another planet. I don’t recognize anyone anymore.”
“In Those Pictures, You Can See the Community”
In East and West Garfield Park, Chicago, we sought out residents’ archives to shed light on a neighborhood the city neglected.
Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot Proposes Further Traffic Ticket Reforms to Help Low-Income Motorists
In 2018, ProPublica reported on how vehicle tickets in Chicago disproportionately harm low-income, Black residents. This latest set of reforms proposes lowering ticket costs and providing debt relief for low-income residents.
He Beat Her Repeatedly. Family Court Tried to Give Him Joint Custody of Their Children.
Wisconsin is considered a leader in the movement to treat fathers as equal caregivers when parents separate. Shared parenting is usually better for children — but the model fails for many women forced to co-parent with their abusers.
Heeding Steve Bannon’s Call, Election Deniers Organize to Seize Control of the GOP — and Reshape America’s Elections
The stolen election myth inspired thousands of Trump supporters to take over the Republican Party at the local level, exerting more partisan influence on how elections are run.
La agencia de bienestar infantil de Illinois les sigue fallando a las familias hispanohablantes
Dos años después de una investigación de ProPublica, el Departamento de Servicios para Niños y Familias de Illinois todavía no está cumpliendo con una orden de una corte federal para mejorar el servicio a las familias hispanohablantes.
Illinois’ Child Welfare Agency Continues to Fail Spanish-Speaking Families
Two years after a ProPublica investigation, the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services still is not complying with a federal court order to better serve Spanish-speaking families.
Secret IRS Files Reveal How Much the Ultrawealthy Gained by Shaping Trump’s “Big, Beautiful Tax Cut”
Billionaire business owners deployed lobbyists to make sure Trump’s 2017 tax bill was tailored to their benefit. Confidential IRS records show the windfall that followed.
Michigan Supreme Court Limits Use of Restraints on Juveniles
A year after Grace’s story drew national attention when she was jailed for not doing her online schoolwork, outcry over the shackling of young people in court has resulted in a ban on the practice unless there’s a risk of physical harm or flight.
GOP Legislators in Missouri Oppose Vaccine Efforts as State Becomes COVID Hotspot
Representative Bill Kidd joked that he didn’t get a vaccine because he’s a Republican. Now he has COVID.
A Postal Worker Begged for Stronger COVID-19 Protections. She Ended Up Spending Six Weeks in the Hospital.
The limited response to postal workers’ repeated appeals for help provides a window into the failures of two federal agencies: the Postal Service, which is one of the country’s largest employers, and OSHA, which is supposed to protect workers.
