Archive
Applications Are Open for More Spots in ProPublica’s Local Reporting Network
Three additional reporters working on accountability projects will be selected to join the network on April 1, bringing the total number of newsrooms and projects this year to 23.
California’s Jails Are in a Deadly Crisis. Here’s How Experts Suggest Fixing Them.
An investigation by McClatchy and ProPublica found unchecked violence and inhumane conditions in county jails, but the state’s oversight agency has no power to stop it. Experts say that needs to change.
How Trump’s Trade War Is Making Lobbyists Rich And Slamming Small Businesses
Washington’s influence industry, including former Trump officials and allies, has made big money helping companies get exemptions from tariffs — sometimes by undercutting small business owners like Mike Elrod.
Join Our Team in Illinois: We’re Looking for a Reporter
We’re looking for an ambitious, talented and collegial investigative reporter to join our team.
Inside a Training Course Where School Workers Learn How to Physically Restrain Students
While reporting on the use of physical restraint in schools, I wanted to understand if school workers properly used their training in the classroom. They often did not.
The IRS Tried to Crack Down on Rich People Using an “Abusive” Tax Deduction. It Hasn’t Gone So Well.
The tax agency, Justice Department and Congress have all taken aim at a much-abused deduction exploited by wealthy investors. Yet the crackdown is having minimal impact, costing the Treasury billions.
What We Found in Three Years of Documenting Hate: A Letter to Our Partners
As the project investigating hate in America comes to an end, we look back at reporting highlights and the impact of our work.
IRS Reforms Free File Program, Drops Agreement Not to Compete With TurboTax
The changes come after ProPublica’s reporting showed how TurboTax maker Intuit tricked customers into paying for tax prep they could have gotten for free.
What Happens When Sheriffs Release Violent Offenders to Avoid Paying Their Medical Bills
Sheriffs regularly release sick and injured inmates to avoid paying their hospital bills. But in Alabama, some defendants charged with violent offenses like murder have been let out. And some have gone on to commit new crimes.
The Family Wanted a Do Not Resuscitate Order. The Doctors Didn’t.
Andy Jurtschenko told his children that he didn’t want to be a burden on them. But after he suffered brain damage during a heart transplant at a New Jersey hospital, his medical team deflected their request for a DNR.
Our Journalists Stopped Calling People Hard-to-Reach and Listened to Them. Here’s What Worked.
We researched why people were reluctant to talk about medical debt, and designed an outreach strategy based on what we learned.
Faulty Equipment, Lapsed Training, Repeated Warnings: How a Preventable Disaster Killed Six Marines
Marine commanders did not act on dozens of pleas for additional manpower, machinery and time. When a training exercise ended in death, leadership blamed the very men they had neglected.
Adrift: How the Marine Corps Failed Squadron 242
Falling from 15,000 feet, two Marines hit the Pacific Ocean at 800 feet per minute. They were bruised and cold, their rescue equipment failed and help was hours away.
The Men Who Lost Their Lives When Their Tanker Went Down in a Doomed Military Training Flight
There were five Marines inside the KC-130J Hercules fuel tanker high above the Pacific when it went down. Here are brief profiles of the lost tanker crew.
Chicago Psychiatric Hospital Will Lose Federal Money, and Its License Is Threatened After Allegations of Abuse
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services terminated an agreement and accompanying federal funding for Chicago Lakeshore Hospital, and the Illinois Department of Public Health is moving forward with plans to revoke the facility’s license.
California Gave Billions in Taxpayer Dollars to Improve Jails. But That’s Not How These Sheriffs Are Spending It.
California has given counties more than $8 billion to handle thousands of new inmates. But lax spending rules and limited scrutiny have allowed some sheriffs to use that money for other things, which may violate state law.
How Oil Companies Avoided Environmental Accountability After 10.8 Million Gallons Spilled
Louisiana still hasn’t finished investigating 540 oil spills after Hurricane Katrina. The state is likely leaving millions of dollars in remediation fines on the table — money that environmental groups say they need as storms get stronger.
The Best of Us: ProPublica Illinois 2019
In our second(ish) year of existence, here’s a selection of our work that, as a whole, best shows who we are as a newsroom, what we do and why we do it.
How Some Sheriffs Force Their Inmates Into Medical Debt
Sheriffs in multiple Alabama counties refuse to pay for some of their jail inmates’ health care needs. The inmates are personally billed, and their bills can end up with collection agencies while they are still behind bars, wrecking their credit.
How a Police Officer in Iowa Helped Protect an Alaskan Police Force — From Thousands of Miles Away
He read our story about Alaska’s policing problems and began raising money to send supplies to the small Police Department in Savoonga. His efforts may save his fellow officers’ lives.
