Archive
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.
A Half-Million Chicago Drivers Have Unpaid Sticker Tickets, but Only 11,400 Applied for the City’s Relief Program
Advocates for ticket reform say they’re disappointed the city didn’t do more to encourage Chicago motorists to sign up for its debt relief program. The city says more reforms are coming.
What It Looks Like When a Hospital We Investigated Erases $11.9 Million in Medical Debt
After our investigation, Methodist Le Bonheur hospital system erased thousands of patients’ medical debt. Many will no longer have to choose between those bills and their children or themselves. We want you to meet four of them.
Inside Documents Show How Amazon Chose Speed Over Safety in Building Its Delivery Network
Amazon ignored or dismissed safety concerns about its delivery network to prioritize speed and explosive growth, according to new documents and interviews with insiders.
Like Voldemort, Ransomware Is Too Scary to Be Named
Wary of alarming investors, companies victimized by ransomware attacks often tell the SEC that “malware” or a “security incident” disrupted their operations.
This Former Firefighter Has a Criminal Past. Now, He’s on the Board That Advises the State on Its EMS System.
Albert F. Peterson III has been disciplined by state health regulators, and he has a number of criminal charges. “I’m not that person anymore,” he said of his past.
We Found Villages That Hired Criminals as Cops. Now Officials Want It To Change.
The Anchorage Daily News and ProPublica found small Alaska cities have employed police whose criminal records should have prevented them from being hired. Now, the state board is working to ensure they meet basic hiring standards.
In Search of Solutions to Alaska’s Law Enforcement Crisis
We spent a year investigating how Alaska’s sexual violence crisis is compounded by a lack of law enforcement. Now, we’re looking at the system and how it can be fixed.
Alaska’s Law Enforcement Crisis Is a Public Emergency. Here’s How Experts Want to Fix It.
More than a third of Alaska communities have no local police of any kind. Criminals have been hired as cops in some remote villages. A federal emergency has been declared and millions of dollars are promised, but here’s what else experts recommend.
Doctors Prescribe More of a Drug If They Receive Money from a Pharma Company Tied to It
Pharmaceutical companies have paid doctors billions of dollars for consulting, promotional talks, meals and more. A new ProPublica analysis finds doctors who received payments linked to specific drugs prescribed more of those drugs.
We’ve Been Tracking Pharma Payments to Doctors For Nearly A Decade. We Just Made A Big Breakthrough.
For years, we’ve wondered whether a doctor who received a payment linked to a particular drug prescribed more of that drug. With our new analysis, we finally have the answer: yes.
How We Reconstructed the Flawed Navigation Controls Behind the Navy’s Worst Maritime Accident in 40 Years
To see the complex navigation system aboard the USS John S. McCain is to wonder how any amount of training would have been enough for sailors to have been confident using it.
The Navy Installed Touch-Screen Steering Systems to Save Money. 10 Sailors Paid With Their Lives.
When the USS John S. McCain crashed in the Pacific, the Navy blamed the destroyer’s crew for the loss of 10 sailors. The truth is the Navy’s flawed technology set the McCain up for disaster.
Schools Aren’t Supposed to Forcibly Restrain Children as Punishment. In Illinois, It Happened Repeatedly.
As Illinois moves to restrict the use of physical restraint in schools, records show the practice was often misused, leaving students and staff injured.
How We Reported This Story
We created the first-ever database of thousands of incidents of restraint and seclusion in Illinois.
My Home Is a Place That Feels Safe. For Too Many Families, That’s Not the Case.
Where we live becomes part of who we are. It affects our quality of life. That’s why I report on low-income housing.
TurboTax Tricked Customers Into Paying to File Taxes. Now Several States Are Investigating It.
ProPublica revealed that TurboTax maker Intuit charged millions of Americans for tax filing services they were eligible to receive for free. Now multiple state attorneys general have opened investigations into the company.
In “Cancer Alley,” Toxic Polluters Face Little Oversight From Environmental Regulators
Louisiana’s Department of Environmental Quality has been accused of protecting the chemical industry it regulates. The agency is facing cutbacks as new plants are slated for communities that already have some of the country’s most toxic air.
