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Alec MacGillis

Alec MacGillis is a reporter for ProPublica. In recent years, his coverage has focused on gun violence, economic inequality and the pandemic-era schools crisis.

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Alec MacGillis is a reporter for ProPublica, focusing on gun violence, economic inequality and the pandemic-era schools crisis. MacGillis previously reported for The New Republic, The Washington Post and the Baltimore Sun. He won the 2016 Robin Toner Prize for Excellence in Political Reporting, the 2017 Polk Award for National Reporting and the 2017 Elijah Parish Lovejoy Award. His work has appeared in the New Yorker, The Atlantic, New York and The New York Times Magazine, among other publications.

A resident of Baltimore, MacGillis is the author of “The Cynic,” a 2014 biography of Sen. Mitch McConnell, and “Fulfillment: America in the Shadow of Amazon.”

Dollar Stores Have Become Magnets for Crime and Killing

Discount chains are thriving — while fostering violence and neglect in poor communities.

Coronavirus

How Germany Saved Its Workforce From Unemployment While Spending Less Per Person Than the U.S.

The pandemic has cost jobs around the world. Comparing people who lost the same position in the two countries reveals that the U.S. government is spending more on unemployment — but its citizens are getting less.

Coronavirus

Rent Is Still Due in Kushnerville

Government stimulus checks and a temporary ban on evictions are tiding over the suddenly jobless residents of housing complexes owned by Jared Kushner’s company. But what will happen when both soon run out?

Coronavirus

One Thing the Pandemic Hasn’t Stopped: Aggressive Medical-Debt Collection

U.S. hospitals are in the spotlight for being on the frontline of fighting the pandemic. But in the shadows, debt collection operations continue, often by the same institutions treating coronavirus patients, all while unemployment and uncertainty soar.

Coronavirus

What’s It Like on One of the Only University Campuses Still Open in the U.S.?

Liberty University president and Trump supporter Jerry Falwell Jr. caused a stir by keeping the campus of the evangelical university open. Now, a place known for banning premarital sex, alcohol, smoking and cursing is in a sense the most permissive.

“I Will Never Let Boeing Forget Her”

With the 737 MAX, Boeing put profits first and hundreds died. One grieving family is determined to hold the company accountable.

The Tragedy of Baltimore

Since Freddie Gray’s death in 2015, violent crime has spiked to levels unseen for a quarter century. How order collapsed in an American city.

Why the Perfect Red-State Democrat Lost

Taylor Sappington is exactly the kind of candidate his party should want in Ohio. But he couldn’t get union support.

How Struggling Dayton, Ohio, Reveals the Chasm Among American Cities

As a ProPublica/Frontline documentary shows, the economic and social gaps among cities are growing as dramatic as the gaps between urban and rural areas.

Kushner Companies Loses a Key Motion in Class Action Filed by Baltimore Tenants

A state judge declined to dismiss the suit filed by apartment residents who claim they were charged inappropriate and excessive fees.