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Duaa Eldeib

Duaa Eldeib is a reporter at ProPublica covering health care and racial inequity.

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Duaa Eldeib is a reporter at ProPublica whose work has examined the systemic failures that led to a stillbirth crisis in the U.S., the fatal consequences of delaying care during the pandemic and the plight of hundreds of children trapped in psychiatric hospitals. She was part of a team of reporters who were among the first in the country to reveal the disproportionate and devastating effects of COVID-19 on Black Americans and collaborated with colleagues to cover the Trump administration’s Zero Tolerance policy for immigrants. Eldeib’s reporting has sparked legislative hearings and government reform and has led to the release of young men incarcerated as juveniles then later sent to adult prison for “minor” offenses. Her series on stillbirths was a finalist for the 2023 Pulitzer Prize in Explanatory Reporting.

Before joining ProPublica, Eldeib was a reporter at the Chicago Tribune, where she investigated police misuse of polygraphs in cases leading to wrongful convictions. Her stories with two colleagues uncovering children being assaulted and sexually abused at taxpayer-funded residential treatment centers was a finalist for the 2015 Pulitzer Prize in Investigative Reporting. Eldeib’s reporting also led to the exoneration of a mother who was wrongly convicted of murdering her son. She has won numerous other national and local awards and was a 2014 finalist for the Livingston Award for Young Journalists. Before joining the Tribune, Eldeib reported for the Daily Southtown, where she wrote stories exposing theft and corruption at a regional education office, which led to the arrest of the superintendent and spurred lawmakers to abolish the office.

Eldeib graduated from the University of Missouri with bachelor’s degrees in journalism and psychology and received a master’s degree in public policy from Northwestern University. She is based in Chicago

Stuck Kids

Federal Judge Puts Independent Review of Troubled Psychiatric Hospital on Hold

With Aurora Chicago Lakeshore Hospital set to lose government funding, and children in state care no longer there, judge concludes investigation unnecessary.

Stuck Kids

A Chicago Psychiatric Hospital Will Lose Federal Funding Over Safety and Abuse Issues Involving Children in State Care

At the same time, a federal judge said he will appoint a monitor to oversee the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services. “The stakes cannot be higher,” the judge said.

Stuck Kids

9-Year-Old Alleges Staff Member at Chicago Psychiatric Hospital Choked and Restrained Her

The report brings the number of investigations by Illinois’ child welfare agency into allegations of abuse or neglect at Aurora Chicago Lakeshore Hospital to 19 since January.

Stuck Kids

ACLU of Illinois Demands Removal of Children in DCFS Care From Troubled Chicago Hospital

More allegations of sexual abuse at Aurora Chicago Lakeshore Hospital, already under government scrutiny, have surfaced.

Stuck Kids

Chicago City Council Members Seek Hearing on Psychiatric Hospital

Aldermen ask for hearing to address allegations of sexual and physical abuse at Aurora Chicago Lakeshore Hospital.

Stuck Kids

Illinois DCFS Agrees to Outside Inquiry at Psychiatric Hospital Where Children Have Reported Abuse

Under mounting pressure, the state child welfare agency agreed to a broad investigation, but the American Civil Liberties Union and other advocates said they will remain vigilant.

Stuck Kids

Illinois Child Welfare Agency Agrees to Stop Sending Children to Psychiatric Hospital Where Children Reported Abuse

The Department of Children and Family Services’ inspector general and the American Civil Liberties Union say a limited investigation doesn’t go far enough.

Illinois Newsletter

Reporting on the Layers of Potential Harm for Children in Psychiatric Hospitals

It’s a systemic problem involving the agency charged with caring for those children.

Stuck Kids

Lawmakers Call for Independent Inquiry at Psychiatric Hospital After ProPublica Illinois Report on Abuse of Children

One legislator said she was “disgusted” by the revelations and said the children “deserve to be safe.”

Stuck Kids

Chicago Psychiatric Hospital Is Under Fire Over Reports Alleging Abuse of Children

Aurora Chicago Lakeshore Hospital is under federal and state investigation over reports that detail sexual assaults and physical abuse of children.