Her stories have led to changes in state laws and policies as well as the release of a teenager from detention. She has been awarded the Worth Bingham Prize for Investigative Journalism, the Education Writers Association Fred M. Hechinger Grand Prize, the Investigative Reporters & Editors Award, the Anthony Shadid Award for Journalism Ethics, the ONA Award for Investigative Data Journalism, the Chicago Headline Club’s Watchdog Award and the Taylor Family Award for Fairness in Journalism. She also was honored with the Studs Terkel Award, which recognizes journalists whose career has been driven by service and connection to their communities.
Cohen graduated with a degree in political science from the University of Michigan, where she was managing editor of the campus newspaper, The Michigan Daily. Based in Chicago, she is passionate about local news and wants to hear your Midwest story tips.
Despite the attorney general’s declaration that Illinois schools should stop using police to discipline students, officers statewide continue to ticket kids with costly fines. One lawmaker will again pursue legislation to end the practice.
From cutting social services to changing election rules, Tarrant County Judge Tim O’Hare has pushed his agenda with an uncompromising approach. His term offers a rare look at what happens when hard-liners exert influence in a battleground county.
Following a ProPublica-Chicago Tribune investigation, the Garrison School in Illinois will change its disciplinary practices and provide services to those who missed class due to being arrested or sent to a seclusion room.
Washington education officials have told public districts in the state not to send new students to Shrub Oak International School in New York, citing ProPublica’s reporting and a visit to the campus.
Jennifer Smith Richards and Jodi S. Cohen are based in Chicago and cover the Midwest. But when they looked into where vulnerable Illinois students wound up, they found themselves at an unregulated, for-profit school in New York.
After visiting Shrub Oak International School, officials from Connecticut, Washington and Massachusetts have advised districts of troubling conditions at the school where a ProPublica investigation uncovered reports of abuse and neglect.
Two civil rights groups are asking the U.S. Department of Education to force Rockford Public Schools, the third-largest district in Illinois, to stop discriminatory discipline involving police.
A state judge ruled that the agency must cooperate in a disability rights investigation into Shrub Oak International School. A ProPublica investigation found that would-be whistleblowers could not get state authorities to intervene at the school.
It took four years and a jury trial for Amara Harris to beat the ticket that accused her of stealing another girl’s AirPods. Now she’s heading back to court in the hope of stopping schools from using police to discipline students.
A state law was meant to help families by allowing the use of public money to fund students’ tuition at special education boarding schools around the country. But in solving one problem, lawmakers created another.
No state agency has authority over Shrub Oak, one of the country's most expensive therapeutic boarding schools. As a result, parents and staff have nowhere to report bruised students and medication mix-ups.
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In the aftermath of revelations from ProPublica, a government task force pushed for changes. New laws aim to keep low-level offenses out of court, provide more resources to young offenders and eliminate fines.
Former Chicago officer Jeffrey Kriv faces charges for perjury and forgery after getting out of dozens of traffic violations by claiming his girlfriend had stolen his car. Now, cases that stem from arrests Kriv made are in jeopardy.
Amara Harris declined plea deals and ultimately won a legal fight that dates back to 2019. Now she and her attorneys want to push for statewide reforms.
Despite legislative setbacks, state leaders and Gov. J.B. Pritzker say they remain committed to stopping schools from continuing to use police to punish students.
Chicago police officer Jeffrey Kriv used the same alibi to contest dozens of traffic tickets over the years. A deeper look at his career sheds light on Chicago’s troubled history of police accountability.
The civil rights inquiry by the Department of Education follows a ProPublica and Chicago Tribune investigation that found the school regularly called police to arrest students.
Students have continued to get costly citations for vaping, fighting and other misbehavior even after state officials directed educators to end the practice.
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