Mick Dumke
Mick Dumke was a reporter for ProPublica. His work focused on politics and government, including investigations of local and federal gun policies, secret police databases and corruption at Chicago City Hall.
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Mick Dumke was a reporter for ProPublica. His work focused on politics and government, including investigations of local and federal gun policies, secret police databases and corruption at Chicago City Hall. Mick came to ProPublica after two years on the Watchdogs team at the Chicago Sun-Times, where he reported on civil liberties, the war on drugs and the dismantling of public housing. Before that, he spent almost a decade as a politics writer and editor for the Chicago Reader. He has also worked as a reporter and editor at the Chicago Reporter, taught social studies at an alternative high school, and studied religion at Northwestern University and McCormick Theological Seminary.
Nonprofit Watchdog Group Shutting Down
Project Six is closing its doors following our story revealing conservative donors.
Chicago’s Gang Database Isn’t Just About Gangs
Why are the Black Panthers listed alongside street gangs?
Chicago’s Gang Database Is Full of Errors — And Records We Have Prove It
Pushing 80 and still gangbanging?
Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan Builds Power From the Ground Up — And Sometimes From the Basement
A polling place in a Chicago home offers a view of the operation run by the state’s most powerful politician.
A Political Boss Goes Down
Cook County Assessor Joe Berrios, one of the last leaders of the old Democratic machine, loses the Democratic primary to a wealthy political newcomer.
Win or Lose in GOP Primary for Governor, Jeanne Ives Helps Push Illinois to the Right
Top donors, operatives abandon Rauner and put their money with conservative crusader.
Congressman Calls For Investigation Of Conservative Think Tank
Veteran Democrat Lipinski joins critics of the Illinois Policy Institute with a letter to the IRS.
As Conservative Group Grows In Influence, Financial Dealings Enrich Its Leaders
Illinois Policy Institute has called for government reform while channeling money to firms owned by insiders.
Watchdogging a Nonprofit Watchdog
How we identified the funders behind Project Six, and how you can dig into nonprofits, too.
‘Independent’ Watchdog’s Secret Funder: Conservative Small-Government Group
Project Six, led by the former City Council inspector general, got 98 percent of its startup money from the right-leaning Illinois Policy Institute.