Hoping to “Trump Proof” Students’ Civil Rights, Illinois Lawmakers Aim to End Police Ticketing at School
The latest version of a bill spurred by a 2022 ProPublica-Chicago Tribune investigation would explicitly prevent police from ticketing students for violations such as vaping or truancy, and require districts to track and disclose police activity.
Reporting From the Midwest
Our team in the Midwest covers Illinois, Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota and Missouri. Based in Chicago, it grew out of our first regional publishing operation, which focused on people living and working in Illinois. Read more.
Boxed Up: A Portrait of an Immigrant Community Living Under Threat of Deportation
The Nicaraguans who keep Wisconsin’s dairy farms, restaurants and factories working are sending home their most prized possessions, bracing for potential mass deportations. “We don’t have much, but what we do have is important.”
Gretchen Whitmer’s Chance for Wide-Ranging Legacy Derailed by Botched Legislative Session
Michigan Democrats controlled all three branches of government, but party infighting and moderate policy decisions resulted in what some have dubbed “one of the least productive legislative sessions in history.”
Feds Fine Baker College $2.5 Million for Deceptive Marketing That Left Students With Debts and Regrets
A 2022 investigation detailed how the once-growing Michigan school built its reputation on slick advertising despite low graduation rates and leaving many students burdened with heavy debt.
Midwest News Staff
- Midwest Editor
- George Papajohn
- Deputy Midwest Editor
- Steve Mills
- Reporters
- Anna Clark, Jodi S. Cohen, Vernal Coleman, Duaa Eldeib, Jeremy Kohler, Jessica Lussenhop, Megan O’Matz, Melissa Sanchez and Jennifer Smith Richards
Local Reporting Network Partners
ProPublica is supporting local and regional newsrooms as they work on important investigative projects affecting their communities. Some of our past and present partners in the region:
- Chicago Tribune
- Chicago, Illinois
- The Southern Illinoisan
- Carbondale, Illinois
- WBEZ
- Chicago, Illinois
- The Daily Herald
- Arlington Heights, Illinois
- The Business Journal
- Youngstown, Ohio
- Outlier Media
- Detroit, Michigan
Empacados: Retrato de una comunidad de inmigrantes que viven bajo la amenaza de ser deportados
Los nicaragüenses que sostienen las granjas, los restaurantes y las fábricas de Wisconsin han empezado a enviar a su país natal sus más preciadas posesiones, preparándose contra posibles deportaciones masivas.
Madison and Nashville School Shooters Appear to Have Crossed Paths in Online Extremist Communities
A month after a student opened fire at Abundant Life Christian School, another killed a classmate at Antioch High School. Both were active in an internet subculture that glorifies mass shooters and encourages young people to commit attacks.
Five Big Obstacles to Opening Child Care Facilities in Rural Illinois
Though the state faces a critical child care shortage, the government has not made it easy to open new facilities. These are the biggest roadblocks for providers.
On a Mission From God: Inside the Movement to Redirect Billions of Taxpayer Dollars to Private Religious Schools
Private letters reveal the strategy behind the decadeslong quest — successful in 12 states and counting — by politicians, church officials and activists to make taxpayer-funded school vouchers available not just to the poor but to the wealthy.
“All Our Future Money Is Gone”: The Impossible Task of Providing Child Care in Rural Illinois
Though the governor promised to make Illinois “the best state” to raise young children, child care continues to disappear. And, as one couple learned, there’s almost no help for those building a child care facility from the ground up.
He Frantically Called 911 to Revive His Infant Son. Now He Could Face 12 Years in Prison.
Exonerations and new science continue to raise questions about shaken baby syndrome, a diagnosis that lives on under a different name: “abusive head trauma.” Critics say the name deflects scrutiny while leaving parents vulnerable to criminal charges.
Billy Long, Trump’s Nominee to Lead the IRS, Touts a Credential That Tax Experts Say Is Dubious
The former representative from Missouri, who once pushed to abolish the IRS, has marketed himself as a certified tax and business advisor after attending only a three-day seminar.
A Tribal Lender Charging 800% APR Has Agreed to Stop Operating in Minnesota
The Lac du Flambeau tribe of Wisconsin settled a civil suit filed by Minnesota’s attorney general that alleged its triple-digit interest rates violated state caps. The tribe is under increasing legal pressure nationally over its lending practices.
Illinois’ AG Said It’s Illegal for Schools to Use Police to Ticket Students. But His Office Told Only One District.
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.
In Five Years, Chicago Has Barely Made Progress on Its Court-Ordered Police Reforms. Here’s Why.
Chicago police agreed to judicial oversight in 2019. Since then, a series of mayors and police chiefs let efforts languish and no one in a position of oversight has pushed forcefully to keep the process on track, WTTW News and ProPublica found.
Finding Focus: How a Visual Storyteller Gets the Right Image — and the Right Tone
Photography is a powerful journalistic tool, providing visual evidence and evoking emotions that urge us to understand the experiences of others. Here, ProPublica’s Sarahbeth Maney offers suggestions for aspiring visual storytellers.
El jefe de policía y el inmigrante
Antes de que Springfield, Ohio, se convirtiera en un punto central en el debate sobre la inmigración, Trump instrumentalizó la solicitud de recursos de un jefe de policía para asegurar que Whitewater sufría una “invasión”. La verdad es más compleja.
In Minnesota, the Mayo Clinic Sometimes Called the Shots With Gov. Tim Walz
The governor’s ties to the Mayo Clinic raise questions about the world-renowned hospital’s potential influence on federal health care reform.
Election Skeptics Are Targeting Voting Officials With Ads That Suggest They Don’t Have to Certify Results
The ads, which have been placed in swing states like Wisconsin and Pennsylvania, come from a new group with deep ties to activists who have challenged the legitimacy of recent elections.
The Small Midwestern Cities That Could Play a Pivotal Role in This Year’s Elections
For all the talk about big-city Democrats and rural Republicans, it’s the voters in overlooked places like Sandusky, Ohio, and Racine, Wisconsin, who could decide everything from key congressional races to the presidency.
