Unequal Discipline
Women in prison punished more harshly than men around the country
Female prison inmates are being disciplined at much higher rates than men for lower-level offenses in many states.
election 2018
Midterm elections: A judge is ousted and Democrats win big across the state
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For the first time since 1990, Cook County voters refused to retain a sitting judge.
Settling for Misconduct
Chicago police use 'cover charges' to justify excessive force
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Our analysis shows a troubling pattern of officers charging alleged victims of police misconduct with aggravated battery or assault to a police officer or resisting arrest.
Investigations
Education
Alternative schools bear the brunt of student deaths in Chicago
The district’s most vulnerable students often end up in alternative schools that are especially under-resourced to cope with the trauma of gun violence.
Education
As school discipline disparities worsen, Illinois has yet to require reforms
The state has stalled on requiring school districts with the highest suspension and expulsion rates to improve.
Housing
Few Puerto Rican evacuees in Chicago have benefited from FEMA shelter program
In the wake of Hurricane Maria, critics say poor administration hampered the Transitional Shelter Assistance (TSA) program in Illinois, creating confusion and missed opportunities for survivors looking for housing.
Criminal Justice
Solitary confinement of juveniles on the rise in Cook County
As other cities and states have moved to ban using solitary confinement as punishment for teens, the practice has increased at one of the largest juvenile jails in the country.