Blocking access to key law enforcement data hinders critical accountability efforts by journalists and researchers and ultimately limits discourse on public safety.
Behind the Data
How the Chicago Police Department fought — and ultimately lost — its FOIA battle to keep cop names from the public
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CPD finally complied with The Chicago Reporter’s request for detailed records on police personnel needed to maintain the Settling for Misconduct lawsuits database.
Editor's Blog
Why I’m joining The Chicago Reporter as senior editor of design and delivery
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David Eads will build on the Reporter’s dogged legacy of investigating race, poverty, and income inequality by creating journalism experiences that are accessible and actionable for the public.
Editor's Blog
Data Editor Matt Kiefer awarded Knight journalism fellowship
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As a JSK fellow, Kiefer will spend 10 months at Stanford University developing technology for investigative journalism that helps protect civil and human rights.
From the Editor
Moving the legacy forward
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When Catalyst Chicago went to press with this issue, lawmakers in Springfield had finally passed a stopgap budget that will let schools open in the fall, in Chicago and in other districts that had sounded the alarm about possible shutdowns. After a year-long stalemate, the temporary budget will allow the wheels of state government to continue turning for a time. But there’s no reason to breathe a sigh of relief, at least for longer than a few seconds.
Criminal Justice
Acting on the ‘hard truths’ of racism in the Chicago Police Department
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The mayor’s task force acknowledged that racism and a lack of accountability pervade the Chicago Police Department, but questions of legitimacy affect hope for real reform.
From the Publisher
School portfolio needs a plan
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Charter schools present the most controversial and divisive issue I’ve encountered in 36 years of education reporting. Supporters passionately defend charters, and opponents fiercely attack them, leaving little room for rational consideration of their merits and shortcomings, and what role they might best play in a school district’s game plan. In this issue, we hope to bring some measure of clarity to the debate by illuminating the issues through the experiences of one charter network and school communities that have rallied to compete against charters.
The founder's retrospective
Well, since you asked …
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I’m often asked — by friends, television hosts, people I’ve just met — whether Chicago’s public schools have gotten any better after decades of reform. I know they’d like a simple yes or no, but I find neither satisfying. Rather, it’s been more like yes and no, or two steps forward, one step back.
Black middle-class
Living in the cross hairs of gun violence
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Chicago’s black middle-class can’t escape the city’s social problems, including its crime.
Publisher's Note
Same mission, different platform
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After 43 years as a print publication, The Chicago Reporter will focus its reporting about race, poverty and income inequality online.
Criminal Justice
Police reform law doesn’t fill all accountability gaps
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Legislation from Springfield mandates new requirements for Chicago officers, but debate over policing continues unabated.