Officials Move to Address Problems Facing Immigrant Workers on Wisconsin Dairy Farms
A ProPublica investigation showed how language barriers contributed to authorities wrongly blaming a dairy farm worker for his son’s death. Lawmakers have responded.
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.
The Federal Government Is Investigating an Illinois School Where Students With Disabilities Were Frequently Arrested
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.
Illinois to Relocate at Least Half of Residents in Facility Plagued by Abuse and Cover-Ups
Officials acknowledged that news reporting had put a spotlight on conditions at the center for people with developmental disabilities and mental illnesses. “Significant changes” are needed, the governor says.
New Bill Could End Police Ticketing in Illinois Schools
Students have continued to get costly citations for vaping, fighting and other misbehavior even after state officials directed educators to end the practice.
Midwest News Staff
- Midwest Editor
- George Papajohn
- Deputy Midwest Editor
- Steve Mills
- Reporters
- Anna Clark, Jodi S. Cohen, Vernal Coleman, Mick Dumke, Duaa Eldeib, Jeremy Kohler, Jessica Lussenhop, Megan O’Matz and Melissa Sanchez
- Abrams Reporting Fellow
- Emily Hopkins
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
The Company Testing Air in East Palestine Homes Was Hired by Norfolk Southern. Experts Say That Testing Isn’t Enough.
“It’s almost like if you want to find nothing, you run in and run out,” says one expert.
Minnesota May Chart Its Own Path Dealing With Anti-Abortion Counseling Centers
While other states move to defund “crisis pregnancy centers,” Minnesota may offer to renew their state grants — but with conditions.
A Christian Health Nonprofit Saddled Thousands With Debt as It Built a Family Empire
Despite a history of fraud, one family has thrived in the regulatory no man’s land of health care sharing ministries, where insurance commissioners can’t investigate, federal agencies turn a blind eye and prosecutors reach paltry settlements.
Legislators Demand Hearings on Illinois Mental Health Facility Where Staff Abused Patients and Covered It Up
Repeated investigations of the center have revealed patients who were beaten and humiliated by staff, and staff who lied to cover up their actions.
¿Por qué investigamos la muerte de Jefferson? Carta a nuestros lectores.
Nuestras reporteras explican por qué investigamos la muerte de Jefferson.
Ayúdenos a investigar las condiciones en las granjas lecheras
Necesitamos su colaboración para entender las dificultades que enfrentan los trabajadores en los ranchos.
Help ProPublica Journalists Investigate the Dairy Industry
We need your help to understand the challenges facing dairy farm workers. We especially want to hear from farmers, medical professionals, regulators and anyone else with perspective from inside the community.
Tragedia en una granja lechera
La verdadera historia del niño nicaragüense que murió en un rancho en Wisconsin, y cómo las autoridades se equivocaron al culpar a su padre.
Death on a Dairy Farm
When an 8-year-old Nicaraguan boy was run over on a Wisconsin dairy farm, authorities blamed his father and closed the case. Meanwhile, the community of immigrant workers knows a completely different story.
A Norfolk Southern Policy Lets Officials Order Crews to Ignore Safety Alerts
In October, months before the East Palestine derailment, the company also directed a train to keep moving with an overheated wheel that caused it to derail miles later in Sandusky, Ohio.
Senators Demand Answers About “Alarming” Reports of Excessive and Risky Artery Procedures on Veterans
Hours after ProPublica and The Wichita Eagle published allegations of kickbacks for the “egregious” use of medical devices at a veterans hospital, Kansas’ Republican senators have questions for the VA secretary.
How ProPublica’s Local Stories Reach the Communities We Report On
Getting our investigation’s findings to the people we write about is just as important as reaching a large audience. Consider these two examples.
New Report Says Nurses at Illinois Facility Forced Patients to Dig Through Their Own Feces
Newly obtained documents echo our reporting on abuse, cover-ups and a “sense of impunity” at an Illinois institution for people with mental illnesses and developmental disorders. The governor has said Choate must be reformed.
How a Tourist Attraction Displaying the Open Graves of Native Americans Became a State-Run Museum
Generations of visitors learned about the history of Native Americans in Illinois through the eyes of amateur archaeologist Don Dickson. Though the exhibit he built closed in 1992, the Dickson Mounds Museum is still grappling with his legacy.
The Museum Built on Native American Burial Mounds
For decades, Dickson Mounds Museum in Illinois displayed the open graves of more than 200 Indigenous people. Thirty years after a federal law required museums to begin returning remains, the statewide museum system still holds thousands.
