This Is Ground Zero in the Conservative Quest for More Patriotic and Christian Public Schools
Oklahoma has spent years reshaping public schools to integrate lessons about Jesus and encourage pride in America’s history. By the time the second Trump administration began espousing its “America First” agenda, Oklahoma had been there, done that.
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.
On the Front Line of the Fluoride Wars, Debate Over Drinking Water Treatment Turns Raucous
After decades of fluoridating drinking water to improve public health, some communities are wavering on the practice. In one Michigan county, the medical director is mirroring Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s efforts against fluoridation.
These Activists Want to Dismantle Public Schools. Now They Run the Education Department.
Under Trump, the Department of Education has been bringing in activists hostile to public schools. It could mean a new era of private and religious schools boosted by tax dollars — and the end of public schools as we know them.
Chicago Cop Who Falsely Blamed an Ex-Girlfriend for Dozens of Traffic Tickets Pleads Guilty but Avoids Prison
Retired officer Jeffrey Kriv acknowledged repeatedly lying under oath to avoid paying dozens of speeding and other traffic tickets. Prosecutors have dropped at least 92 cases in which Kriv was a key witness because of credibility issues.
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
“I Don’t Want to Be Here Anymore”: They Tried to Self-Deport, Then Got Stranded in Trump’s America
Venezuelan immigrants signed up for a Trump-promoted app called CBP Home, which promised a safe and easy way to leave the country, and prepared to leave on their given departure dates. Those dates have come and gone. They’re still stuck here.
“No quiero estar más acá”: intentaron autodeportarse y quedaron atrapados en la América de Trump
Inmigrantes venezolanos se registraron en una aplicación promovida por Trump llamada CBP Home, que prometía una forma segura y fácil de salir del país. Se prepararon para partir en las fechas asignadas. Esas fechas pasaron y siguen atrapados aquí.
“His Audience Was Really Trump”: How New FBI Lead Used His Missouri AG Role to Wage a Culture War
Andrew Bailey’s nearly three-year term as Missouri’s top lawyer was marked by splashy fights over gender, schools and diversity that often fizzled but boosted his political profile. Now he’s co-deputy director of the FBI.
Amid Rise of RFK Jr., Officials Waver on Drinking Water Fluoridation — Even in the State Where It Started
As federal agencies review their guidance on fluoridation and the nation’s top health official calls fluoride “industrial waste,” state and local governments are pulling back on the practice, upending a decadeslong public health success story.
“Just Let Me Die”: After Insurance Repeatedly Denied a Couple’s Claims, One Psychiatrist Was Their Last Hope
After a North Carolina man attempted suicide twice, his wife tried to get him help at an inpatient clinic. But their insurance provider refused to cover the treatment, deeming it “not medically necessary.”
Three Chicago Schools Get Expensive STEAM Makeovers. Can the Effort Reverse Declining Enrollment?
After years of allowing chronically underenrolled public schools to struggle, Chicago is spending millions to transform three into STEAM academies, hoping to draw families back to the neighborhood schools that many of them abandoned.
The Floods Kept Coming. He Needed to Grow a Crop That Would Thrive in Water — or to Quit.
One Illinois man’s decadeslong fight to convert his fields into rice paddies demonstrates how it’s possible to bring diversity to the Corn Belt, but improbable so long as federal farm policy remains focused on soybeans and corn.
The Federal Farm Policy Trap: Why Some Farmers Are Stuck Raising Crops That No Longer Thrive
Some farmers keep growing in flood- and drought-prone fields because subsidies soften the losses, while federal programs meant to help them change course have been underfunded and mired in bureaucracy. Under Trump, those programs may weaken further.
Trump’s Pick to Help Run the FBI Has a History of Prosecuting Influential Democrats
Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey’s targeting of Democrats is legally questionable, experts say, but it’s helped to further his career nationally: “The more outrageous you are, the more you are going to attract the attention of Donald Trump.”
This Doctor Specializes in Diagnosing Child Abuse. Some of Her Conclusions Have Been Called Into Question.
Dr. Nancy Harper is a leading child abuse pediatrician who testifies in trials across the Midwest. She’s claimed to have never incorrectly diagnosed a shaken baby syndrome case, but some judges and juries seem to disagree.
A Doctor Challenged the Opinion of a Powerful Child Abuse Specialist. Then He Lost His Job.
A Minneapolis pediatrician said he felt pressured to “fall in line” with child abuse specialist Dr. Nancy Harper and her team. Then he was given a choice: resign or be fired.
100 Students in a School Meant for 1,000: Inside Chicago’s Refusal to Deal With Its Nearly Empty Schools
Declining school enrollment has left 30% of Chicago public schools at least half-empty. The city’s failure to address this problem has come at a high cost to the district — and its students.
Former Chicago Cop Pleads Guilty to Aggravated Battery of Two Female Colleagues
Eric Tabb is one of 14 Chicago officers accused of sexual assault in the past decade with at least one other alleged incident of sexual misconduct. The cases reveal how the department failed to vigorously investigate such allegations involving police.
Red State Voters Approved Progressive Measures. GOP Lawmakers Are Trying to Undermine Them.
In the wake of ballot measures that increased abortion access and improved sick leave for workers, a coordinated effort is unfolding across the country to restrict direct democracy — and shift power to partisan legislatures.
“The Federal Government Is Gone”: Under Trump, the Fight Against Extremist Violence Is Left Up to the States
As the White House redirects counterterrorism personnel and funds toward mass deportations, a state-level scramble is on to preserve efforts once supported by Washington. The result is a patchwork approach that leaves many areas uncovered.
