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Investigations

The Newsroom produces deeply researched investigative stories that shine a light on abuses of power and waste within government.

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Investigation

Internal Report: City Colleges Awarding Invalid Diplomas In Apprentice Program

The college system also improperly sought state taxpayer tuition reimbursements for courses offered for free.
Nov 29, 2017 6:00 AM
Investigation

Bobby Rush's Englewood Church A Million-Dollar Problem

U.S. Rep. Bobby Rush has been ordered to pay $1.1 million on a delinquent bank loan made to his now-shuttered church, the latest setback for the longtime congressman-turned-pastor who once promised his house of worship would help rebuild Englewood.
Nov 27, 2017 6:00 AM
Investigation

Radioactive Water Leaks From Illinois Nuclear Plants

Problems persist a decade after discovery of chronic radioactive leaks at Exelon plants.
Nov 17, 2017 6:00 AM
Investigation

Special Investigation: The Graduates*

How City Colleges of Chicago awarded thousands of degrees to support Mayor Emanuel's marketing agenda even as enrollment at the community college system tanked.
Nov 1, 2017 5:45 AM
Investigation

New School Choice Plan Could Cost State More Than $12,000 A Student

Early estimates show the new tax scholarship program, while limited, could cost the state two to five times more a student than what it now spends on general aid for the state’s public schools students.
Sep 29, 2017 5:30 AM
Investigation

State Budget Whodunit Raises Doubt About Quick Savings From Pension Overhaul

Administrators at state pension systems are scratching their heads over how exactly an estimate for $500 million in pension savings came to be.
Sep 18, 2017 2:35 PM
Investigation

Autistic Teen's Death In CPS Pool Heightens Questions Of Special Ed Care

Fourteen-year-old Rosario Gomez didn't know how to swim, wasn't wearing a lifejacket and had significant problems communicating. His drowning in a high school pool last winter fuels doubts about Chicago Public Schools’ ability to care for its special needs students.
Sep 8, 2017 3:30 PM
Investigation

How CHA Rehabs Of Senior Apartments Blow Through Budgets, Cause Real Pain

Expensive cost overruns are the rule, rather than the exception, when the Chicago Housing Authority orders up renovations at senior housing complexes it runs. Inconvenience, frustration and sometimes danger for elderly residents accompany the rehab work.
Aug 10, 2017 6:00 AM
Investigation

Journey Of A Judge’s Gun From Chicago Buyback To Cicero Police Shooting

A Cook County judge turned a gun in to Chicago police as part of a buyback program 13 years ago. The gun mysteriously turned up eight years later next to the body of a young man shot to death by a Cicero police officer. Cicero officials are now poised to write a $3.5 million settlement check to members of the dead man’s family.
Jul 28, 2017 12:00 PM
Investigation

How City Power Players Diverted $55 Million In Blight-Fighting TIF Cash To Navy Pier

A $55 million financial shell game linked to the administration of Mayor Rahm Emanuel vividly plays into a frequent complaint that the city often raids a tax piggy bank earmarked for disadvantaged neighborhoods to instead bankroll mayoral vanity projects.
Jul 21, 2017 6:00 AM

Investigations

Internal Report: City Colleges Awarding Invalid Diplomas In Apprentice Program

Bobby Rush's Englewood Church A Million-Dollar Problem

Radioactive Water Leaks From Illinois Nuclear Plants

Special Investigation: The Graduates*

New School Choice Plan Could Cost State More Than $12,000 A Student

State Budget Whodunit Raises Doubt About Quick Savings From Pension Overhaul

Autistic Teen's Death In CPS Pool Heightens Questions Of Special Ed Care

How CHA Rehabs Of Senior Apartments Blow Through Budgets, Cause Real Pain

Journey Of A Judge’s Gun From Chicago Buyback To Cicero Police Shooting

How City Power Players Diverted $55 Million In Blight-Fighting TIF Cash To Navy Pier

Featured articles

O’Hare’s Billions in Broken Promises

How Dolton, Illinois Reflects America's Changing Suburbs in 2018

As Tons of Chicago Recycling Go to Dumps, a Private Firm Is Paid Twice