Residents of two predominantly Latino neighborhoods in Chicago faced years of poor air quality living near a coal-treating plant. But it wasn’t until the plant was demolished, sending a plume of dust into the air and finally bringing attention to its environmental impact, that news outlets took notice. The plume was easy to cover. It…
On the verge of the Great Depression, Fredrick Tisdale, one of the only black farmers in Carbondale, moved north of the former Koppers Inc. wood-treating plant to start a family and plant roots in the town. Tisdale built a house very close to the plant, originally called Tie Addition and named after its former owners…
It was big news in January when nonprofit WBEZ radio in Chicago acquired the Chicago Sun-Times, raising $61 million from foundations and individuals to acquire the daily paper under the umbrella of Chicago Public Media. Now, the Sun-Times is taking another step into a new media landscape by taking down its digital paywall and, like…
In April 2021, the federal government indicted a Southern Illinois University Carbondale professor under the “China Initiative,” alleging two counts of wire fraud and one count of making a false statement in regards to a National Science Foundation grant application made on behalf of the university. If convicted, Mingqing Xiao could have faced up to…
Earlier this week, a friend of Chicago Tribune investigative reporter Christy Gutowski was walking past her 22-year-old daughter’s bedroom and heard Gutowski’s voice. Gutowski hadn’t stopped for a visit, however. Her voice was coming from a podcast the news outlet launched in an attempt to reach a younger demographic of its in-depth reporting. The eight-episode…