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Jennifer Smith Richards @jsmithrichards

Investigations in the Midwest at ProPublica. Past: Chicago Tribune by way of OH/GA/NY/WV. Enthusiastic about FOIA data. Tell me everything.

Joined September 2008
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  • Following 3,007
  • Followers 4,138
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Jennifer Smith Richards@jsmithrichards
28 Apr 2022
Illinois law bans schools from fining students as discipline. So police have been doing it for them. @Jodiscohen and I explain how kids have been punished with thousands of tickets in 3 years for school fights, profanity and other teenage behavior. chicagotribune.com/investiga…

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Monkey Sounds, “White Power” and the N-Word: Racial Harassment Against Black Students Ignored Under Trump w/@MegsNewz and @Jodiscohen propublica.org/article/trump…

Monkey Sounds, “White Power” and the N-Word: Racial Harassment Against Black Students Ignored Under...

Since Trump returned to office, the Education Department’s civil rights office has not resolved a single racial harassment investigation. It sends a message that “people impacted by racial discrimi...

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HECK YES! Glad to see this, and solidarity with my former newsroom.
Dispatch News Guild@dispatchguild
10 Dec 2025
It’s a huge day for the journalists of The Columbus Dispatch and The Newark Advocate. Here’s why we are unionizing. cwalocals.org/columbusdispat…
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Some functions of the U.S. Department of Education will move to other federal agencies, @cbinkley reports. That would outsource managing funding streams for K-12 schools and colleges to the Department of Labor. (No news on the Office for Civil Rights yet.) apnews.com/article/education…

Trump administration takes major step toward dismantling the Education Department

The U.S. Education Department is handing off some of its biggest grant programs to other federal agencies as the Trump administration accelerates its plan to shut down the department.

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I'll add that we're very much still following what's happening with OCR: propublica.org/getinvolved/h…

Help Us Report on How the Department of Education Is Handling Civil Rights Cases

Have you recently filed a civil rights complaint or do you have a pending case? We need your help to get a full picture of how the dismantling of the Office for Civil Rights is affecting students,...

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Jennifer Smith Richards retweeted
George W. Papajohn@GeorgeWPapajohn
22 Oct 2025
Canary on the prairie? Oklahoma looks to be the lab where Christianity & patriotism mix to create something that doesn't look like a separation of church and state — or convey a conventional rendering of history. Deep reporting by @jsmithrichards. propublica.org/article/trump…

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...

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Jennifer Smith Richards retweeted
ProPublica
@propublica
12 Oct 2025
Educators & parents: • Are public schools in your area losing funding or changing curriculum? • Are low-income, ESL or disabled students losing access to programs? • Are more families in your area sending students to private schools? Help us report ⬇️ propublica.org/getinvolved/h…

Help ProPublica Report on Education

ProPublica needs your help to track how the upheaval of public education is affecting schools and colleges in your community. Take a few minutes to join our source network and help guide our coverage.

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Jennifer Smith Richards retweeted
Charles Ornstein@charlesornstein
10 Oct 2025
Five Ways Trump’s Department of Education Is Upending Public Schools propublica.org/article/trump… @MegsNewz @jsmithrichards

Five Ways the Department of Education Is Upending Public Schools

The Trump administration has made a rapid succession of hires and decisions at the Department of Education that could spur profound changes in how schools operate and children learn. Here’s what to...

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Linda McMahon's "final mission?" It's not only to shut down the U.S. Department of Education. It's to dismantle the public school system as we know it. w/@MegsNewz propublica.org/article/educa…

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...

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The ex-Chicago cop who got out of dozens of tickets by repeating a bogus story — that his girlfriend stole his BMW — pleaded guilty. But there’s more: @Jodiscohen and I tracked pending court cases based on his policing. More than 90 have been dropped. propublica.org/article/chica…

Chicago Cop Who Falsely Blamed an Ex-Girlfriend for Dozens of Traffic Tickets Pleads Guilty but...

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...

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Jennifer Smith Richards retweeted
Steve Mills@smmills1960
10 Sep 2025
NEW: The Trump administration is going after funding for students who are both deaf and blind. Said one advocate: "How low can you go?" An important story by the reporting team of @Jodiscohen and @jsmithrichards of @propublica. propublica.org/article/trump…

Programs for Students With Hearing and Vision Loss Harmed by Trump’s Anti-Diversity Push

Citing concerns about DEI, the U.S. Department of Education has halted funding for programs that support students with combined hearing and vision loss in eight states. “How low can you go?” one...

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UPDATE: The rural Ohio solar project that fossil fuel interests fought hard against (in part by using the local newspaper) was approved by the state today. Frasier Solar can move forward. Here's our previous story about this fight, for reference. propublica.org/article/ohio-…

Fossil Fuel Interests Are Working to Kill Solar in One Ohio County. The Hometown Newspaper Is...

A retired gas industry executive, a shadowy “grassroots” group and a controversial media company are spreading misinformation while turning residents against a proposed solar farm — and each other.

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Jennifer Smith Richards retweeted
Charles Ornstein@charlesornstein
13 Jun 2025
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. propublica.org/article/chica… @MilaKoumpilova @jsmithrichards w/ @chalkbeatCHI

100 Students in a School Meant for 1,000: Inside Chicago’s Refusal to Deal With Its Nearly Empty...

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.

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An update, three years after this investigation published: the Illinois legislature passed a bill to end police ticketing of students at school. propublica.org/article/illin…

Illinois Lawmakers Ban Police From Ticketing and Fining Students for Minor Infractions in School

The legislation comes after a ProPublica-Chicago Tribune investigation revealed that even though state law bans schools from fining students directly, districts skirt the law by calling on police to...

propublica.org
Jennifer Smith Richards@jsmithrichards
28 Apr 2022
Illinois law bans schools from fining students as discipline. So police have been doing it for them. @Jodiscohen and I explain how kids have been punished with thousands of tickets in 3 years for school fights, profanity and other teenage behavior. chicagotribune.com/investiga…
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Jennifer Smith Richards retweeted
George W. Papajohn@GeorgeWPapajohn
20 Nov 2024
"Embarrassing" "Tragedy" "Tipping point" "Waste of time and money" Disheartening quotes run thru this story by @HeatherCherone @VernalColeman. In sum: Chicago police consent decree has been an embarrassing waste of money, a tragedy in the making. propublica.org/article/chica…

In Five Years, Chicago Has Barely Made Progress on Its Court-Ordered Police Reforms. Here’s Why.

Chicago police agreed to judicial oversight in 2019. Since then, a series of mayors and police chiefs let efforts languish and no one in a position of oversight has pushed forcefully to keep the...

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Jennifer Smith Richards retweeted
Charles Ornstein@charlesornstein
18 Nov 2024
NEW: Private schools across the South that were established for white children during desegregation are now benefiting from tens of millions in taxpayer dollars flowing from rapidly expanding voucher-style programs, a @propublica analysis found. propublica.org/article/segre…

Segregation Academies Across the South Are Getting Millions in Taxpayer Dollars

North Carolina offers an especially telling window into what is happening across this once legally segregated region where legislatures are now rapidly expanding and adopting controversial voucher-...

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Six. Years. These fine journalists held strong, stuck together, and stood tall against Alden to win a contract. Kudos to my friends.
Chicago Tribune Guild@CTGuild
15 Nov 2024
FINALLY: After six years, we at the Chicago Tribune Guild have won our first contract. We are so proud of what we ratified today with near unanimous support: raises, bonuses, salary minimums, AI protections, seniority rights & more. How did we get this done? (1/7)
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Jennifer Smith Richards retweeted
George W. Papajohn@GeorgeWPapajohn
14 Nov 2024
The bunny wasn't a bomb. And the threat wasn't credible. Still this kid was handcuffed. Important story from @AliyyaSwaby & @PaigePfleger. A 13-Year-Old With Autism Was Arrested Under Tennessee’s School Threats Law propublica.org/article/tenne…

A 13-Year-Old With Autism Got Arrested After His Backpack Sparked Fear. Only His Stuffed Bunny Was...

Disability rights advocates said kids like Ty should not be getting arrested under Tennessee’s school threats law. And they tried to push for a broader exception for kids with other kinds of disabi...

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Co-sign. I'm also on Signal.
ProPublica
@propublica
2 Nov 2024
Are you a current or former government employee? Sign up to be a source for our reporters. We may contact you with questions related to your area of experience. Your insights will be incredibly important to our work post-election. propublica.org/tips/federal-…
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Jennifer Smith Richards retweeted
ProPublica
@propublica
5 Nov 2024
It’s Election Day! ProPublica reporters live & work in 26 states. Today, our reporters are on the ground, on the lookout for what’s going right and what isn’t. Got a tip? Contact us at propublica.org/tips. You can also text, call or Signal message us: 917-512-0201
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Jennifer Smith Richards retweeted
Byard Duncan@ByardDuncan
24 Oct 2024
This story from @msanchezMIA and @mrym_jml should be required reading for every U.S. voter. It's a rigorously reported, tender and ultimately heartbreaking look at what immigration REALLY is all about. I can't recommend it strongly enough. propublica.org/article/immig…

What Happened in Whitewater

How immigration is affecting one small Wisconsin city.

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