The early bird deadline for 
Promotions and new staff strengthen IRE
Mark J. Konkol, Scott Fornek, Fran Spielman and Art Golab of the Chicago Sun-Times used local payroll and voter registration data to show the clout of Chicago’s Hispanic Democratic Organization: “1,173 men and women are certified to register people to vote on HDO’s behalf. And 482 of those HDO deputy registrars — or 41 percent…
Read MoreBruce Golding, Jorge Fitz-Gibbon and Dwight R. Worley of The Journal-News used state and federal data to show that “safety ratings for the Tappan Zee Bridge have dropped back to some of the lowest levels in a decade despite an infusion of at least $316 million.” The span is New York’s most profitable, generating about…
Read MoreTed Sherman of The (Newark) Star-Ledger reports on how former Essex County Executive Tom D’Alessio, after serving time on political corruption charges, converted leftover campaign funds into a non-profit foundation that helps support his retirement. “Last year, the foundation reported it gave out $37,750 in contributions of $500 or so to dozens of organizations like…
Read MoreGreg B. Smith of the New York Daily News used state data to show that “in the state Department of Transportation alone, lobbyists schmoozed the agency on nearly $1.3 billion in contracts in the past two years … only a handful of these contracts were awarded competitively with sealed bids, a process that significantly restricts…
Read MoreJames R. Carroll of The (Louisville) Courier-Journal examined congressional travel records for Kentucky and Southern Indiana to show that “in a little more than nine years, the cost of privately paid trips for lawmakers in the area and their aides totaled nearly $1.5 million.” Two Kentucky lawmakers have suspended such travel after the recent spate…
Read MoreThe Detroit News investigates a juvenile system plagued with overpayments and conflicts of interest. Using court filings and campaign records, Joel Kurth reports on findings, which include allegations of payments for fictitious youths, relatives of some county officials benefited from contracts, more than $300,000 in overpayments to contractors and hackers accessed a computer system used…
Read MoreHal Marcovitz of The (Allentown) Morning Call used county records to show that Bucks County “Chief Operating Officer David M. Sanko obtains free gas at the county pumps for a county-owned 1997 Ford Explorer, which he is permitted to tank up before making 100-mile trips from the courthouse in Doylestown to his home in Harrisburg.”…
Read MoreMiles Moffeit of The Denver Post used purchasing and accounting records to find that “since 2001, Jefferson County employees have handled millions of dollars in transactions without competitive bidding, close supervision or contracts – and sometimes in conflict with policies.” In one example, the county’s technology manager made $3.7 million in equipment purchases on his…
Read MoreAndy Nelesen of the Green Bay Press-Gazette used county data to show that driving after losing your license (known as OAR) isn’t uncommon: “In 2003 and 2004, more than 250 people racked up more than one OAR case in one year.” In one extreme case, a man has been arrested for driving without a license…
Read MoreAn investigation by the Seattle Post-Intelligencer found that “millions of dollars in purchases by Washington art collectors have gone untaxed, and that an agent’s effort to collect that revenue was squelched by upper management at the Department of Revenue, then suspended late last year.” A week after the Post-Intelligencer first reported the story, the Department…
Read More