Social issues
Mortgage fraud surges in Chicago
David Jackson, with contributions from Ray Gibson, Todd Lighty and John McCormick of the Chicago Tribune, reviewed thousands of pages of land and court records and interviewed more than 100 people to show that a white-collar crime wave is raking Chicago’s poorest communities, robbing vulnerable families of their homes and draining billions of dollars from…
Read MoreCalif. conservators profit from vulnerable seniors
Evelyn Larrubia, Jack Leonard and Robin Fields of the Los Angeles Times examined records of more than 2,400 cases handled by California’s professional conservators since 1997 to produce a detailed four-part series on the state’s failure to protect its senior citizens from those hired to handle their affairs. More than 500 seniors were entrusted to…
Read MoreChild abuse fatalities went unreported
Tim Evans of The Indianapolis Star used state records to find that "the deaths of 10 Indiana children from abuse or neglect were not reported in the state’s 2004 child fatality report. If included, they would have brought the number to 66, making it the deadliest year on record". The paper compared the state records…
Read MoreHmong girls raped, prostituted by gangs
Pam Louwagie and Dan Browning of the Star Tribune report on the growing problem of young Hmong girls who are raped and prostituted by Hmong gangs. A preliminary analysis found that "these girls were six times more likely than other victims to have been raped by five or more males ". The newspaper used an…
Read MorePayday lenders find lucrative home in Ariz.
Craig Harris, Ryan Konig and Matt Dempsey of The Arizona Republic looked at how minimum regulation and a large population of low-income workers has created a thriving market for payday lenders. “In the past four years, the number of payday-loan offices in Arizona has nearly tripled to 610, and there are more of these offices…
Read MoreLow-income residents less likely to appear for jury duty
Hurst Laviana of The Wichita Eagle used local court records to show that “less than half of the Sedgwick County residents summoned report to the courthouse in any given week. And low-income residents — many of them minorities — are far less likely to report for jury duty than residents of white middle-class neighborhoods.” Poor…
Read MoreMoney, debts high in Texas county
Paula Lavigne of The Dallas Morning News used Census and state economic data to show that while residents of Collin County, Texas, are among the wealthiest nationwide, many also have large debts: “On average, Collin County residents have more credit card debt – $4,200 – and a lower net worth – $125,000 – than residents…
Read MoreVery few hold power in Richmond
Staff at the Richmond Times-Dispatch, along with Aaron Kessler used the social network analysis program UCINET and more than 50 interviews to investigate who really wielded power in Richmond, Va. The series includes a story about the four men central to Richmond’s power, a story about minorities and how political influence does not equal power,…
Read MoreAfrican-American voter turnout high
Nancy Cook Lauer of the Tallahassee Democrat used local voter data to show that federal oversight of elections in five Florida counties meant to ensure African-American participation seems to have worked: “voting behavior in the five counties under federal scrutiny – Collier, Hardee, Hendry, Hillsborough and Monroe – pretty much reflects voting behavior in the…
Read MoreState provided child counseling contracts to felon
Susan K. Livio and Mary Jo Patterson of The (Newark) Star-Ledger investigated the background of Corey Davis, who got nearly $700,000 in state contracts to provide child counseling services despite the fact that “the budding entrepreneur had a felony drug conviction and owed thousands of dollars in child support to two women. Some of the…
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