The View from the Ground archive is a searchable collection of Jamie Kalven’s original reporting and a robust collection of black and white film photographs by Patricia Evans from the final chapter of high-rise public housing in Chicago.

We're excited to introduce the View from the Ground archive: a searchable collection of Jamie Kalven’s original reporting and Patricia Evans’ photography from the final chapter of high-rise public housing in Chicago.

Less than a week into Trump’s surge of deportation arrests in Chicago, an ICE agent shot and killed 38-year-old Silverio Villegas-Gonzalez during a Franklin Park traffic stop. The DHS says he drove his car at agents, but bystander videos and witnesses report a different story.

Reporters from across newsrooms in Chicago are collaborating to collect visual evidence of federal agents detaining people & using force in Chicago. Send videos to tinyurl.com/chicagojournalists, or get in touch via email [email protected].

Our latest investigation with MindSite News and South Side Weekly shows Chicago police are increasingly turning to forced hospitalization, detaining people against their wishes at a hospital emergency room for a psychiatric evaluation. bit.ly/forcedhospitalization

In June 2025, former Chicago police officer Eric Tabb pleaded guilty to two counts of aggravated battery in a public place, and was sentenced to 30 months of probation.

Our reporting with Illinois Public Media revealed that the officer who killed Sonya Massey had an employment history with a pattern of misconduct at six different police departments, and was discharged from the Army for serious misconduct.

We are excited to announce the future publication with @haymarketbooks.org of a book about the Youth/Police Project, documenting 10 years of young people growing up & navigating policing on the South Side of Chicago. Read more at invisible.institute/ypp & sign up for updates at bio.site/stayingsafe

In 2011, a Chicago officer pulled a woman over just to get her phone number, then called or texted her nearly 30 times. Between 2017 and 2019, he was reported for sexual misconduct three more times before he was finally arrested. (Published May w/ @invisible.institute)

Good news! Today, the Illinois Appellate Court ruled in favor of transparency, against closed hearings for police misconduct cases. We previously covered this issue for the Chicago Reader in November 2023.

Last month, a sheriff's office in Southeast Ohio settled a lawsuit over allegations that two deputies had used excessive force while wrongfully arresting a father and son. Both deputies resigned from the sheriff's office shortly after but quickly found work at another department. bit.ly/meigscounty

Newly elected Cook County State’s Attorney Eileen O’Neill Burke has quietly scrapped two key lists used to flag police officers with a history of misconduct. bit.ly/bradylists

A huge congrats to our audio team! You Didn't See Nothin has been named one of Time Magazine's 100 Best Podcasts of All Time. You can listen to all episodes of You Didn't See Nothin on any podcast platform!

In October 2024, the Burroughs Legacy team's first reporting project—The unsung legacy of Margaret Burroughs: “We called her Mama”—was featured on WBEZ’s Curious City program. And this past May, this episode received two Peter Lisagor Awards for Journalism.

The Invisible Institute’s investigation into former deputy Sean Grayson, who shot and killed Sonya Massey after she called police for help, has been awarded the Driehaus Prize for Investigative Journalism.

The CPD committed to releasing “merit” promotion lists in 2017. Now, the city claims doing so would be an invasion of privacy. | ✍️ Rachel Heimann Mercader and Sam Stecklow at @invisible.institute

NEW: In 2017, Chicago PD committed to releasing CPD's lists of officers promoted through the controversial "merit" promotion process going forward. Now, the city claims that doing so would be an invasion of the officers' privacy. So @invisible.institute is suing. Read more w/ @chicagoreader.com:

New: Chicago police officers face little oversight when applying for promotions under the department’s “merit”-based nomination process, @invisible.institute found. buff.ly/8mIYoZX

In 2017, CPD pledged to make public lists of officers promoted through the secretive “merit” promotion process. Instead, under Mayor Brandon Johnson, the city is fighting in court to stop release of the lists. Happy to partner with @invisible.institute & @chicagoreader.com to publish this piece.

Our latest investigation explores how the Chicago Police Department’s “merit” promotion system has advanced officers with a history of misconduct—including fatal shootings and excessive force. bit.ly/4lHFmCa

Congratulations to @citybureau.bsky.social, whose journalists are organizing for a union! Our team is excited about the possibility of our longtime partners recognizing their newly announced union, and what it means for Chicago's local journalism landscape to mature in this way.

We, the staff of @citybureau.bsky.social, are forming a union! A strong media system needs strong workers. We’re asking our leadership to formally recognize the City Bureau Workers Guild so we can shape the future of local media together. You can join our movement by:

Former Chicago police officer Eric Tabb was arrested in December 2023 and fired. Investigative files show that five of 17 women in his police academy class have given similar accounts of inappropriate sexual contact involving Tabb. With @invisible.institute‬

Champaign’s Citizen Review Subcommittee (CRS) was created to hold police accountable. But our new investigation in partnership IPM reveals that the board has little power to actually do so.

The first investigation in our partnership with @propublica found that Chicago Police fail to investigate officers repeatedly accused of sexual assault. www.propublica.org/article/chic...

New video interviews with survivors Shawn Whirl and LaTanya Jenifor-Sublett are now part of the Chicago Police Torture Archive. Each profile includes three short videos designed for educators and others teaching the history of police torture in Chicago.

INCIDENT has won the National Magazine Award for video. Join Bill Morrison and Jamie Kalven for a free screening of INCIDENT at the DuSable Black History Museum on Wednesday May 21 at 7:00pm. This screening and conversation is presented by Common Cause.

Rhode Island remains the last state in the country without a police decertification law. Sam Stecklow reports in partnership with The Public's Radio on how transfers of "wandering officers" between departments went entirely untracked by a state agency for decades — and there's still no ability ->

In 2022, according to the National Registry of Exonerations, there were 233 exonerations recorded in the United States.

It's been 10 years since we became a non profit. What's been the impact of our journalism? In our new series, Impact Revisted, we're taking a look back at some of our major investigations and the impact they've had on public policy and practice in the years since.

It's been 10 years since we became a nonprofit. What's been the impact of our journalism? In our new series, Impact Revisted, we'll take a look back at some of our major investigations and the impact they've had on public policy and practice in the years since.

@samstecklow.bsky.social reports for The Wisconsin Examiner on how the Wisconsin Attorney General is withholding information about “wandering officers” — police or jailers who were fired or resigned, often after misconduct, and went on to be hired elsewhere. invisible.institute/latestblog/w...

Reminder! Applications are due this Friday.

Did you get your tickets yet for our 10 year anniversary bash? www.invisibleinstitute.com/10-year

Do you know who Margaret Burroughs was? Dr. Burroughs was a Chicago artist, teacher, writer, collector, traveler, museum founder and administrator whose life’s work was dedicated to the struggle for racial, social and economic justice. Her legacy is a guiding light for many of us.

APPLY BY APRIL 25: We are seeking an experienced communications manager to join our team. They will be responsible for expanding the reach of the Invisible Institute’s journalism and helping ensure our work reaches the people most affected by police misconduct and state violence.

We are marking our ten year anniversary with a two-part 10 Year Anniversary Bash on April 24th. Take advantage of 20% off your tickets, and join us for this once in a decade moment! This offer ends on March 31, 2025. No code needed.

Deadline approaching! Apply by Friday, April 4 to be considered for a 5-week intensive workshop exploring the possibilities of audio storytelling. Learn more about the Audio Storytelling Intensive & apply here: docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...

The history of Chicago Police torture is grim and ongoing, but within this history is a motivating template for how sustained organizing and attention from survivors, family of survivors, attorneys, artists, journalists, and concerned citizens can win the change we seek. (1/5)

It’s been a decade! Celebrate with us on April 24, 2025 at Maxwells Trading.

Looking to learn or teach the history of Chicago Police torture?

Our next gathering in the Critical Conversation series is happening in one week, on Monday, March 10, 2025!

chicagopolicetorturearchive.com is a human rights documentation of Cmdr. Jon Burge’s violence against more than 100 Black people from the 1970s-1990s. The CPTA is a repository of legal documents, testimonies, and investigative materials that trace the decades-long fight for justice.

Robert Johnson is free. After 30 years incarcerated for a crime he did not commit, the state has dropped its attempt to keep him in custody. He was released today. His fight should have never taken this long.

Today, after three decades incarcerated for a crime he did not commit, Robert Johnson’s conviction was officially vacated. But the fight for freedom isn’t over: he remains in custody as the state weighs its next move.

Join us for our next event in the Critical Conversations Series! Save the date and register at bit.ly/iicriticalconvos.

Jamie Kalven has a new op-ed about University of Chicago's free speech ethos and the Kalven Report, the document that sets forth the policy — the “presumption” — that universities as institutions should not take positions on the issues of the day.

Our first gathering in the critical conversation series is happening in less than a week, on February 10!

LEGAL UPDATES:

Sign up for our new Critical Conversations Series! Join us for a year-long exploration of urgent themes and ideas central to our work. In 2025, we’ll collectively read Living in Data: A Citizen’s Guide to a Better Information Future by Jer Thorp.