Projects See all
Smoke, Screened: The Clean Air Act’s Dirty Secret
★ FeaturedDangers in Our Air: Mapping Chicago’s Air Pollution Hotspots
★ FeaturedDocumenting COVID-19 project
Latest Articles See all
For the Record: Appealing an unduly burdensome denial in Illinois
This week’s For the Record shares how reporters at MuckRock and the Cicero Independiente overcame rejection in their “Air We Breathe” series.
The inside story on a billion-dollar chemical company’s fight to keep its secrets from the public
After the Cicero Independiente and MuckRock published investigative articles about air pollution and the chemicals company Koppers, it hired a public-relations firm to organize a secret, behind-the-scenes campaign to influence local officials.
La historia interna de la lucha de una empresa química multimillonaria por ocultar sus secretos al público
Después que Cicero Independiente y MuckRock publicaran artículos de investigación sobre la contaminación atmosférica y la empresa química Koppers, ésta contrató a una empresa de relaciones públicas para organizar una campaña secreta entre bastidores para influir a los funcionarios locales.
DocDive: Getting put on (legal) notice
Some state and federal laws require what are called “demand letters,” or notices of legal action, to be sent from one party to another before a lawsuit is filed.
The Foilies 2024: Recognizing the worst in government transparency
We’re taught in school about checks and balances between the various branches of government, but those lessons tend to leave out the role that civilians play in holding officials accountable. We’re not just talking about the ballot box, but the everyday power we all have to demand government agencies make their records and data available to public scrutiny.
Latest Requests See all
Title | Status | Agency | Jurisdiction |
---|---|---|---|
Notices of Intent to Pursue Legal Action | Rejected | Department of Environmental Protection | Pennsylvania |
PRA: Autopsy and coroner’s reports | Fix Required | Office of the Medical Examiner-Coroner | San Jose, CA |
Koppers Inc. compliance correspondence | Completed | Illinois Environmental Protection Agency | Illinois |
NIPLA letters to Koppers Inc. | Completed | Illinois Environmental Protection Agency | Illinois |
Jeff Walik emails | Rejected | Village Of Stickney | Stickney, IL |