Kelly Kauffman’s Projects

2024 Presidential Transition

Federal agencies have been busy at work preparing for the transition of the next president of the United States. And in the process, they’re creating a lot of documents that you can request.

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A community podcast about all things FOIA and public records

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We gather once a month to share updates on public records laws and rulings, techniques, tricks and insider tips from fellow requesters.

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Atomic Fallout: Records reveal the federal government downplayed, ignored health risks

"Atomic Fallout" is an ongoing collaboration between The Missouri Independent, MuckRock and The Associated Press involving thousands of pages of previously-unreleased government records obtained through the Freedom of Information Act. They show radioactive waste from the Manhattan Project was known to pose a threat to people living in North St. Louis County as early as 1949. But federal officials repeatedly wrote off potential health risks off as "slight," "minimal" or "low-level."

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Behind the Badge: New York’s hidden police misconduct files

Department by department, we’re making New York’s hidden law enforcement disciplinary histories public.

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Elections 2024

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As newsrooms worked to cover local and national issues and candidates in the 2024 elections, MuckRock was actively supporting them. We provided extensive training and support for journalists and the public to help cover federal, state and local races across the country. MuckRock worked on public records requests, along with Sunlight Research Center, to better understand political candidates.

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Liberating public data for the public good

The Data Liberation Project is an initiative to identify, obtain, reformat, clean, document, publish, and disseminate government datasets of public interest.

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‘The Air We Breathe:’ How industry is polluting Cicero’s air

"The Air We Breathe" is a yearlong investigative project by two nonprofit newsrooms, the Cicero Independiente and MuckRock, who have been monitoring air pollution in Cicero. What we found: Cicero’s air quality is much worse than surrounding Cook County neighborhoods, and it’s worse than what the Environmental Protection Agency and pilot programs run by the city and Microsoft have routinely reported.

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