Will CPD’s response to the DNC bring more of the same violence?

On May 4, students and organizers set up tents outside of the Art Institute of Chicago and hung a sign that read, “Free Palestine.” Following protests on college campuses across the country, the Gaza solidarity encampment formed to demand the School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC) divest from the Israeli government amid its ongoing assault on Gaza. 

Within 30 minutes, officers issued an arrest warning and began blocking demonstrators from leaving, according to a statement later released by the People’s Art Institute, the collective responsible for the encampment. Protesters locked arms to defend the encampment and each other, standing in confrontation with officers for hours. 

Throughout the day, hundreds of people joined the demonstration in the North Garden of the private museum in downtown Chicago. The Chicago Police Department (CPD) set up barricades to contain the protest. 

Officers eventually broke through the human chain and pulled students from the encampment, pushing them to the ground and arresting them while their belongings remained scattered around the garden. Students were “slammed into the ground, hit, kneeled and stepped on, and dragged,” the People’s Art Institute said in its statement. Two people had to be taken to the hospital.

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‘We will not protect you’ - Invisible Institute reporters on police misconduct in 2020 and the holes in police accountability

NEW in the Chicago Reader: Invisible Institute's Erisa Apantaku, Andrew Fan, Dana Brozost-Kelleher, Maheen Khan and Isra Rahman published an investigation into officers accused of misconduct during the summer of 2020 and the outcome of discipline cases. 

On the final day of May in 2020, at the height of demonstrations against police violence that gripped cities nationwide after the murder of George Floyd, protesters filmed a violent scene at the corner of Clark and Hubbard in Chicago’s River North neighborhood. Amid a confrontation with protesters, roughly a dozen Chicago police officers beat demonstrators, striking some with batons as they tried to escape and others as they fell to the ground.

A video provided to the Invisible Institute shows an officer named Richard Bankus approach one of the people on the ground. Bankus raises his baton and strikes the man, appearing to hit him in the head. As he’s hit, the protester on the ground backs away from Bankus, trying to avoid additional blows.

All the while, Sergeant Zachary Rubald stands directly behind Bankus, looking on. The scene unfolding in front of him is serious. Chicago Police Department (CPD) policy forbids officers from hitting people with batons unless they are attacking or threatening to attack officers or others. Even more, baton strikes to the head qualify as deadly force and are never allowed against nonviolent protesters. As a sergeant, Rubald is responsible for ensuring officers follow CPD rules and for reporting any misconduct he witnesses. 

Instead, Rubald turns and walks away; he never reports the incident.

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Sangamon County Sheriff defends hiring of Sean Grayson. Experts say he was negligent and missed red flags

The Sangamon County Sheriff’s Office hired now former deputy Sean Grayson despite his history of policing at five other police departments in 3 years, serious misconduct in the military and integrity issues at former jobs. 

Experts say this combination of issues should have been a glaring warning about Grayson as a candidate. 

“In this particular circumstance, there were enough red flags or things that you go, wow, there’s a problem here,” said Chris Burbank, a former longtime chief of the Salt Lake City Police Department. 

In an interview conducted August 1, Sangamon County Sheriff Jack Campbell defended his agency’s vetting of Grayson. Campbell, 60, has said he won’t resign amid public criticism in the wake of the shooting death of Sonya Massey, a Black woman, at the hand of Grayson, who is white.

Grayson has been charged with first-degree murder, aggravated battery with a firearm and official misconduct after shooting and killing Massey in her home in the early morning hours of July 6 after she called for help thinking there was a prowler outside her home in the Cabbage Patch neighborhood of unincorporated Sangamon County, just outside Springfield. 

Invisible Institute, IPM News, and Illinois Times obtained Grayson’s personnel file and application materials through a public records request to the Sangamon County Sheriff’s Office. After reviewing these records, Burbank said he believes the Sheriff’s Office was negligent in hiring Grayson. 

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Image: Dean Olsen / Illinois Times

ProPublica Selects Three Newsroom Partners for the Local Reporting Network

ProPublica has selected three partner newsrooms to work with its Local Reporting Network over the next three years. Each of the participating local media partners — Arizona Luminaria, Invisible Institute and the New York Amsterdam News — will dedicate a reporter for a three-year term to focus solely on investigative reporting, in collaboration with ProPublica’s editors and specialized teams. This project is made possible by a grant from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation.

“Over the last six years, the Local Reporting Network has delivered critical reporting to communities across the country and prompted real-life changes,” ProPublica Assistant Managing Editor Sarah Blustain said. “With the support from the Knight Foundation, we’re excited to be able to support more sustained partnerships with these three newsrooms, all of which have a demonstrated track record of investigative reporting. We’re thrilled to get started.”

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Deputy who killed Sonya Massey joined Sangamon County Sheriff after past employers questioned his integrity and conduct

Sean Grayson, the former sheriff’s deputy facing murder charges for killing Sonya Massey in Sangamon County, Illinois, left a previous agency after complaints were filed against him for claims of inappropriate conduct with a female detainee and retaliation against her boyfriend after she filed a complaint. 

Invisible Institute, Illinois Public Media and the Investigative Reporting Workshop obtained new records from the Logan County Sheriff’s Office, where Grayson worked for 11 months prior to Sangamon County, that show department officials concluded Grayson ignored internal policies during a high-speed chase, fielded at least two formal complaints about his behavior and told him directly that they had considered firing him.

These records also include audio recordings from a November 2022 interview between Grayson and Logan County’s chief deputy which suggest the department — as well as other police departments that had employed him — were previously aware of issues with his performance and integrity as an officer. 

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Deputy accused of killing Sonya Massey in Springfield was discharged from U.S. Army for serious misconduct

Sean Grayson, the former Sangamon County Sheriff’s deputy now charged with murder in the fatal shooting of Sonya Massey, was previously discharged from the U.S. Army for serious misconduct, military records show.

Grayson, who is white, was indicted by a grand jury in the July 6 death of Massey, who is Black. Ben Crump, the family’s attorney, said the U.S. Department of Justice has also opened an investigation into the incident, but the agency said in a statement that it is “assessing the circumstances” and following the criminal case.

Documents obtained from the Kincaid Police Department, where Grayson previously worked, note that he was discharged in 2016 for “Misconduct (Serious Offense)” at the Fort Riley Army installation in Kansas. Army officials confirmed Grayson was a wheeled vehicle mechanic from May 2014 to February 2016, but declined to provide further details about his discharge. 

“The Privacy Act and (Department of Defense) policy prevent us from releasing information relating to the misconduct of low-level employees or characterization of service at discharge,” Army spokesman Bryce S. Dubee wrote in an email. Officials at Fort Riley did not return voicemails seeking comment.

Anthony Ghiotto, a former Air Force prosecutor who now teaches law at the University of Illinois, said there are several reasons why a service member could receive this type of discharge, including as a potential result of a court-martial conviction, in lieu of a court-martial proceeding, or if they commit a civilian infraction that can’t be disciplined through the military justice system. He said this kind of discharge suggests that Grayson committed an offense equivalent to something that would have led to at least a year of incarceration for a civilian.

“A good way of looking at it is, if it would be a misdemeanor in the civilian world, it’s not going to be a ‘serious offense,’” he said.

Full story - Reporting by Farrah Anderson and Sam Stecklow, for Invisible Institute and the Investigative Reporting Workshop

The Invisible Institute: Balancing accolades and innovation

“I feel like I’ve been running a marathon,” says Trina Reynolds-Tyler, the data director at the Invisible Institute.

Reynolds-Tyler, along with her colleagues and reporting partners, has been on the run ever since the Chicago-based nonprofit newsroom made headlines by winning two Pulitzer Prizes and a Peabody award in early May. It’s been a whirlwind of collecting awards, doing press interviews and speaking at conferences to talk about their unique and deeply community-centric reporting process.

The 13-person newsroom is dedicated to human rights reporting and earned their latest awards for two different projects done in partnership with other media outlets. “You Didn’t See Nothin,” a podcast series produced by the Invisible Institute in partnership with USG Audio, earned a Pulitzer and a Peabody for audio investigation and delved into a historic case of a hate crime in Chicago that left deep wounds in the community.

Reynolds-Tyler earned the local reporting Pulitzer for “Missing in Chicago,” an investigation that she co-wrote with Sarah Conway of City Bureau, another non-profit newsroom in Chicago whose founders are alums of the Invisible Institute.

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Urbana activists want more police oversight. But local laws hold the civilian review board hostage

Ricardo Diaz joined the Urbana Civilian Police Review Board in 2011, hoping to bring change to policing in the city of 40,000.

When he moved to Urbana to start a job with the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, he reached out to the city to see how he could help the local immigrant population, as an immigrant to the U.S. himself. That’s when he was recruited to join the Urbana Civilian Police Review Board, which needed members.

Although police oversight wasn’t what he initially bargained for, he thought serving on the CPRB could impact how police treated residents, including immigrants. 

But over the years, as Diaz learned more about the board and its limitations, he says, he “woke up.” Now, Diaz says the board’s power is sharply curtailed. 

The CPRB operates on an uncommon model. Complaints about Urbana police and staff are first investigated by the department itself. Once the investigation is complete, the Chief of Police decides on next steps — including whether to order additional training or discipline. 

If the complainant decides to appeal that decision, only then does the CPRB start a review. 

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Yohance Lacour on NPR Fresh Air

Yohance joins Tonya Mosley on NPR’s Fresh Air to discuss the award-winning podcast You Didn’t See Nothin. Yohance Lacour tells the story of Lenard Clark, a 13-year-old Black boy who was beaten into a coma after riding his bike into a predominantly white neighborhood — and the importance of the case today.

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Wisconsin is in the minority of states shielding police data. We’re suing to change that.

This story is being co-published by the Wisconsin Examiner and Invisible Institute, a nonprofit public accountability journalism organization based in Chicago.

Since 2017, Wisconsin policing regulators have tracked what they call “flagged officers”: cops who get fired, resign in lieu of a termination, or resign before an investigation into alleged misconduct can be completed.

The regulators, with the Law Enforcement Standards Board (LESB), were prompted by a series of reports on officers accused of sexual assault and dishonesty who had been able to get rehired — including as a police chief — with little oversight from the state. 

“What we’re trying to do is eliminate the opportunity for somebody to slip through the cracks,” the chair of the LESB said at the time, referring to a phenomenon often called “wandering officers.”

Seven years in, it’s difficult to see what has changed: Because flagged officers can still be hired, they often are — and at an increasing rate, according to recent reporting. And because the flagged officers list is limited to only some officers who were disciplined or resigned, there is still potential for additional officers with histories of misconduct to have slipped through the cracks to new agencies undetected.

Read the full article by Sam Stecklow

Invisible Institute wins seven Peter Lisagor Awards

The Chicago Headline Club congratulates all the winners of the 47th annual Peter Lisagor Awards for exemplary journalism.

The awards were handed out May 10 at a gathering of more than 200 members of the local media community. The entries were judged by an impartial Society of Professional Journalists chapter outside Illinois.

Invisible Institute received seven awards across three different journalism projects.

Missing in Chicago, our seven-part investigation into Chicago police handling of missing person cases in collaboration with City Bureau, received 4 awards for Best multimedia collaboration, Best use of feature video, Best reporting on crime and justice by a small newsroom, Best reporting on race and diversity by a small newsroom.

You Didn’t See Nothin, our audio investigative podcast revisiting the 1990s hate crime against Lenard Clark in the Bridgeport neighborhood of Chicago in partnership with USG Audio, received two awards for Best feature reporting series by a small newsroom and Best investigative reporting by a small newsroom.

Jamie Kalven’s reporting, See No Evil: Why Does the Chicago Police Department Tolerate Abusive Racists in Its Ranks? published in The Intercept, received the Best reporting on race and diversity by a large newsroom.

See full list of award winners

Missing in Chicago wins Richard H. Driehaus Foundation Award

On Thursday, May 9th, trina reynolds-tyler and Senior Reporter for City Bureau Sarah Conway were awarded the Richard H. Driehaus Foundation Award for Investigative Reporting in their Small Newsroom Category for their seven-part investigation Missing in Chicago.

The awards highlight the impact of Illinois investigative and enterprise reporting as a reform tool within the context of state and local government waste, fraud, and corruption.

The awards are generously sponsored by the Richard H. Driehaus Foundation, which supports investigative reporting that fosters greater transparency, accountability and effectiveness in government institutions at the local level.

Watch the full awards ceremony

You Didn't See Nothin wins Peabody Award

We're thrilled to share that You Didn't See Nothin has received a Peabody Award! For more than 80 years, the Peabody Awards has honored excellence in storytelling that reflects the social issues and the emerging voices of our day.

Congratulations to our award-winning audio team: Yohance Lacour, Bill Healy, Dana Brozost-Kelleher, Erisa Apantaku, Sarah Geis, Alison Flowers, Steven Jackson, Phil Dmochowski, Taka Yasuzawa, Alex Sugiura, Jamie Kalven, and Josh Bloch for USG Audio.

See all Peabody winners

Invisible Institute Wins Two Pulitzer Prizes

On May 6, the Invisible Institute was awarded two Pulitzer Prizes. The team behind You Didn’t See Nothin won the Pulitzer Prize for Audio Reporting, and trina reynolds-tyler and Sarah Conway of City Bureau were awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Local Reporting for their series Missing in Chicago.

See the full list of 2024 Pulitzer Prize winners

Andrew Fan Named to 2024 Emerging Leaders Council

The Institute for Nonprofit News (INN) welcomes 14 members of the 2024 INN Emerging Leaders Council (ELC). These forward-looking, innovative leaders set the stage for sustainable growth for their organizations and serve as a model for leaders across the field. 

This year’s cohort will focus on succession planning, board development, fine-tuning long-term fundraising practices and growing collaborative networks that unite nonprofit newsrooms to report on key issues. 

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Peabody Award Nominee: You Didn't See Nothin

The Peabody Awards Board of Jurors today announced the 41 nominees for the Documentary, News, Public Service, and Radio/Podcast categories selected to represent the most compelling and empowering stories released in broadcasting and streaming media during 2023. The nominees were chosen by a unanimous vote of 32 jurors from over 1,100 entries from television, podcasts/radio and the web in entertainment, news, documentary, arts, children’s/youth, public service, and multimedia programming.

We’re thrilled to share that You Didn’t See Nothin has been nominated for the 84th annual Peabody Awards.

The winners of the 84th annual Peabody Awards will be announced on May 9 and then celebrated on Sunday, June 9 at a ceremony at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel in Los Angeles. From major productions to local journalism, the Peabody Awards shine a light on the Stories That Matter and are a testament to the power of art and reportage in the push for truth, social justice, and equity.

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Yohancified: Making You Didn’t See Nothin

Note from Sarah Geis: This manifesto is made up of excerpts of interviews I did with fellow members of the core production team: Yohance Lacour, Bill Healy, Erisa Apantaku and Dana Brozost-Kelleher. But the podcast could not have been made without the fearless reporting and advocacy of Alison Flowers and Jamie Kalven at the Invisible Institute, thoughtful guidance of Josh Bloch at USG, and 4 literal sound geniuses: Taka Yasuzawa and Alex Sugiura (music composition) and Steven Jackson and Phil Dmochoski (sound design and sage editorial advice). 

Yohance Lacour: Initially the idea was a long-form written journalism piece, and it was not really gonna focus on my personal story. I got a fellowship to do it from the Invisible Institute, which was dope. But honestly, it was hard as fuck just to get started. Trying to find all of the players 25 years later — that alone was extremely difficult for me, coming home from prison, not understanding where to look for all the archival information. Then Jamie [Kalven, founder of the Invisible Institute] suggested I talk to the audio team about a podcast.

Sarah Geis: What did you think a podcast was?

Yohance: I didn’t understand the concept. I hadn’t heard of a podcast. And so when it was first brought to me, I’m just thinking like talk radio. I’m thinking about my father, for years, listening to NPR on the radio in the kitchen. I didn’t know what else was out there. And you, my whole team, was suggesting podcasts for me to listen to. And honestly I just never got into them. They felt slow. They felt boring. They felt like they were gonna put me to sleep. I’m not trying to diss all podcasts– 

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Despite Reforms, Louisiana Still Keeps Some Police Data Secret

In 2015, Louisiana lawmakers created a database to track police certifications, which officers must maintain to work in law enforcement. Legislators claimed the information would prevent police officers with histories of misconduct from finding new law enforcement jobs in other jurisdictions.

But, by virtually all accounts, that database has failed to achieve its objective. According to repeated journalistic investigations, officers in Louisiana regularly maintain their certifications after being criminally convicted. Many fail to report to the state why they leave their jobs as required by law. And some then go on to commit misconduct with new police departments. 

This story is being co-published by The Appeal and the Invisible Institute, a Chicago-based nonprofit public accountability journalism organization.

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You Didn't See Nothin wins ASME 2024 Podcast Award

One of the most prestigious journalism-awards programs in the United States, the National Magazine Awards are sponsored by the American Society of Magazine Editors in association with the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism. Originally limited to print magazines, the awards now recognize magazine storytelling published in any print or digital medium. The awards are currently presented in 17 categories.

We are thrilled to share that You Didn’t See Nothin won the Podcasting award at the April 2nd 59th annual awards presentation at Terminal 5 in New York City.

See a full list of award winners here.

PODCASTING
Honors the outstanding use of audio content by magazines and websites

• Invisible Institute With USG Audio for three episodes of “You Didn’t See Nothin,” hosted by Yohance Lacour: “Episode 1: Young Black Male,” “Episode 2: Holler If Ya Hear Me” and “Episode 3: Heartz of Men”

Vote for You Didn't See Nothin - Webby People's Choice Awards!

Invisible Institute’s You Didn’t See Nothin has been nominated for the 28th Annual Webby Awards! Help us win People’s Choice by voting now.

Voting is open now through Thursday, April 18th, at 11:59 pm PDT.

The Webby Awards is the leading international award honoring excellence on the Internet.

Established in 1996 during the Web’s infancy, The Webbys is presented by the International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences (IADAS)—a 3000+ member judging body. The Academy is comprised of Executive Members—leading Internet experts, business figures, luminaries, visionaries and creative celebrities—and Associate Members who are former Webby Winners, Nominees and other Internet professionals.