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There have been more than 70 fires, including a dozen cases of self-immolation, in the last three years at an Illinois prison that was supposed to be a model of prioritizing mental health treatment and healing instead of punishment.

How An Illinois Prison Drove Desperate Men to Set Themselves on FireDesigned to help people with serious mental illness, Joliet Treatment Center repeatedly failed to prevent or respond to fires, despite two deaths.www.themarshallproject.org

New from me: A WTTW News analysis of CPS disciplinary records offers a rare look at employee misconduct findings & the system leaders use to punish workers. Records shed a light on a process affecting hundreds each year that many employees say remains difficult to understand, navigate or challenge.

More Than 700 CPS Employees Disciplined for Misconduct Over 1 Year, 10 Faced Allegations of Sexual AbuseOne year of employee discipline data, obtained by WTTW News, reveals more than 700 cases of misbehavior across Chicago Public Schools. Case outcomes ranged from verbal warnings and written reprimands ...news.wttw.com

“At 7 AM on a Saturday, I participated in a mass-casualty simulation drill held in the firefighter training area of O’Hare International Airport.” New: Morley Musick participates in a fake plane crash. www.nplusonemag.com/online-only/...

Disaster Rehearsal | Morley MusickAt 7 AM on a Saturday in September 2025, I participated in a mass-casualty simulation drill held in the firefighter training area of O’Hare International Airport.www.nplusonemag.com

Update: Gov. J.B. Pritzker has signed this legislation into law. Read our work below with @boltsmag.org to see how Illinois is raising the compensation for wrongfully convicted people, who often leave prison with few means to rebuild their lives.

NEW: California continues to resist restrictions on solitary confinement. Prison officials had implemented some minor reforms in 2023, as a sort of compromise when Newsom vetoed a bill meant to ban the more torturous aspects of solitary confinement. But they're now dialing even those back.

One Step Forward, Two Steps Back for Solitary Reforms in California - BoltsCalifornia officials dial back the minor reforms they've made to isolation in prison, four years after Governor Gavin Newsom vetoed legislation to rein in solitary confinement.boltsmag.org

Palestinian olive oil importers contend with drought, tariffs, and settler violence to bring their product to Chicago. https://bit.ly/4vi8lRs

Palestinian American olive oil importers in Chicago are strugglingPalestinian olive oil importers contend with drought, tariffs, and settler violence to bring their product to Chicago.chicagoreader.com

The bill, SB248, would remove a procedural hurdle for incarcerated people who were sentenced when under the age of 21 to challenge their convictions. https://to.wttw.com/4gO0JlU

Bill Awaiting Pritzker’s Signature Would Clear Hurdle for People Challenging Sentences on Crimes Committed When Under 21This bill would expand on prior laws and court rulings that have increasingly required judges to take defendants’ youth into account.to.wttw.com

For my latest, I reported from Florida, where more death-row prisoners have been executed since 2025 than all other states combined. I looked at how this accelerated pace is affecting people on the ground, beginning with a priest who ministers to men on death row. www.nytimes.com/2026/06/30/m...

Capital Punishment Is on the Decline. Except in Ron DeSantis’s Florida.www.nytimes.com

illinoisanswers.org/2026/06/24/a... Our story on Illinois lawmakers including Gov. JB Pritzker balancing the budget off the backs of gamblers. Last year people in the state lost $7.7 billion gambling. Of those losses, more than $4.1 billion went to sportsbooks, slot machines and casino operators

Addicted to Gambling in Illinois: ‘Someone Has Decided They Can Make Money Off You’People in Illinois lost more than $7.7 billion gambling last year.  As lawmakers increasingly bet on gambling to pay the state’s bills, they have only spare change to treat compulsive gamblersillinoisanswers.org

Exclusive: How a prisoner ended up alone in the war court in a death penalty case at Guantanamo Bay. --A look back at a most unusual pretrial hearing in the long-drawn-out 9/11 case at the place the Pentagon calls Camp Justice. www.nytimes.com/2026/06/03/u...

How a Prisoner Ended Up Alone in Court in a Death Penalty Casewww.nytimes.com

Please join us at Mouse on Wednesday, June 3, to hear from @nvancleve.bsky.social about her new book, “Crime Fictions”.

catch me, @gracehauck.bsky.social and @knibbs.bsky.social @ the mouse arts & letters club this coming wednesday! 🐀🔎📰

@ Mouse on Saturday, May 23 !

NEW: With a Chance at Freedom, They Faced an Unexpected Obstacle: Their Own Lawyers @samanthamelamed.bsky.social @dylancpurcell.bsky.social @inquirer.com

With a Chance at Freedom, They Faced an Unexpected Obstacle: Their Own LawyersPennsylvania courts allow attorneys to argue against their convicted clients’ bid for justice. It has resulted in people spending years or decades in prison before being freed based on issues lawyers ...www.propublica.org

6/ This week Akinsulie and 16 other men, women and children detained that night filed administrative claims against the federal government. It is the first step toward seeking accountability, their lawyers said, as well as millions of dollars in damages. www.propublica.org/article/chic...

Immigrants Detained in Chicago Military-Style Raid Seek Millions in DamagesNew accounts from 17 men, women and children taken in a midnight raid paint a violent, terrifying portrait of the federal agents’ alleged actions. These descriptions form the basis of claims filed thi...www.propublica.org

“I will not live to have another hearing. After two 15-year denials, why would I even bother going?” 78-y/o Betty Broderick told @theappeal.org in March. “The Board has turned my 15-to-life conviction into the death penalty without any due process." She died last week. theappeal.org/incarcerated...

California Spends $300 Million Each Year Incarcerating Senior Citizens in Women’s PrisonsCalifornia’s incarcerated population has aged rapidly over the past 30 years. A new report recommends pathways for release.theappeal.org

For @nplusonemag.com, my essay about Operation Midway Blitz. I wrote about the apartment building that ICE raided, a young woman in ICE custody, asylum seekers and phone games, Silverio Villegas González & the owner of the hot dog restaurant where he worked. www.nplusonemag.com/issue-53/pol...

ICE in Autumn | Morley MusickOscar Martinez’s remarks were emblematic of a more general response to Midway Blitz: an aggrieved, futile attempt to correct someone who has violently misinterpreted reality. Over and over, I heard Ch...www.nplusonemag.com

I wrote in the past about the ISP public integrity task force, which did not show much evidence of holding suburban departments accountable for shootings over the years. projects.bettergov.org/taking-cover...

Failed Oversight Follows Suburban Police ShootingsReview finds little evidence that suburban police departments second-guess their officers who fire weapons under questionable circumstances.projects.bettergov.org

NEW: Chicago keeps having to exonerate people after wrongly convicting and incarcerating them. But when they then try to get a court certificate attesting to their exoneration, to help them with housing & jobs, prosecutors are fighting them. This is due to new policies of Chicago prosecutor:

In Chicago, Prosecutors Fight to Keep Exonerated People from Clearing Their Names - BoltsUnder State’s Attorney Eileen O’Neill Burke, Cook County prosecutors have tried to block nearly every exonerated person who has sought a court declaration of their innocence. It's another stark sign o...boltsmag.org