Invisible Institute

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 chicagojournalists@protonmail.com.

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...

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.

Illinois' "top DUI cop" led the state in DUI arrests from 2022–2024 and made more than 500 arrests during that period. A new investigation examines allegations that some arrests relied on fabricated evidence. Read more in Block Club Chicago. blockclubchicago.org/2026/05/28/s...

Recommended reading: A new analysis found no evidence that removing ShotSpotter slowed police response times or increased violent crime. Read more from WTTW News: news.wttw.com/2026/05/27/c...

Invisible Institute reporter Yohance Lacour and former investigations editor Alison Flowers have joined a lawsuit alleging that major tech companies used their voices without consent to train AI systems. Read more via Capitol News Illinois: capitolnewsillinois.com/news/tech-gi...

Check out this major legal update out of Chicago from @wttw. The family of Adam Toledo has refiled their wrongful death lawsuit against the city, this time moving the case to federal court.

A new essay by Jamie Kalven examines the delayed release of body camera footage in the 2025 shooting death of Officer Krystal Rivera and what it reveals about transparency in Chicago. Read more: invisible.institute/latestblog/j...

Eighteen Chicago residents have filed legal claims following a 2025 immigration raid in South Shore. The claims cite reporting by Invisible Institute’s Maira Khwaja and South Side Weekly documenting the operation and its aftermath. Read reporting updates here: invisible.institute/all-investig...

Recently, several Invisible Institute investigations received national and regional journalism honors, including Policing The Vulnerable, Accusation Dismissed, and the Robert Johnson investigation.

Join us tomorrow for Invisible Institute’s Spring Opening at Experimental Station. Games, food, music, and free copies of the Chicago Reader and South Side Weekly. Thursday, May 14 · 5:30–8 PM 6100 S. Blackstone Ave Free and open to all. RSVP: link in bio.

Nearly eight years after Chicago police killed Harith “Snoop” Augustus in South Shore, an appellate court has ordered a new trial in a case brought by Augustus’ family. The decision overturns the 2023 verdict that ruled in favor of the officers.

Invisible Institute and @thepulp.org filed a lawsuit in Montana seeking access to police employment data. The case challenges a policy that blocks information used to identify “wandering officers.”