What toll does witnessing gun violence take on young people?
Trauma from exposure to gun violence can impact attendance, behavior and academic achievement of students.
Criminal Justice
The investigative reporters on WBEZ’s criminal justice desk tell the stories of the thousands of individuals churning through the legal systems every year in Chicago, Cook County and Illinois and hold to account the powerful officials in charge of those systems. Covering policing, jails and prisons, gun violence and solutions to it, WBEZ’s Criminal Justice team works to bring understanding to some of the most difficult problems facing our region.
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‘Peacekeepers’ try to prevent violence using hard-won street smarts
For a $100 stipend, some Chicagoans who are statistically among the most at-risk of gun violence are working to change themselves and their neighborhoods.
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A new police academy is learning from NYC and LA, but not Chicago
Former interim CPD superintendent Charlie Beck discusses potential paths to reform in the Chicago Police Department.
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Mayor Brandon Johnson unveils safety plan for Memorial Day weekend
He and interim police Supt. Fred Waller said there will be more officers on public transit and in business areas and examining bags at beaches and Millennium Park.
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Waukegan cops who extracted a teen’s false confession to a shooting will face no discipline
But the north suburb has agreed to pay $200,000 to the 15-year-old, who was wrongly charged with attempted murder and jailed for two nights.
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Authorities are recovering more carjacked vehicles in Chicago, providing crucial data
The recoveries and years of data sharing are helping to shed light on who is doing the carjacking and why, but arrest rates are still low.
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Yellow-vested Peacekeepers, funded by the state, will patrol Chicago streets Memorial Day weekend
Thirty members of a “crisis prevention and response unit” are set to help out at large street gatherings to try to help keep the peace.
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Got a loved one in an Illinois prison? WBEZ’s Prisoncast! wants to hear from you.
Prisoncast! is a journalism and audio project from WBEZ to serve people in prison and their families on the outside. Your requests make it possible.
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The Catholic church in Illinois vastly underreported clergy sex abuse, Kwame Raoul finds
At the start of a five-year investigation by the attorney general, Cardinal Blase Cupich told seminarians the Archdiocese of Chicago had “posted all of the names” of predatory clergy. As Raoul’s investigation neared its end, Cupich kept adding more names.
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Chicago’s top cop ends training agreement with Texas firm with ties to ex-police superintendent
Professional Law Enforcement Training has been paid more than $1.3 million and is owned by a colleague of former Chicago Police Supt. David Brown.
