Hi Reader,

Investigative journalism is one of the most powerful tools our democracy has to hold our government institutions, elected officials and big businesses accountable. We cannot afford to let such work wither, but the state of the legacy news industry has only deteriorated in 2020.

ProPublica is working hard to help fill the growing gap in investigative journalism all over the country. Take a look at these recent stories:

• She Noticed $200 Million Missing, Then She Was Fired
  Alice Stebbins was hired to fix the finances of California’s powerful utility regulator. She was fired after finding $200 million for the state’s deaf, blind and poor residents was missing.

• Two School Districts Had Different Mask Policies. Only One Had a Teacher on a Ventilator.
  Eleven states let school districts decide whether students and staff must wear masks. One Georgia middle school where masks were optional became the center of an outbreak.

• NYPD Cops Cash In on Sex Trade Arrests With Little Evidence, While Black and Brown New Yorkers Pay the Price
  Some New York Police Dept. officers who police the sex trade, driven by overtime pay, go undercover to round up as many arrests as they can with little evidence. Almost no one they arrest is white.

• Judges Are Locking Up Children for Noncriminal Offenses Like Repeatedly Disobeying Their Parents and Skipping School
  Michigan’s juvenile justice system is archaic. Counties act with little oversight, and the state keeps such poor data it doesn’t know how many juveniles it has in custody or what happens to them once they’re in the system.

ProPublica is bolstering its journalism investigating corruption, injustice and wrongdoing across the country. We’re expanding our Illinois newsroom to cover the entire Midwest, and we’re adding hubs in the South and Southwest. Altogether, we’re adding more than 30 news staff members to make sure that those in power everywhere are being held to account.

Help ProPublica keep it up with a year-end donation today. We’ve got investigations brewing all over the country, not to mention continuing to look hard at the federal government. From the health and economic effects of the pandemic to climate change, immigration, and more — your donation will help support everything we’re doing to make a real difference.

Join us with your year-end donation in any amount before Thursday night and help us ensure this urgent work thrives in 2021.

Thanks so much,
Jill Shepherd
Proud ProPublican