Crystal Paul

The Flashy Fugitives: Ex-Loretto Leader And Pal Accused Of Stealing Millions Are Living Large In Dubai Anosh Ahmed and Sameer Suhail could face years in prison in the United States — but they’ve fled abroad, court records show. Suhail has opened a luxe plastic surgery clinic, while Ahmed is making appe...

ICYMI some dogged follow-up to the Loretto Hospital scandal from @bauerjournalism.bsky.social‬ blockclubchicago.org/2025/07/22/t...

Read the original investigation from Kelly Bauer and David Jackson here: illinoisanswers.org/2021/04/28/c...

Billions in Profits, Millions in Unpaid Claims: Medicaid Insurers Leave Illinois Providers Struggling, Patients Losing Care Clinics and hospitals are drowning in denied and delayed claims from Illinois Medicaid managed care organizations (MCOs). To cope, some have stopped accepting Medicaid altogether. Meanwhile, MCOs see increasing profits, but aren’t meeting quality metrics.

When providers care for Mediciad patients, managed care orgs (MCOs) are supposed to reimburse them in 30-90 days. Instead, they're delaying & denying them at rates as high as 60%.

Illinois providers say they have to drop Medicaid patients or go out of business
illinoisanswers.org/2025/08/05/m...

Chicago's All-Girls Baseball Team, Full Of Barrier-Breaking High School Stars, Heads To Nationals Perfect Catch Chicago is made up of girls playing on varsity high school boys’ baseball teams, with one already receiving a scholarship to play college ball.

“Size in baseball never mattered, and if that doesn’t matter, neither does gender. You don’t have to bench 400 pounds to hit a baseball,” Carlton Hondras said. “In the long run, I want them to be recognized as ballpayers, not just girls playing baseball.”

blockclubchicago.org/2025/07/18/c...

'Granny flats' are illegal to build in most of Chicago —and political gridlock is keeping it that way. Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs) or "granny flats" are illegal to build in most of Chicago, but a pilot program allowing them in some areas showed promising results. City officials are divided over the...

While you wait for the City Council vote on Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs) today, read up on how and why "granny flats" have been such a fraught issue in Chicago:
illinoisanswers.org/2025/05/27/g... by @alexnitkin.bsky.social

Private School Demographics — ProPublica Look up the demographics of private schools across the country and see how they compare to the public schools nearby.

How segregated are your local private schools?

With our database, look up the demographics of private schools across the country and see how they compare to the public schools nearby.

By @cerealcommas.bsky.social @natlash.bsky.social @bxroberts.org

A New Wastewater Plant in Carterville Could Stop Sewage Overflows — Why Hasn’t Construction Started Yet? Carterville residents say sewage floods their homes and yards. A new wastewater treatment plant could resolve the issue, but construction hasn’t started.

After investigating the decades of sewage flooding in Cahokia Heights, state investigative reporter @jayohday.bsky.social is back w/ a look into sewage flooding in Carterville & why a new wastewater treatment plant approved years ago still hasn't been built.
illinoisanswers.org/2025/07/15/a...

Detours and Dead Ends on the Path to Opportunity

That's a wrap. Check out the project here to learn more about the issues discussed tonight:

makingitinchicago.illinoisanswers.org

Faust: We ran the program twice and now we're out of money. It goes quickly. But through the SmartBuy program we were able to help create 1100 homeowners.

Faust: This is not your student debt, or your parents' student debt. The interest is compounding. We've set up a system that does not help the consumer.

Faust: "In the last ten years the top one or two reasons for people not becoming homeowners is student debt."

Now we have Kristin Faust, executive director of the Illinois Housing Development Association, in conversation with reporter Claire Murphy to talk about the Smart Buy program that allows Illinois residents to get their student loan debt relieved and buy their first homes.

I am so incredibly hopeful. Particularly as I sit in a room like this. We recognize that there are people in need. I'm so encouraged just looking around the room.

I'm encouraged about early education and how it's becoming a profession. We are not babysitters. We are educators.

Bianchini: We're trying to create a living wage for our staff, a good education for our children, and affordable care for families but the reimbursement rate just isn't there. The math just doesn't work.

We have not had a raise since 2019.

Bianchini: When you're trying to become self supporting and self sustaining. That child care piece is the most important piece.

Bianchini: You have an income cap and once you get to that income cap, if you are one cent over, you lose your child care subsidy.

You lose $500/week for that one cent you're over the cap.

"We've got to get these babies young to make real impact," said Bianchini, who started her career teaching in Chicago's underserved communities.

To qualify for CCAP, she said, you have to submit several pay stubs. But how can you get a job to get those paystubs when you don't have child care?

Now, Kimberly Bianchini owner of Advance Preschool in conversation with reporter Meredith Newman.

"A lot of the things we're talking about here and in the Making it in Chicago project are a product of policies passed in the 50s. So I hope you all are engaged in the political process." --Ramson

"I'm not a violence interrupters," said Ramson. "I'm alive because of violence interrupters."

Ramson engaged his neighbors in a block club to work to drive out illicit activity on his block.

Now, Bryan Ramson, a West side resident in conversation with reporter Jim Daley about violence interrupters in West Side communities

"This is how our segregation has been maintained. By saying 'well each neighborhood gets to decide.'" -Novara

Marisa Novara is the Vice President of Community Impact with the Chicago Community Trust. She has worked on policies to tackle segregation and affordable housing, including policies to legalize accessory dwelling units.

Decisions about ADUs are often a "real fear-based reaction," Novara said.

Here at the National Public Housing Museum, where we're talking about our "Making it in Chicago" project.

We've got storytelling sessions on affordable housing, violence interrupters, child care subsidies, & student loan debt.

First up is Marisa Novara in conversation with @alexnitkin.bsky.social

Chicago Cop Who Inadvertently Shot and Killed Partner Has Lengthy Disciplinary Record over Short Career Officer Carlos A. Baker has had more than a dozen complaints against him, records show. He has faced three suspensions and two reprimands.

Officer Carlos A. Baker had over a dozen misconduct complaints by the time he inadvertently shot Krystal Rivera, the 1st Chicago officer killed by “friendly fire” in 40 years.

@ctoner.bsky.social @peternickeas.bsky.social and @schuba.bsky.social report.

illinoisanswers.org/2025/06/27/c...

Wasted Waters: How Southern Illinois is Coping with Decades of Sewage Flooding… and Why it Still Isn’t Solved. Five dozen communities in Southern Illinois account for a third of the reported sanitary sewer overflows in the state in the last decade. But with low revenues, population declines, and bureaucratic d...

Cahokia Heights has been in the news before. The residents there have dealt with sewage flooding their homes for *decades*.

But the flooding continues.

@jayohday.bsky.social explores what's been done to fix it & why it's still happening throughout S. Illinois.

illinoisanswers.org/2025/06/17/w...

Wasted Waters: How Southern Illinois is Coping with Decades of Sewage Flooding… and Why it Still Isn’t Solved. Five dozen communities in Southern Illinois account for a third of the reported sanitary sewer overflows in the state in the last decade. But with low revenues, population declines, and bureaucratic d...

Five dozen Southern Illinois towns saw a third of the state’s sewer overflows over the last decade—but shrinking populations and red tape make fixes elusive.

Read the investigation:
illinoisanswers.org/2025/06/17/w...

Thread to follow on hearing over National Guard deployment in CA

Happening now, State and Madison: Rainbow PUSH coalition members protesting outside the goth Target. Couple dozen people marching a picket line, singing.

Reported while waiting to hear how much the company intends to cut our reporting staff. Moments like this demand more journalism, not less.

You'll have a long life with which to do so

In case anyone else needed to be enabled this morning