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Jodi Cohen

@jodiscohen.bsky.social

10K followers 470 following 44 posts

Reporter, @propublica.org www.propublica.org/people/jodi-cohen

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Jodi Cohen @jodiscohen.bsky.social · 1d

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Jodi Cohen @jodiscohen.bsky.social · 1d

🚨Come work with me at @propublica.org!
We are hiring a reporter to cover higher education — the best beat there is. 🏫

job-boards.greenhouse.io/propublica/j...

Higher Education Reporter, National

New York City, United States

job-boards.greenhouse.io

Jodi Cohen @jodiscohen.bsky.social · 5d

Chicago prosecutors have dropped nearly 100 pending cases against people accused of drunk and dangerous driving and other traffic offenses.

Why? The ex-Chicago cop involved in their arrests lied and forged records to dodge his own traffic offenses.

www.propublica.org/article/chic...

Chicago Cop Who Falsely Blamed an Ex-Girlfriend for Dozens of Traffic Tickets Pleads Guilty but Avoids Prison

Retired officer Jeffrey Kriv acknowledged repeatedly lying under oath to avoid paying dozens of speeding and other traffic tickets. Prosecutors have dropped at least 92 cases in which Kriv was a key w...

www.propublica.org

Jodi Cohen @jodiscohen.bsky.social · 6d

Former cop Jeffrey Kriv has pleaded guilty to lying under oath and forging reports to get out of speeding/other tickets.

And with his credibility at issue, prosecutors now have dropped 92 cases where he had been an arresting officer, @propublica.org found.
www.propublica.org/article/chic...

Chicago Cop Who Falsely Blamed an Ex-Girlfriend for Dozens of Traffic Tickets Pleads Guilty but Avoids Prison

Retired officer Jeffrey Kriv acknowledged repeatedly lying under oath to avoid paying dozens of speeding and other traffic tickets. Prosecutors have dropped at least 92 cases in which Kriv was a key w...

www.propublica.org

Reposted by Jodi Cohen

Chris Morran @themorrancave.bsky.social · 21d

🚨 JOURNALISM JOB ALERT🚨
@propublica.org is hiring a reporter for our amazing Midwest team!

Read some of the key details below and apply here: job-boards.greenhouse.io/propublica/j...

Currently, we have reporters based in Illinois, Michigan, Missouri and Wisconsin. We’re looking to add to any of those locations or put a reporter in Ohio, Indiana or Minnesota.

We’re looking to hire someone who:

Has reported original and revelatory accountability stories. If that experience is in the Midwest, all the better.

Is able to bring an accountability lens to the issues of the day through quick investigations reported over a couple of weeks as well as longer projects that may require a few months (or more) of digging.

Embraces urgent, high-stakes stories that are central to public conversation, which can require carving out a lane amid competition.

Strives to report and write stories that are both important and powerfully told and has a vision for how they’d approach major government and corporate institutions in the Midwest.

Has experience with or ideas about all the possible ways we can do journalism now: from deep data digging to working with readers to marrying narrative and investigative forms.

Collaborates well — across our team, across ProPublica and with other news organizations. We believe we do some of our best work when we’re collaborating with others.
Can travel, as needed, for assignments, training and staff meetings.

We know there are great candidates who may not fit into what we’ve described above or who have important skills or interests in topics we haven’t mentioned. If that’s you, don’t hesitate to apply and tell us about yourself. Let us know what you think would make for the most powerful avenues to explore government and corporate accountability journalism out of this region.

Reposted by Jodi Cohen

ProPublica @propublica.org · 23d

NEW: After the @northdakotamonitor.com and ProPublica reported on how oil companies take millions in royalties from mineral owners, more than a half-dozen lawmakers are now proposing a committee to study the issue and suggest solutions.

“Something has to be done,” one legislator said.

Some North Dakota Lawmakers Say Change Is Needed to Protect Oil and Gas Royalty Owners

For years, North Dakota legislators rejected proposals to protect mineral owners from oil and gas companies withholding their earnings. “Something has to be done,” one lawmaker now says.

www.propublica.org

Reposted by Jodi Cohen

ProPublica @propublica.org · 27d

NEW: Federal funding for organizations that help students with hearing and vision loss across eight states will stop at the end of the month, according to letters sent by a top Education Dept. official and obtained by ProPublica.

By @jodiscohen.bsky.social @jsmithrichards.bsky.social

Programs for Students With Hearing and Vision Loss Harmed by Trump’s Anti-Diversity Push

Citing concerns about DEI, the U.S. Department of Education has halted funding for programs that support students with combined hearing and vision loss in eight states. “How low can you go?” one advoc...

www.propublica.org

Jodi Cohen @jodiscohen.bsky.social · 27d

BREAKING: Trump’s Education Dept. cancels grants that help students who are both deaf and blind.

“How low can you go?” said one person who works with DeafBlind students and their families.

W/ @jsmithrichards.bsky.social for @propublica.org

www.propublica.org/article/trum...

Programs for Students With Hearing and Vision Loss Harmed by Trump’s Anti-Diversity Push

Citing concerns about DEI, the U.S. Department of Education has halted funding for programs that support students with combined hearing and vision loss in eight states. “How low can you go?” one advoc...

www.propublica.org

Jodi Cohen @jodiscohen.bsky.social · Sep 5

Part 2:

One farmer couldn’t fight the water any longer.

He now has the only rice farm in Illinois.

You have to read this story and see these photos. Get to the end!

A collaboration between @propublica.org and @capitolnewsil.bsky.social

www.propublica.org/article/illi...

The Floods Kept Coming. He Needed to Grow a Crop That Would Thrive in Water — or to Quit.

One Illinois man’s decadeslong fight to convert his fields into rice paddies demonstrates how it’s possible to bring diversity to the Corn Belt, but improbable so long as federal farm policy remains f...

www.propublica.org

Jodi Cohen @jodiscohen.bsky.social · Sep 5

Why some Illinois farmers have “one foot stuck in the mud, the other in government bureaucracy.”

Impressive story, with impressive photographs published by @propublica.org and @capitolnewsil.bsky.social

Part 1 of 2:

www.propublica.org/article/illi...

The Federal Farm Policy Trap: Why Some Farmers Are Stuck Raising Crops That No Longer Thrive

Some farmers keep growing in flood- and drought-prone fields because subsidies soften the losses, while federal programs meant to help them change course have been underfunded and mired in bureaucracy...

www.propublica.org

Jodi Cohen @jodiscohen.bsky.social · Aug 18

A billboard to recruit Proud Boys members has popped up above the cornfields in rural Illinois — and next to a high school.

capitolnewsillinois.com/news/billboa...

Billboard promoting far-right group Proud Boys springs up in southern Illinois

Article Summary A billboard promoting the Proud Boys, a right-wing extremist group, has been put up near a high school

capitolnewsillinois.com

Jodi Cohen @jodiscohen.bsky.social · Aug 15

North Dakota doesn’t protect its private mineral owners from losing their royalty income.

Other states do.

Here’s the latest @northdakotamonitor.com and @propublica.org story.

www.propublica.org/article/nort...

Some States Restrict the Oil Industry From Taking Mineral Owners’ Earnings. Not North Dakota.

At least seven states limit the costs oil and gas companies can pass on to the people they lease drilling rights from. Here’s how North Dakota differs when it comes to protecting the interests of mine...

www.propublica.org

Reposted by Jodi Cohen

ProPublica @propublica.org · Aug 13

NEW: An investigation by ProPublica and @texastribune.org found more than 60 instances of nepotism, self-dealing and conflicts of interest among 27 private schools that likely would have violated state laws had the schools been public.

By Lexi Churchill and @emsimani.bsky.social

Texas Private Schools Hire Relatives and Enrich Insiders. Soon They Can Do It With Taxpayer Money.

An investigation by ProPublica and The Texas Tribune found more than 60 instances of nepotism, self-dealing and conflicts of interest among 27 private schools that likely would have violated state law...

www.propublica.org

Reposted by Jodi Cohen

Melissa Sanchez @melissa-sanchez.bsky.social · Jul 29

1/ Early on in President Trump’s second term, I spent a few weeks observing Chicago’s immigration court to get a sense of how things were changing.

One afternoon in March, the case of a 27-year-old Venezuelan asylum-seeker caught my attention.

I want to tell you his story 👇

Albert Rodríguez Parra, a young Venezuelan man wearing a white printed shirt and a cross, stands in front of a bush with red flowers.

Reposted by Jodi Cohen

ProPublica @propublica.org · Aug 12

NEW: Greystar, which manages nearly 950,000 apartments, has agreed to stop using “anti-competitive” algorithms to suggest rents.

ProPublica previously showed how such software lets landlords set rents in a way that could result in cartel-like behavior.

By @heathervogell.bsky.social

America’s Largest Landlord to Stop Using RealPage Rent-Setting Software, Makes Deal With DOJ

Greystar, which manages nearly 950,000 apartments, has agreed to stop using “anti-competitive” algorithms to suggest rents. ProPublica previously showed how such software lets landlords set rents in a...

www.propublica.org

Jodi Cohen @jodiscohen.bsky.social · Aug 11

Frustrated North Dakota mineral owners asked their lawmakers for help with a decade-old issue: Companies taking their royalty income.

Lawmakers gave them a program that hasn’t helped.

The latest @propublica.org and @northdakotamonitor.com story on the issue:

www.propublica.org/article/nort...

They Can’t Get Answers From the Oil Industry. North Dakota’s Oversight Program Hasn’t Helped.

Frustrated by oil companies mysteriously withholding large amounts of royalties, North Dakota mineral owners lobbied for change. Instead, lawmakers provided an oversight program that, owners say, fail...

www.propublica.org

Reposted by Jodi Cohen

ProPublica @propublica.org · Aug 11

NEW: Frustrated by oil companies mysteriously withholding large amounts of royalties, North Dakota mineral owners lobbied for change.

Instead, lawmakers provided an oversight program that, owners say, fails to address the issue it was created to solve.

With @northdakotamonitor.com

They Can’t Get Answers From the Oil Industry. North Dakota’s Oversight Program Hasn’t Helped.

Frustrated by oil companies mysteriously withholding large amounts of royalties, North Dakota mineral owners lobbied for change. Instead, lawmakers provided an oversight program that, owners say, fail...

www.propublica.org

Jodi Cohen @jodiscohen.bsky.social · Aug 4

“It’s a matter of fairness.” In North Dakota, mineral owners feel “cheated” by oil companies.

Check out this thoroughly-reported story and stunning visuals in a @propublica.org and @northdakotamonitor.com collaboration

www.propublica.org/article/nort...

“You Feel Like You’re Being Cheated”: Oil Companies Unfairly Take Millions, North Dakota Mineral Owners Say

Oil companies are holding back a large portion of revenue payments to the people they lease drilling rights from, often with little explanation. But the industry has an outsize influence in the state,...

www.propublica.org

Reposted by Jodi Cohen

ProPublica @propublica.org · Aug 4

NEW: Oil companies are holding back a large portion of revenue payments to the people they lease drilling rights from, often with little explanation.

But the industry has an outsize influence in the state, and public officials have refused to take action.

With @northdakotamonitor.com

“You Feel Like You’re Being Cheated”: Oil Companies Unfairly Take Millions, North Dakota Mineral Owners Say

Oil companies are holding back a large portion of revenue payments to the people they lease drilling rights from, often with little explanation. But the industry has an outsize influence in the…

www.propublica.org

Reposted by Jodi Cohen

North Dakota Monitor @northdakotamonitor.com · Aug 4

ND mineral owners have sought the state’s help as the oil industry takes deductions from royalty payments. Public officials have refused to take action, which some attribute to the industry’s outsize influence on the state.

With @propublica.org

buff.ly/zOs8iTi

North Dakota mineral owners say oil companies unfairly keep millions from checks without oversight • North Dakota Monitor

Oil companies are holding back a large portion of revenue payments to the people they lease drilling rights from, often with little explanation.

Jodi Cohen @jodiscohen.bsky.social · Jul 14

The U.S. Supreme Court just gave the Trump administration the go-ahead to slash the Education Department.

I have been reporting on eduction for decades. If you have been impacted by this news, please reach out to me on Signal at jodireporter.88

www.propublica.org/getinvolved/...

Help Us Report on How the Department of Education Is Handling Civil Rights Cases

Have you recently filed a civil rights complaint or do you have a pending case? We need your help to get a full picture of how the dismantling of the Office for Civil Rights is affecting students, par...

www.propublica.org

Reposted by Jodi Cohen

Jennifer Smith Richards @jsmithrichards.bsky.social · Jul 14

The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that the Education Dept. can carry out mass firings it began in March. So I'm here to remind you that we're continuing to report on changes at ED, including to its civil rights division. If you have been affected, we're listening: www.propublica.org/getinvolved/...

Help Us Report on How the Department of Education Is Handling Civil Rights Cases

Have you recently filed a civil rights complaint or do you have a pending case? We need your help to get a full picture of how the dismantling of the Office for Civil Rights is affecting students, par...

www.propublica.org

Jodi Cohen @jodiscohen.bsky.social · Jun 16

Thrilled that @lastweektonight.com featured our @propublica.org reporting on Grace as part of a segment on juvenile justice.

You can read the entire series about Grace and Michigan’s failures here:

www.propublica.org/series/grace

Reposted by Jodi Cohen

ProPublica @propublica.org · Jun 16

@lastweektonight.com also cited the July 2020 story by @jodiscohen.bsky.social on Grace, the Michigan teen who was sent to juvenile detention for failing to do her schoolwork:
www.propublica.org/article/a-te...

Still of Last Week Tonight. John Oliver is discussing a July 14, 2020 ProPublica story titled "A Teenager Didn't Do Her Online Schoolwork. So a Judge Sent Her to Juvenile Detention."

Reposted by Jodi Cohen

stevemmills.bsky.social @stevemmills.bsky.social · Jun 10

NEW: North Dakota lawmakers wanted an ethics commission but then they made it essentially toothless. Very good story from Jacob Orledge and Mary Steurer of the @northdakotamonitor.com, with editing from @propublica.org's @jodiscohen.bsky.social.

www.propublica.org/article/nort...

North Dakota Ethics Commission Has No Authority to Punish Officials Violating Ethics Laws, State Leaders Argue

Voters created an ethics watchdog agency seven years ago. But officials keep pushing to weaken it, even as North Dakotans are filing a record number of complaints.

www.propublica.org