Send Us a Tip
Do you have a tip for Injustice Watch? Here’s what you need to know.
Have you seen something related to the Cook County, Illinois court system you think could be a story? Do you have information about a local judge?
We’re a small team of investigative journalists based in Chicago. We focus on the courts and the institutions that intersect with them — including policing, immigration, housing, Illinois prisons, and more.
For every primary and general election, we produce a judicial election guide for Cook County voters. Beyond that, our reporters are always working on longform investigations that aim to increase transparency and accountability in the court system. Here’s an example of a recent investigation.
Learn more about the topics our reporters cover by visiting our staff page.
How to send Injustice Watch a tip
For most tips, you can send an email to tips@injusticewatch.org or leave a voicemail on our tips line, (312) 521-0977. Because of the small size of our staff, we are not able to respond to every tip. But someone from our editorial team reads or listens to every message and we’ll get back to you if we’re able to follow up.
If you need to contact us securely
If you work in the Cook County court system and have evidence of wrongdoing or confidential information you wish to share with our newsroom, you may contact us securely through PGP encrypted email at injusticewatchtips@protonmail.com. If you choose to email us at this address, be sure to contact us from an email that also uses encryption. If you don’t have one, you can use the Mailvelope extension with your existing email provider.
Please keep in mind PGP (which stands for “Pretty Good Privacy”) hides the content of your message, but it does not conceal the fact that you’re writing to us or the subject line of the email. If you suspect someone, such as your employer, may monitor your email activity, consider contacting us through different means, such as postal mail. If you plan to become a whistleblower, do not visit our website at work, don’t subscribe to our newsletter with your work email address, and don’t use your work phone number or email address to contact us.
You can also contact us by postal mail by writing to:
Injustice Watch
140 S. Dearborn St., Ste. 720
Chicago, Illinois 60603
What we look for in tips
We review every story tip we receive with care. But because of the small size of our team, we have to make choices about which ones we pursue. Here are some things to keep in mind:
Our reporting focuses on the court system in Cook County, Illinois. If your tip is about something happening nationally, help us see the local angle. If it is about something happening outside Cook County, we’re likely not able to cover it.
We cover the civil and criminal courts, as well as the institutions that intersect with them. If your story tip relates to a specific division of the court system, let us know. If it’s not directly about the courts, help us see the connection.
Our stories are generally about systemic, not individual, issues. If you think your story is part of a pattern, help us understand the larger context.
The exceptions are wrongful conviction cases and information about local judges. If you have a wrongful conviction case in Illinois that has not been covered elsewhere, we are interested in hearing about it. If you observed a Cook County judge doing something noteworthy in a courtroom, even if you’re not sure it’s part of a pattern, we’ll keep it in mind for our next judicial election guide.
Our work promotes transparency and accountability. In your message, please tell us: What, exactly, is happening? Who is most affected or harmed?
As reporters, we rely on evidence to corroborate and report stories. If you have text messages, emails, reports, or other documents that would help us, please include them. If you have suggestions for where we might look for evidence, let us know.
Please be as specific and concise as you can.