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    Carlos Ballesteros

    Carlos Ballesteros

    Carlos Ballesteros is a reporter at Injustice Watch. He's written extensively about law enforcement, immigrant communities, older adults, and juvenile detention. His reporting has earned him local, regional, and national awards for shedding light on underreported topics impacting vulnerable communities. Carlos previously wrote for the Chicago Sun-Times and Newsweek in New York. He was born and raised in Chicago. You can reach him at carlosballesteros [at] injusticewatch [dot] org

    • Follow @ballesteros_312
    News
    Illinois governor JB Pritzker stands behind a podium bearing the seal of the state of Illinois.

    Pritzker defends denials of medical release requests from dying and disabled prisoners

    By Carlos Ballesteros | August 31, 2023

    “We’re not just going to push everybody out the door just because there’s somebody who complains that we haven’t done it the way they would like it done,” Gov. JB Pritzker said in response to an Injustice Watch and WBEZ investigation.

    Prisons and Jails
    Illustration of a prisoner in an orange jumpsuit lying in a hospital bed. Shadows of bars and bars on the windows indicate that they are in prison.

    Dying and disabled Illinois prisoners kept behind bars, despite new medical release law

    By Carlos Ballesteros, Shannon Heffernan (WBEZ) and Amy Qin (WBEZ) | August 30, 2023

    The Joe Coleman Medical Release Act was expected to have freed hundreds of terminally ill and medically incapacitated prisoners in Illinois by now. But only a few dozen have been released, an investigation from Injustice Watch and WBEZ reveals.

    Immigration

    Promised City Hall hearings on U visa failures never happened

    By Carlos Ballesteros | June 20, 2023

    Injustice Watch revealed in December how Chicago police denied hundreds of U visa certifications from undocumented crime victims. More than half of the city council called for accountability and new transparency rules, but the measures never passed.

    News
    An older man with grey hair and a grey mustache stands outside in a red jacket and brown hat. There's a light brick building in the background.

    ‘I call it pretend freedom’: Older adults coming out of Illinois prisons face steep roadblocks in their reentry journey

    By Carlos Ballesteros | June 8, 2023

    At least 17,000 adults age 50 and older have been released from Illinois prisons since 2014, and thousands more are in line to come out soon. Older adults are less likely to reoffend than their younger counterparts but face more hurdles to successful reentry.

    Juvenile Justice
    Illustration of a youth sitting on the ground up against a wall with his head in his hands, as a guard at the Cook County juvenile jail looks on.

    Teens at Cook County juvenile jail face excessive force, extreme isolation, and other civil rights abuses, watchdog finds

    By Carlos Ballesteros and Kelly Garcia | March 17, 2023

    Interviews, site visits, and records reviewed by a legal advocacy group reveal abusive behavior by staff against mostly Black teens with learning disabilities, according to a new report. Jail officials deny the claims.

    Español
    A pink-and-blue hued sketch of a young woman in duplicate. On the left side she's smiling, on the right side she has a sad expression.

    El DCFS de Illinois impide que personas indocumentadas sobrevivientes de abuso infantil soliciten estatus legal, según muestran los registros

    By Carlos Ballesteros | February 27, 2023

    Durante años, el DCFS se ha negado a emitir certificaciones de visa U a sobrevivientes de abuso infantil, a pesar de una ley estatal que exige que la agencia decida si las víctimas califican para una enlos 90 días hábiles posteriores a la solicitud.

    Immigration
    A pink-and-blue hued sketch of a young woman in duplicate. On the left side she's smiling, on the right side she has a sad expression.

    Illinois DCFS blocks undocumented survivors of child abuse from applying for legal status, records show

    By Carlos Ballesteros | February 23, 2023

    For years, the child-welfare agency has refused to issue U visa certifications to survivors of child abuse, despite a state law mandating DCFS decide whether victims qualify for one within 90 business days of applying.

    Immigration

    Illinois AG investigating Chicago police over handling of U visas

    By Carlos Ballesteros | February 6, 2023

    The probe by Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul follows Injustice Watch’s investigation into the Chicago Police Department’s denial of hundreds of U visa certification requests from undocumented crime victims.

    Immigration

    Alderpeople call for hearings on Chicago police U visa certification program following Injustice Watch investigation

    By Carlos Ballesteros | December 15, 2022

    The investigation revealed that Chicago police denied more U visa certification requests than other large cities, and some of the denials contradicted state and federal guidelines.

    Español
    Illustration of a silhouette with a scene of a man getting stabbed outside his truck. In the background are pages of U visa denials.

    La policía de Chicago negó a decenas de indocumentados que fueron víctimas de delitos un camino hacia la ciudadanía

    By Carlos Ballesteros | December 12, 2022

    Inmigrantes que buscan una visa U están siendo bloqueados por dos sargentos que anteriormente estuvieron cerca de ser despedidos por estar involucrados en tiroteos controversiales, lo cual genera dudas sobre el compromiso de CPD con el programa de visas U.

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    Injustice Watch is a nonpartisan, nonprofit journalism organization that conducts in-depth research exposing institutional failures that obstruct justice and equality.

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