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
“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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.