Carlos Ballesteros

Carlos Ballesteros reports on incarceration, policing, and issues affecting immigrants and older adults in the court system. Before joining Injustice Watch in 2020, Carlos was a Report for America corps member at the Chicago Sun-Times and a breaking news reporter at Newsweek in New York. Carlos was born and raised in Chicago and also lived in Mexico.

More than 1,000 copies of Injustice Watch's judicial election guide

2020 Retention

Injustice Watch mailed its judicial election guide to 1,000 detainees at Cook County Jail. They never received them.

Officials said workers in the jail’s mailroom incorrectly identified the election guides as contraband.

by Carlos Ballesteros and Emily Hoerner October 26, 2020July 14, 2026

Immigration

‘Punishment and Profits’: Q&A with Adam Goodman, author of The Deportation Machine

A new book by the UIC historian lays out how the United States built a well-oiled bureaucracy that’s deported 57 million people, the companies that profited off of those deportations, and how the country became obsessed with inflicting pain on immigrants.

by Carlos Ballesteros October 19, 2020December 5, 2023

2020 Retention

Check Your Judges: Why Cook County judicial elections matter

Judicial elections bring high stakes and consequences, especially for Black, Latinx and other marginalized groups disproportionately impacted by the justice system.

by Adeshina Emmanuel and Carlos Ballesteros October 15, 2020March 18, 2024

In Plain View

U.S. House subcommittee investigates cops tied to racist, xenophobic Facebook posts

The departments were all named in Injustice Watch’s “In Plain View” investigation into troubling social media posts by law enforcement officers.

by Carlos Ballesteros and Emily Hoerner September 28, 2020December 5, 2023

Black Chicago has been looted for decades

Three weeks ago, the nation was transfixed on images of people running out of downtown stores with their hands full. But the historic plunder of Black Chicago deserves our attention, too.

by Carlos Ballesteros September 1, 2020January 8, 2024

Kenosha police shooting of Jacob Blake spotlights systemic racism, police spending in Wisconsin

Wisconsin cities with the highest numbers of Black residents tend to spend more on policing. Those police forces are also a lot whiter than the cities they serve.

by Carlos Ballesteros and Adam Mahoney August 31, 2020January 8, 2024

Police

Chicago Is Spending $1.6 Billion on 13,000 Police. Is It Worth It?

With shootings and murders on the rise and President Trump sending federal agents to the city, community organizers and criminologists point to a police hiring spree from just four years ago to show that more cops on Chicago’s streets aren’t the answer.

by Carlos Ballesteros July 30, 2020February 5, 2024

Immigration

Southwest Side construction worker quickly deported to Mexico while awaiting DACA decision

With the Trump administration seeking to kill the Obama-era program for immigrants, Jesus Alberto ‘Beto’ Lopez Gutierrez, 25, was deported after suing ICE.

by Carlos Ballesteros July 3, 2020December 5, 2023

Police

Proposal to boot Chicago cops from public schools rejected by school board

Three school board members backed the proposal, but they could not sway their colleagues.

by Carlos Ballesteros June 24, 2020January 8, 2024

Carlos Ballesteros: ‘Communities come together in ways that aren’t marches, too’

Our newest reporter talks about his approach to reporting, the overlap between the immigration and criminal justice systems, and what people get wrong about Chicago.

by Carlos Ballesteros June 24, 2020January 8, 2024

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