Mick Dumke
Mick Dumke is a reporter for ProPublica Illinois. He came to ProPublica after two years on the Watchdogs team at the Chicago Sun-Times, where he reported on the dismantling of public housing, the impacts of the state budget crisis on prisoner re-entry and the police department’s use of a secret watch list. Before that, he spent almost a decade as a politics writer and editor for the Chicago Reader. Among his investigations, he reported on racial disparities in drug enforcement and the privatization of Chicago’s parking meter system and other public assets. He has also worked as a reporter and editor at the Chicago Reporter magazine, taught social studies at an alternative high school and studied religion at Northwestern University and McCormick Theological Seminary.
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Adidas follows global trend to end use of kangaroo leather in all products
Adidas' announcement follows a global trend toward ethical and sustainable fashion, where Nike, Puma, New Balance, and Diadora also ended the use of kangaroo leather in its products in recent years.
Trump-Musk Social Security fraud hunt yields chaos, not criminals
An internal document reveals that the Trump administration’s crackdown on supposed fraud in Social Security phone claims has identified just two questionable cases out of more than 110,000—prompting bipartisan outrage and warnings of a politically motivated attack on the program.
Trump EPA rolls back protections from toxic forever chemicals in drinking water
Amid pressure from chemical and utility industries, the Trump administration weakens key PFAS drinking water regulations—exposing millions to cancer-linked toxins.
The rise of AI warfare: How autonomous weapons and cognitive warfare are reshaping global...
The future of warfare may be decided by AI, but will humans have a role to play?
Harm reduction, not border cops, credited for historic drop in US overdose deaths
Experts say grassroots public health efforts—not federal drug crackdowns—are driving the largest decline in overdose deaths ever recorded, despite ongoing political attacks on harm reduction.