Jodi S. Cohen

Jodi S. Cohen is a reporter for ProPublica, where she focuses on stories about schools and juvenile justice.

Destiny, 19, who graduated from Garrison in 2021, plays with her family's dog inside their home.

The Price Kids Pay: School for children with disabilities calls police on its students every other day

September 6, 2024 at 11:05 a.m.

On the last street before leaving Jacksonville, there's a dark brick one-story building that the locals know as the school for "bad" kids. It's actually a tiny public school for...

Blake, center, is hugged by his friend Keyarra as he and his mother, Jennifer Fee, at right, wait to attend an administration hearing in March at the Tazewell County Courthouse in Pekin. Both Blake and his cousin Anna, left, had received a ticket at Morton High School. Anna was accompanied by her mother, Becky Fee, second from right.

The Price Kids Pay: Ticketed at school

February 4, 2025 at 9:49 a.m.

Thousands of Illinois students a year are receiving tickets at school for conduct that violates local laws, an investigation by the Tribune and ProPublica has found. The tickets often involve...

Un estudiante de segundo año de la secundaria Palatine recibió una multa en abril después de que un oficial de policía de la escuela lo acusara de dañar una cerca de alambre por la que los estudiantes suelen pasar como atajo a la hora del almuerzo. Otro estudiante finalmente asumió la responsabilidad por el daño.

Revelan disparidades raciales en la emisión de multas y otras disciplinas en secundarias del Distrito 211

September 14, 2022 at 3:14 p.m.

En el distrito de secundarias más grande de Illinois, los estudiantes negros y latinos fueron suspendidos con más frecuencia que los estudiantes blancos, disciplinados con mayor frecuencia por motivos subjetivos,...

A Palatine High School sophomore was ticketed in April after a school-based police officer accused him of damaging a chain-link fence that students often pass through as a shortcut at lunchtime. Another student eventually took responsibility for the damage.

Racial disparities in ticketing, other school discipline revealed at suburban high school District 211

June 14, 2024 at 6:44 p.m.

At Illinois' largest high school district, Black and Latino students were suspended more often than white students, disciplined more often for subjective reasons such as dress code violations, and referred...

School resource officer Roger Tambling walks the hallways in January at Bradley-Bourbonnais Community High School in Bradley.

School ticketing data update shows racial disparity at Naperville North

June 14, 2024 at 6:44 p.m.

Newly obtained police records from five Chicago suburbs offer additional details about students getting ticketed at school for minor offenses, a widespread practice documented in a Tribune-ProPublica investigation this year....

Amara Harris applies makeup while getting ready for her graduation from the College of DuPage last month at her home in Naperville.

A teen was ticketed at Naperville North for theft. 30 months later, she’s still fighting to clear her name.

February 4, 2025 at 10:59 a.m.

From the moment Amara Harris was accused of stealing another student's AirPods at Naperville North High School, she has insisted that it was a mix-up, not a theft. She told...

Police issued 240 tickets from July 2018 to August 2020 to people under 18 at Palatine High School and William Fremd High School in Palatine, records show.

Civil rights investigation opened into Illinois’ largest high school district following Tribune-ProPublica investigation

November 24, 2024 at 1:54 p.m.

The Illinois attorney general's office is investigating whether one of the state's largest school districts, located in Chicago's northwest suburbs, violated civil rights laws when police issued tickets to students...

Un grupo de estudiantes afuera de la secundaria Bloom Trail High School, el mes pasado en Steger.

Contralora de Illinois: Dejen de cobrar las multas por ausentismo escolar

May 13, 2022 at 6:59 p.m.

La principal funcionaria financiera de Illinois ha prohibido a los gobiernos locales utilizar un programa estatal para cobrar deudas de los estudiantes que han sido multados por ausentismo escolar, eliminando...

Students outside Bloom Trail High School last month in Steger.

Illinois’ top finance official: Stop sending debts from truancy tickets for collection

June 14, 2024 at 6:46 p.m.

Illinois' top financial official has banned local governments from using a state program to collect debt from students who have been ticketed for truancy, eliminating a burden for families struggling...

Josiah shows his brother Jeremiah a photo he took while they were shopping for outfits for prom.

The Price Kids Pay: Black students far more likely to be ticketed by police for school behavior

February 3, 2025 at 3:47 p.m.

At Bloom Trail High School in Chicago's south suburbs, the student body is diverse: About 60% of the 1,100 students are Black or multiracial. Another 27% are Latino. And 12%...

All Stories