Lakeidra Chavis

How we reported this story: Thousands of records on Illinois schools’ use of physical restraints

June 14, 2024 at 6:41 p.m.

Before the Chicago Tribune and ProPublica Illinois published "The Quiet Rooms," an investigation into the practice of isolating students in seclusion spaces, the state of Illinois did not collect any...

Darren Reisberg, left, addresses the issues concerning seclusion in Chicago Public Schools during a standing-room-only meeting of the Illinois State Board of Education at the Thompson Center in Chicago on Nov. 22, 2019.

Illinois amends emergency rules, will temporarily allow children to be physically restrained in positions it had banned

June 14, 2024 at 6:42 p.m.

This story is a collaboration between the Chicago Tribune and ProPublica Illinois. Amending emergency rules put in place two weeks ago, the Illinois State Board of Education says it will...

Kansas Treatment and Learning Center is operated by Eastern Illinois Area Special Education, a regional special-education district that documented nearly 1,100 isolated timeouts in 15 months.

Daywatch special edition: We reported on children being locked away alone in schools across Illinois. One day later, the state ended the practice.

July 25, 2024 at 2:09 p.m.

This special edition of Daywatch is a collaboration between the Tribune's Jennifer Smith Richards and ProPublica Illinois' Jodi S. Cohen and Lakeidra Chavis. Get investigations like this with ProPublica's weekly...

Lakeidra Chavis

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How we reported this story: Thousands of records on Illinois schools’ use of physical restraints

Illinois amends emergency rules, will temporarily allow children to be physically restrained in positions it had banned

Daywatch special edition: We reported on children being locked away alone in schools across Illinois. One day later, the state ended the practice.

Isolated timeouts have been temporarily banned in Illinois schools. What’s next?

Illinois to take emergency action to halt isolated timeouts in schools

The federal government collects data on how often schools seclude children. The numbers don’t add up.

How we reported this story: Creating a first-ever database of thousands of seclusion incidents in Illinois