Invisible Institute
@invisible.institute
A nonprofit journalism production organization on the South Side of Chicago. Home to CPDP.co, Beneath the Surface, and more.
Join us on Thursday, November 20th from 6:30 - 8:30pm for our Annual Supporters Convening at the Chicago Athletic Association. The event is free and all are welcome! Register here: invisible.institute/events
November 17, 2025 at 4:37 PM
Join us on Thursday, November 20th from 6:30 - 8:30pm for our Annual Supporters Convening at the Chicago Athletic Association. The event is free and all are welcome! Register here: invisible.institute/events
Join us on Thursday, November 20th from 6:30 - 8:30pm for our Annual Supporters Convening at the Chicago Athletic Association. The event is free and all are welcome! Register here: invisible.institute/events
November 14, 2025 at 7:19 PM
Join us on Thursday, November 20th from 6:30 - 8:30pm for our Annual Supporters Convening at the Chicago Athletic Association. The event is free and all are welcome! Register here: invisible.institute/events
Our longtime collaborator Sarah Conway covered Chicago’s ongoing resistance to ICE for @nymag.com. Read the story here: nymag.com/intelligencer/article/chicago-resistance-against-trump-and-ice.html
November 7, 2025 at 11:27 PM
Our longtime collaborator Sarah Conway covered Chicago’s ongoing resistance to ICE for @nymag.com. Read the story here: nymag.com/intelligencer/article/chicago-resistance-against-trump-and-ice.html
Join the Invisible Institute and South Side Weekly on November 2 for an arts showcase honoring the life and legacy of Dr. Margaret T.G. Burroughs, featuring a special performance of “Tuesday” by Mud Theatre. Register here: invisible.institute/events
October 31, 2025 at 9:37 PM
Join the Invisible Institute and South Side Weekly on November 2 for an arts showcase honoring the life and legacy of Dr. Margaret T.G. Burroughs, featuring a special performance of “Tuesday” by Mud Theatre. Register here: invisible.institute/events
Join the Invisible Institute and South Side Weekly on November 2 for an arts showcase honoring the life and legacy of Dr. Margaret T.G. Burroughs, featuring a special performance of “Tuesday” by Mud Theatre. Register here: invisible.institute/events
October 29, 2025 at 11:44 PM
Join the Invisible Institute and South Side Weekly on November 2 for an arts showcase honoring the life and legacy of Dr. Margaret T.G. Burroughs, featuring a special performance of “Tuesday” by Mud Theatre. Register here: invisible.institute/events
Join the Invisible Institute and South Side Weekly on November 2 for an arts showcase honoring the life and legacy of Dr. Margaret T.G. Burroughs, featuring a special performance of “Tuesday” by Mud Theatre. Register here: invisible.institute/events
October 27, 2025 at 9:29 PM
Join the Invisible Institute and South Side Weekly on November 2 for an arts showcase honoring the life and legacy of Dr. Margaret T.G. Burroughs, featuring a special performance of “Tuesday” by Mud Theatre. Register here: invisible.institute/events
Join the Invisible Institute and South Side Weekly on October 26th for a day of art making and community building in honor of the life and legacy of Dr. Margaret T.G. Burroughs. Register here: invisible.institute/events
October 21, 2025 at 9:46 PM
Join the Invisible Institute and South Side Weekly on October 26th for a day of art making and community building in honor of the life and legacy of Dr. Margaret T.G. Burroughs. Register here: invisible.institute/events
Last week, residents of a South Shore apartment building were jolted awake late at night last week when nearly 300 federal agents, backed by helicopters and flashbang grenades, stormed their homes in a massive immigration raid.
October 6, 2025 at 9:30 PM
Last week, residents of a South Shore apartment building were jolted awake late at night last week when nearly 300 federal agents, backed by helicopters and flashbang grenades, stormed their homes in a massive immigration raid.
“Kicking the Pigeon” is a series of articles by Jamie Kalven published between July 6, 2005 and February 16, 2006 in the View From The Ground.
October 2, 2025 at 5:06 PM
“Kicking the Pigeon” is a series of articles by Jamie Kalven published between July 6, 2005 and February 16, 2006 in the View From The Ground.
Reposted by Invisible Institute
NEW — Video posted to social media shows Unraveled Press co-founder Steve Held being detained by federal agents outside the Broadview immigration facility earlier this evening.
A collection of Chicago newsrooms is calling for his immediate release.
thetriibe.com/2025/09/chic...
A collection of Chicago newsrooms is calling for his immediate release.
thetriibe.com/2025/09/chic...
Chicago journalist detained while covering protest outside Broadview immigration facility • The TRiiBE
Video posted to social media shows Unraveled Press co-founder Steve Held being detained by federal agents earlier this evening.
thetriibe.com
September 28, 2025 at 3:11 AM
NEW — Video posted to social media shows Unraveled Press co-founder Steve Held being detained by federal agents outside the Broadview immigration facility earlier this evening.
A collection of Chicago newsrooms is calling for his immediate release.
thetriibe.com/2025/09/chic...
A collection of Chicago newsrooms is calling for his immediate release.
thetriibe.com/2025/09/chic...
Reposted by Invisible Institute
This reporter helped expose the falsity of ICE's narrative on the fatal shooting of Silverio Villegas Gonzalez. His work is a perfect example of why we don't have secret police.
Journalists have a constitutional right to cover protests and their aftermath. Release @peoplesfabric.com immediately.
Journalists have a constitutional right to cover protests and their aftermath. Release @peoplesfabric.com immediately.
September 28, 2025 at 2:17 AM
This reporter helped expose the falsity of ICE's narrative on the fatal shooting of Silverio Villegas Gonzalez. His work is a perfect example of why we don't have secret police.
Journalists have a constitutional right to cover protests and their aftermath. Release @peoplesfabric.com immediately.
Journalists have a constitutional right to cover protests and their aftermath. Release @peoplesfabric.com immediately.
Last week, an agent snatched Steve Held’s reporter credentials and shot chemical weapons at him while he reported on the protests at Broadview. Tonight, federal agents detained him while he was reporting.
We urge for his immediate release.
@peoplesfabric.com @unraveledpress.com
We urge for his immediate release.
@peoplesfabric.com @unraveledpress.com
September 28, 2025 at 4:30 AM
Last week, an agent snatched Steve Held’s reporter credentials and shot chemical weapons at him while he reported on the protests at Broadview. Tonight, federal agents detained him while he was reporting.
We urge for his immediate release.
@peoplesfabric.com @unraveledpress.com
We urge for his immediate release.
@peoplesfabric.com @unraveledpress.com
The Invisible Institute reported on officers in Minnesota a police association says were undercover, but have high-profile uses of force or have been accused of misconduct. Read the story here: bit.ly/mppoalawsuit
Minnesota police group fights release of undercover officers’ names
The Minnesota Police and Peace Officers Association is suing the Minnesota POST forreleasing the names of undercover police officers to media outlets, but many have already been publiclyidentified.
bit.ly
September 25, 2025 at 9:07 PM
The Invisible Institute reported on officers in Minnesota a police association says were undercover, but have high-profile uses of force or have been accused of misconduct. Read the story here: bit.ly/mppoalawsuit
In 2000, the CHA launched its “Plan for Transformation” to demolish high-rise public housing buildings and replace them with mixed-income housing. Twenty-five years later, many former residents remain displaced and affordable housing is still scarce.
September 25, 2025 at 4:24 PM
In 2000, the CHA launched its “Plan for Transformation” to demolish high-rise public housing buildings and replace them with mixed-income housing. Twenty-five years later, many former residents remain displaced and affordable housing is still scarce.
Have a car? Our reporting team focused on sexual assault by the Chicago Police plans to distribute copies of our investigation and findings about assault within the department.
If you’d like to volunteer at the end of September, sign up here: bit.ly/btsprintdistro
If you’d like to volunteer at the end of September, sign up here: bit.ly/btsprintdistro
September 24, 2025 at 4:31 PM
Have a car? Our reporting team focused on sexual assault by the Chicago Police plans to distribute copies of our investigation and findings about assault within the department.
If you’d like to volunteer at the end of September, sign up here: bit.ly/btsprintdistro
If you’d like to volunteer at the end of September, sign up here: bit.ly/btsprintdistro
The View from the Ground archive is a searchable collection of Jamie Kalven’s original reporting and a robust collection of black and white film photographs by Patricia Evans from the final chapter of high-rise public housing in Chicago.
September 22, 2025 at 4:40 PM
The View from the Ground archive is a searchable collection of Jamie Kalven’s original reporting and a robust collection of black and white film photographs by Patricia Evans from the final chapter of high-rise public housing in Chicago.
We're excited to introduce the View from the Ground archive: a searchable collection of Jamie Kalven’s original reporting and Patricia Evans’ photography from the final chapter of high-rise public housing in Chicago.
September 17, 2025 at 3:43 PM
We're excited to introduce the View from the Ground archive: a searchable collection of Jamie Kalven’s original reporting and Patricia Evans’ photography from the final chapter of high-rise public housing in Chicago.
Less than a week into Trump’s surge of deportation arrests in Chicago, an ICE agent shot and killed 38-year-old Silverio Villegas-Gonzalez during a Franklin Park traffic stop. The DHS says he drove his car at agents, but bystander videos and witnesses report a different story.
September 16, 2025 at 4:56 PM
Less than a week into Trump’s surge of deportation arrests in Chicago, an ICE agent shot and killed 38-year-old Silverio Villegas-Gonzalez during a Franklin Park traffic stop. The DHS says he drove his car at agents, but bystander videos and witnesses report a different story.
Reporters from across newsrooms in Chicago are collaborating to collect visual evidence of federal agents detaining people & using force in Chicago. Send videos to tinyurl.com/chicagojournalists, or get in touch via email chicagojournalists@protonmail.com.
September 5, 2025 at 10:47 PM
Reporters from across newsrooms in Chicago are collaborating to collect visual evidence of federal agents detaining people & using force in Chicago. Send videos to tinyurl.com/chicagojournalists, or get in touch via email chicagojournalists@protonmail.com.
Our latest investigation with MindSite News and South Side Weekly shows Chicago police are increasingly turning to forced hospitalization, detaining people against their wishes at a hospital emergency room for a psychiatric evaluation. bit.ly/forcedhospitalization
Forced Hospitalization Increasingly Used by Chicago Police
Analysis of Chicago Police Department data reveals that officers are increasingly using forced hospitalization in mental health crises.
bit.ly
September 2, 2025 at 4:41 PM
Our latest investigation with MindSite News and South Side Weekly shows Chicago police are increasingly turning to forced hospitalization, detaining people against their wishes at a hospital emergency room for a psychiatric evaluation. bit.ly/forcedhospitalization
In June 2025, former Chicago police officer Eric Tabb pleaded guilty to two counts of aggravated battery in a public place, and was sentenced to 30 months of probation.
August 27, 2025 at 9:47 PM
In June 2025, former Chicago police officer Eric Tabb pleaded guilty to two counts of aggravated battery in a public place, and was sentenced to 30 months of probation.
Our reporting with Illinois Public Media revealed that the officer who killed Sonya Massey had an employment history with a pattern of misconduct at six different police departments, and was discharged from the Army for serious misconduct.
August 21, 2025 at 5:42 PM
Our reporting with Illinois Public Media revealed that the officer who killed Sonya Massey had an employment history with a pattern of misconduct at six different police departments, and was discharged from the Army for serious misconduct.
We are excited to announce the future publication with @haymarketbooks.org of a book about the Youth/Police Project, documenting 10 years of young people growing up & navigating policing on the South Side of Chicago. Read more at invisible.institute/ypp & sign up for updates at bio.site/stayingsafe
August 20, 2025 at 8:58 PM
We are excited to announce the future publication with @haymarketbooks.org of a book about the Youth/Police Project, documenting 10 years of young people growing up & navigating policing on the South Side of Chicago. Read more at invisible.institute/ypp & sign up for updates at bio.site/stayingsafe
Reposted by Invisible Institute
In 2011, a Chicago officer pulled a woman over just to get her phone number, then called or texted her nearly 30 times.
Between 2017 and 2019, he was reported for sexual misconduct three more times before he was finally arrested.
(Published May w/ @invisible.institute)
Between 2017 and 2019, he was reported for sexual misconduct three more times before he was finally arrested.
(Published May w/ @invisible.institute)
Chicago Police Dismissed a Recruit’s Claims That a Colleague Sexually Assaulted Her. Then He was Accused Again and Again.
The Invisible Institute and ProPublica reviewed over 300 complaints accusing Chicago officers of sexual assault and misconduct. Time and time again, the police department downplayed or ignored…
www.propublica.org
August 6, 2025 at 11:45 PM
In 2011, a Chicago officer pulled a woman over just to get her phone number, then called or texted her nearly 30 times.
Between 2017 and 2019, he was reported for sexual misconduct three more times before he was finally arrested.
(Published May w/ @invisible.institute)
Between 2017 and 2019, he was reported for sexual misconduct three more times before he was finally arrested.
(Published May w/ @invisible.institute)
Good news! Today, the Illinois Appellate Court ruled in favor of transparency, against closed hearings for police misconduct cases. We previously covered this issue for the Chicago Reader in November 2023.
August 8, 2025 at 7:24 PM
Good news! Today, the Illinois Appellate Court ruled in favor of transparency, against closed hearings for police misconduct cases. We previously covered this issue for the Chicago Reader in November 2023.