The IRE Resource Center is a major research library containing more than 23,250 investigative stories — both print and broadcast. These stories are searchable online or by contacting the Resource Center directly (573-882-3364 or rescntr@ire.org) where a researcher can help you pinpoint what you need. Browse or search the tipsheet section of our library below. Stories are not available for download but can be easily ordered by contacting the Resource Center:
Search results for "Census" ...
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Fighting New Jersey's Tax Crunch
The series provided a detailed analysis of New Jersey's dysfunctional property tax system, which has the highest costs in the nation. Using U.S. census data, IRS data, 10 years of local tax information, and more than 40 databases of local and state employee payrolls, we found that the system had evolved into a juggernaut that was destroying the fiscal and social fabric economy of the state.
Tags: property tax; racial disparity; assessments; tax breaks; economic segregation;
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Race Gap Found in Pothole Patching
The Milwaukee Department of Public Works was found to have clear geographical and racial disparities in how it allocated city workers to fix potholes throughout the area. A database of pothole locations with repair times were mapped out by the reporters and U.S. Census data was used to assess the poor response times.
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World of Pain
“Retail sales of five leading painkillers nearly doubled from 1997 to 2005, reflecting a surge in use by patients nationwide who are living in a world of pain, according to a new Associated Press analysis of federal drug prescription data. The analysis reveals that oxycodone usage is migrating out of Appalachia to areas such as Columbus, Ohio, and Fort Lauderdale, Fla., and significant numbers of codeine users are living in many suburban neighborhoods around the country.â€
Tags: prescription drugs; oxycodone; federal prescription drug data; codeine; Drug Enforcement Administration; painkillers; prescription; drug abuse; narcotics; ARCOS; Census Bureau
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Privacy Offenders
"The U.S. Census Bureau's local facility left piles of confidential records unguarded, sitting in a large, unfinished and unlocked room- for months."
Tags: privacy; federal government; personal files; social security numbers; identity theft; hidden camera
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Leaving to Learn: DPS' Enrollment Gap
The reporters used data from Denver Public Schools, the US Census Bureau, and the Piton Foundation of Denver to determine where Denver's school age children were going to school. Their analysis found that nearly a quarter of Denver's children do not go to public schools, and that many students from certain areas of the city are attending suburban schools instead of city schools.
Tags: education; school; transportation; Census; demographics; data analysis
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Missed Signals; Killed by the Cops
This project, a collaboration between the Chicago Reporter and ColorLines, analyzed fatal police shootings among America's ten largest cities. The investigation found that African Americans were overrepresented among police shooting victims, and Latinos are also frequent victims.
Tags: police; violence; shootings; racism; demographics; city government; census
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Incredible Shrinking Paycheck
This investigation tracked median wage and salary income, broken down by age, gender, race and education, across more than five decades of Census data. The goal of the research was to measure the health of the middle class, which many people think is in danger.
Tags: research; Census; data; class; poverty; demographic data; American Community Survey
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Closed Doors: Housing Discrimination Complaints on Rise Across Country
The reporters looked at records of more than 44,000 housing discrimination complaints filed with the US Department of Housing and Urban Development between 2002 and 2006. The analysis revealed many trends about discrimination in housing, including that discrimination is more prevalent in less diverse neighborhoods, and that complaints about disabilities are just as common as complaints about race.
Tags: Philip Meyer Award; discrimination; HUD; housing; landlords; racism; disability; database analysis; Census data
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Peoria Selected Storm Ready
Okeson looked at how adequately Peoria County, Ill., was covered by tornado sirens. She found that the sirens covered census blocks for all but about 5,400 people in the country, or about three percent of Peoria County residents.
Tags: tornadoes; natural disasters; Peoria County; ArcGIS
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The Final Frontier
This investigation looks into the Chicago Housing Authority and demographic changes that have occurred with the destruction of public housing. Starting with 1995, The Chicago Reporter analyzed residential property transactions and home mortgage lending data, as well as Census data to track significant racial and economic shifts over the years.
Tags: Chicago Housing Authority; public housing; real estate; home mortgage lending data; CAR; housing developments; FOIA; Census 2000