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 "bonus" ...
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America's Great State Payroll Giveaway
A state-employed psychiatrist in California made $822,000 by clocking in 17 hours every day last year, including Sundays and holidays. An employee cashed out with $609,000 for unused vacation when she retired, claiming she never took vacations in a 30-year career. A highway patrol officer collected $484,000 in salary, pension and leave payments. The chief money manager at a Texas pension fund got $1 million in salary and bonuses while posting investment returns that trailed those of peers who earned a quarter as much. Bloomberg News used freedom-of-information laws to obtain 1.4 million payroll records from the 12 largest states and show how taxpayers funded these out-of-control expenses and more, while at the same time states cut funding for universities, public safety, health care, schools and services aimed at the neediest residents.
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Counting Kids Out
"Counting Kids Out" exposed years of systemic cheating in Columbus City Schools, Ohio's largest school district. The rolling investigation has uncovered widespread fraud that likely resulted in higher-than-deserved report-card grades; inflated graduation rates; and bonuses for school workers who did not actually deserve them.
Tags: Columbus City Schools; cheating; fraud; graduation retes
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The Brunswick Stew
“The Brunswick Stew” is a series of investigative reports that began with plea from a citizens group in Brunswick, Virginia. They asked for help shining some light on what was going on in their county. The effort would take several months. Filing FOI requests and pouring over a seemingly endless pile of paperwork, a number of serious issues came to light. Illegal bonuses and contracts, back room politics, political favoritism in the awarding of bids, and a blatant case of public safety being put at risk are what “The Brunswick Stew” unveils.
Tags: broadcast; illegal contacts; backroom politics; political favoritism; public safety
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Culture of Corruption in the California National Guard
The series showed that up to $100 milion in illegal or improper incentive payments were made to California National Guard members. The reporter found that funds meant to repay student loans and give cash bonuses to draw new recruits and entice Guard members to sign on for another stint went to soldiers who didn't qualify for the benefits.
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MSD
Corruption in the Louisville Metropolitan Sewer District. The MSD oversees sewer treatment, storm water management and Ohio river flood control for the several hundred thousand people who live in Louisville and Jefferson County, Kentucky. Throughout the investigation, The Courier-Journal discovered that MSD board members owned companies that they were doing business with the agency they served, excessive bonuses to top officials, and a secret $140,000 lawsuit with an HR chief when he threatened a whisteblower lawsuit.
Tags: Louisville Metropolitan Sewer District; MSD; Jefferson County; Kentucky
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Show Me the Money: Housing Authority Investigation
"In this four-part investigation, KCET primarily focused on how employees at the Housing Authority of the city of LA spent taxpayer money. They also looked at the salaries and bonuses of managers, and uncovered a pattern of wrongful termination lawsuits, which cost taxpayers over $13 million dollars in just four years."
Tags: housing authority; HACLA; broadcast
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Tracking Your Tax Dollars
The five-part investigation found Florida state agencies were spending hundreds of thousands of tax dollars on bonuses, retirement gifts, flowers, gift cards and more. At the same time they laid off state employees and cut services to balance the budget.
Tags: federal stimulus; American Recovery and Reinvestment Act; Stimulus Bill
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Trip to Nowhere
On the eve of a vote to raise taxes nearly 10 percent and cut spending, the stories laid out in detail how auto allowances routinely granted to dozens of county officials were not justified by their documented needs. Commissioners, department heads, and 15 of their secretaries and staff were receiving what amounted to bonuses that often exceeded more than 10 times what they could document in obscure but required forms. In a followup story, the county administrator reversed course and said he would study discontinuing auto allowances that exceeded the documented needs for two recently hired county watchdogs who were supposed to guard against waste and abuse. Finally, in a third story, the county acknowledged it had failed to meet states and local requirements to document "typical" mileage before all employees began receiving allowances, and said it would change its policy.
Tags: Tax; budget cut; finance; documents; fraud; corruption; auto allowances; bonuses; county
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"As economy toppled, seven Arizona congressmen continued traditions of staff bonuses"
Seven congressional representatives in Arizona chose to ignore the floundering economy and reward staff members with hefty year-end bonuses at the taxpayer's expense. In 2008, those bonuses totaled $300,000. One only Arizona congressional member, Rep. Gabrielle Gifford, refused the extra money.
Tags: Rep. Rick Renzi; Arizona congressional representatives; Raul Grijalva; National Taxpayers Union; Gabrielle Gifford
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"Unique Approaches to Uncover the Size and Growth of Executive Pay and Pensions"
While employees throughout the U.S. experienced pay cuts or were laid off, top executives were receiving millions of dollars in bonuses. Reporters Ellen Schultz and Tom McGinty dig deep to find out exactly how extreme those payouts have become.
Tags: payouts; bonuses; Bank of America; Wells Fargo; Citigroup; executive benefits