The latest news from Investigate Midwest: We kicked off 2024 by expanding our reporting to the Illinois Capitol and welcoming a new reporter to our award-winning team.
Investigate Midwest has hired Jennifer Bamberg to bring new in-depth coverage of agriculture and food legislation and policy in Illinois and how it impacts farmers, workers, the environment and the industry in general.
Bamberg’s new position will expand the coverage by Investigate Midwest to illuminate and expose the effects of special interests groups at the statehouse.
Bamberg joined the editorial team earlier this month. She will be based out of Springfield.
“Food systems inherently sit at the intersection of everything — public health, labor, immigration, the environment and climate change, and yet it’s an industry that’s so undercovered,” Bamberg said. “I’m excited to shine light on the ways that powerful interests influence lawmakers and tell stories about how policies affect communities and farmers in Illinois.”
Bamberg holds a master’s degree in investigative journalism from Northwestern’s Medill School of Journalism. She previously worked as a freelance reporter in Chicago, covering labor, housing, police misconduct, and public health. She has been published by the Illinois Answers Project, In These Times, Block Club Chicago and the Chicago Reader. She previously worked as an ironworker.
The Illinois statehouse position is part of a strategic vision to expand statehouse coverage on agriculture and food systems policy across the Midwest.
“It is so important to grow reporting of public policy at a time when many statehouses have fewer reporters than ever, and many of the special interest activities and policy machinations go uncovered. With Jennifer at the statehouse, we will be able to show how agriculture legislation is created and whose interests it serves,” said Erin Orr, executive director of Investigate Midwest.
Bamberg’s position is funded through the Chicago Region Food System Fund and further supported by individual donations and other funders.
The goal to expand reporting on state agriculture issues and policy extends from Investigate Midwest’s mission: To serve the public as a watchdog over influential corporations and institutions through in-depth and data-driven investigative journalism.
“We’re looking at how we can strategically cover agriculture policy, policy makers, lobbying efforts and influencers, all at the state level throughout the Midwest and Midwest-adjacent states,” Orr said.
Investigate Midwest, also known as the Midwest Center for Investigative Reporting, was created in 2009 in Kansas City before moving to Champaign, Illinois, in 2012. It has won numerous national and regional awards for its in-depth, data-driven reporting.
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