Illinois State Government Investigative Reporter

Experience level: Minimum 2+ years’ experience as an investigative reporter and writer; preferably 2-3 years working as a state government reporter; intermediate data skills, including using spreadsheets to analyze and visualize data, and ability to do basic cleaning of data.

Education level: Bachelor’s or Master’s degree, preferably in journalism with an emphasis in investigative and data journalism or equivalent experience.

Position overview: Full-time, 40 hours a week; medical, dental, vision benefits available; generous PTO and holiday time-off package

Location: Based in Springfield, Illinois

Base salary range: $56,000-$66,000

Investigate Midwest is an independent, nonprofit newsroom, and our mission is to serve the public as a watchdog over influential big agribusiness corporations and institutions through in-depth and data-driven investigative journalism. We are hiring for our statehouse government accountability reporter position.

Based in Springfield, this position is for an investigative reporter focusing primarily on agricultural issues in Illinois with an emphasis on state government policies and practices.

  • This reporter will also produce investigative state government and policy stories from other states, looking for regional trends and state-specific issues that deserve attention, with an accountability focus.
  • This reporter will also have opportunities to work on other investigative stories with Investigate Midwest reporters.
  • In addition to regular monthly coverage, this reporter will produce larger investigations rooted in their state government accountability coverage and possible collaboration with other reporters. 
  • In addition to providing state-specific coverage, this reporter will look for larger themes of both state and Big Ag corporate policies and practices that cause economic or personal hardships.

The ideal candidate will thrive on reporting and telling stories with data and documents in a newsroom of experienced and dedicated journalists working remotely. This investigative reporter will build a network of sources and experts, find and analyze relevant data, file document requests (e.g., FOIA), and write articles for publication online that will be shared with partner newsrooms. We value team players with a willingness to learn, teach and experiment.

This position will focus on the impact of agriculture policy and the policy makers, lobbyists and influencers at the state level. Core to this role is to write about the real-life impacts on the regional food system resulting from the policies and laws passed at the state level. This is not a daily reporting/writing position.

This position also will dig into existing state policies and issues that negatively affect community members, workers, the environment, labor and work safety, and farming policies that alternatively could help strengthen local practices but have not gained traction and the reasons why.

This reporter will report to the Investigate Midwest editor in chief, and interact daily with the editing team and award-winning journalists in a highly collaborative newsroom. Stories you work on may appear locally, regionally, nationally or even internationally.

This is a full-time, salaried position. The reporter must be based in the greater-Springfield area of Illinois and regularly report and interview from the State Capitol.

As a member of Investigate Midwest’s team, you are expected to: 

  • Write 2 stories/month
  • Contribute 1 major project every 3 months 
  • Fact-check and produce reference/citation lists
  • Submit at least one records request/week
  • Write the Data Harvest once a month
  • Generate original story ideas and regularly pitch to your editor

Preferred qualities:

  • Familiarity with big agribusiness and industrial agribusiness, food systems issues and the state level policy-making process
  • Experience covering complex issues
  • Ability to submit and negotiate public records requests with a variety of government agencies
  • Fluency in Spanish
  • Proficiency in data journalism using programs like Excel, SQL, and GIS. Ability to use R or Python is a plus.

To apply, please send a resume, a 1-page cover letter, 3 of your best clips (or projects you’ve worked on), and at least 2 references to the Editor-in-Chief Ben Felder at  ben.felder@investigatemidwest.org. Deadline to apply is May 15, 2026.

Investigate Midwest is an equal employment opportunity employer and we seek to increase diversity in our own operation and in the news media. We encourage individuals from communities traditionally underrepresented in this field to apply. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment and will not be discriminated against on the basis of race, color, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, religion, disability, age, genetic information, veteran status, ancestry, or national or ethnic origin.