Molly Parker
Molly joined Capitol News Illinois in July 2023. Most recently, she worked as a reporter for Lee Enterprises, on its Midwest Public Service Journalism team and for The Southern Illinoisan in Carbondale. In that role, Molly exposed poor living conditions and mismanagement of a housing authority in Cairo, Illinois, that resulted in a federal takeover and the relocation of about 400 people. In 2022, Molly and Capitol News Illinois Reporter Beth Hundsdorfer won the domestic print award in the Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights journalism contest for a series of stories exposing patient abuse inside a state-run developmental center. Molly is also an assistant professor of journalism at Southern Illinois University and a distinguished fellow with ProPublica’s Local Reporting Network.
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Investigation includes Choate and other state-operated developmental living centers -
Illinois has made ‘significant progress’ but not yet met mandates of 2011 Ligas consent decree, judge rules -
Machine to build first new home in Illinois’ southernmost city in 50 years -
Cairo, Illinois, once a food desert, welcomed its new market last year with balloons and cheers. But the store is struggling — exposing problems with the programs set up to help. -
Residents in the area should secure food and garbage, state says -
Illinois lawmakers previously pledged to help communities end poverty statewide by 2036. In Illinois's poorest county, some residents are still waiting to hear the state's plan to make that happen. -
Dozens of state employees across multiple Illinois agencies are under investigation by a state watchdog for claims they fraudulently obtained payments from a federal pandemic-era loan program, Capitol News Illinois has learned.
