The mission of an investigative reporter is simple: seek truth and tell it.
Whether it’s a quick document dive adding context to the news of the day or a months-long research project, investigative reporting is what sets the local news leader apart from the followers.
Here are some of my contributions to our team’s efforts.
July 13, 2017
Accused identity thief done in by own drivers license
When David Erchul went to renew his Wisconsin driver’s license in May, 2016, he had no idea the photo he was about to pose for would unravel a fraud kept secret for three decades.
May 9, 2017
High-tech parking meters could make you pay twice
The next time you park your car in Milwaukee, you might be paying for something that has already been paid for.
The I-TEAM discovered people are paying for time at parking meters that has already been paid for, as the city’s multi-space meter system does not plainly display how much time is left on the meter.
May 4, 2017
Wisconsin butter ban faces constitutional challenge
The battle over your right to buy butter is heading to federal court after Wisconsin forced a second dairy company off store shelves.
Minerva Dairy of Ohio filed suit in April after the state Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection began enforcing an obscure law from 1953.
February 21, 2017
Illegal day care providers target of tougher penalties
Since 2007, eight children have died in illegal Wisconsin day cares.
After relentless reporting by the I-TEAM, state legislators drafted a bill that would toughen the penalties for providers who break the law.
February 2, 2017
‘Dead voter’ charge leads I-TEAM to extreme case of alleged ID theft
When I-TEAM Executive Producer Tonya Simpson bounced over to my desk in late December and announced “I found a dead voter,” we were desperate to know more.
Just two months earlier, the I-TEAM analyzed more than 800,000 Wisconsin voting records from the 2012 presidential election, searching for ballots cast in the names of people who were dead.
We found zero.
So where did this one – in a federal indictment, no less – come from?
What we found goes far beyond a case of in-person voter fraud. Instead, the facts lead us into the realm of extreme identity theft.
January 19, 2017
Milwaukee dems take stock of 40,000 ‘vanishing voters’
As Donald Trump prepares to take the presidential oath of office, some Milwaukee Democrats are taking a hard look at an election they expected to win.
They are also searching for some 40,000 voters from Democratic strongholds who decided to sit this election out.
November 15, 2016
Through a scanner, darkly: A look at how the TSA looks at you
For nearly 40 million Americans, getting home for the holidays means first getting through airport security.
Making sure all those people safely get where they are going is a massive undertaking. Every piece of luggage packed with Christmas gifts and heavy, cold-weather clothing needs to be inspected and deemed safe.
For the first time here in Milwaukee, the TSA opened its doors to the I-TEAM, so we could see how that important job is done.
November 1, 2016
Search for ‘zombie voters’ turns up nothing but ghosts
Donald Trump’s supporters say it is a fact: ballots are cast in the names of dead people on election day.
In fact, the Republican presidential candidate made that claim of election fraud himself, at an October campaign stop in Green Bay.
But how does the claim of a candidate with a flair for the outrageous square with reality?
October 27, 2016
Illegal day cares exploit weakness in state law, put kids in danger
In Wisconsin, anyone can run a for-profit day care out of their home with no training needed and no license required.
State law allows these unlicensed day cares to exist if they agree to honor one rule: watch no more than three kids in addition to their own.
As the I-TEAM discovered, day cares routinely ignore that rule, breaking the law and putting children at risk.
STEVE CHAMRAZ 