Chicago Hope

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When word got out that the new regime meant business, the phone in Vander Weele's office began getting a workout. Whistle-blowers knew they finally had someone they could turn to, someone who would investigate their allegations of wrongdoing instead of turning a blind eye. Besides, they weren't just calling a faceless bureaucrat--they were calling Maribeth Vander Weele, the celebrated newspaper reporter. To this day, some informants insist on meeting face to face with Vander Weele rather than with one of the 18 part-time Chicago police officers who make up her team of investigators. "I've built up this trust with people," she says.

Every week, dozens of complaints--from teachers, students, parents, and community members--pour into Vander Weele's office. Some examples: A teacher is accused of slapping a 14-year-old student. A school engineer (translation: head custodian) is accused of sexual misconduct against another employee. A teacher is suspected of stealing musical instruments ("a sousaphone and a glockenspiel"). A principal is accused of holding meetings of the local school council without informing all of its members. A clerk is suspected of taking $1,000 from a school's internal accounts. A member of a local school council is accused of disrupting the educational environment of a school by staying in the building all day, roaming the halls, going in and out of classrooms uninvited, and making sexually suggestive comments to teachers and...