Steve Mills is the deputy Midwest editor of ProPublica. He came to ProPublica from the Chicago Tribune, where for 23 years he was an investigative reporter and editor. At the Tribune, his reporting largely focused on exposing flaws in the criminal justice system, from inequities in the death penalty to false confessions and crime laboratory failures. This work contributed to several sweeping reforms, including Illinois Gov. George H. Ryan’s decision in 2000 to declare a moratorium on executions, and helped free numerous innocent people from prison. His 2006 co-written series on the wrongful conviction and execution of Carlos De Luna became the subject of a 2008 documentary, “At the Death House Door.” Before joining the Tribune, he worked at the Rochester (N.Y.) Democrat and Chronicle and the Winston-Salem (N.C.) Journal.
Current role