Patch Has New P.O. Box For Your Story Tips

JOLIET, IL - Every week, a number of Joliet Patch readers reach out to me with online story tips, particularly on breaking news. A recent example occurred Monday evening. Several readers let us know about the large presence of Joliet and Crest Hill squad cars at the Family Fun Zone.

Recently, though, I realized that because the Joliet Patch operates out of a virtual office, many people who want to provide local government story tips, particularly access to several pages of documents, expense records, etc., really don't have a good way to do that. This is especially true for people who don't want to contact me at the Joliet Patch by email because keeping their identity anonymous is important, particularly if they work in public education and law enforcement.

So, this month, I visited the Joliet Post Office on McDonough Street to establish a post office box for the Joliet Patch.

Time will tell whether this will be a worthwhile endeavor or not. However, when I worked as a public watchdog and investigative reporter in Nebraska, I remember finding a number of quality stories the old-fashioned way: by local watchdogs contacting the newspaper with story tips and documents through the U.S. mail.

With the unveiling of the new Joliet Patch post office box, which is listed at the bottom of this column, here's a list of possible story tips and suggestions that could be worth pursuing:

Follow-the-money, public-spending articles

Do you have documentation or information about Joliet-area public officials traveling, for instance, to out-of-state conventions or events on the taxpayer's dime for trips that have the appearance of being junkets?

Public salaries, raises and questionable promotions

Do you have information about area officials, politicians or school districts giving someone an extraordinary pay raise or creating a new job for someone when it's questionable whether the position is needed?

Major violent crimes staying unsolved

Do you have information about a Joliet-area unsolved murder case that may be collecting dust or has fallen to the wayside and it's an unsolved homicide that warrants additional news media coverage in order to bring the victim's family some justice?

If you have story leads and tips, then consider mailing me a letter - with as much detail as possible.

I don't mind receiving anonymous letters, but just realize that if you send me an anonymous letter and your story tip is too generic or vague, there is a good chance I won't pursue it.

To mail your story tips or documents to the Joliet Patch, you should address your letter to:

John Ferak, Joliet Patch Editor, P.O. Box 2914, Joliet, IL 60434-2914.

Main image: McDonough Street Post Office, Joliet, via Google Maps