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Welcome to my portfolio! My name is Casey He, and I'm a reporter, writer, and graduate of Northwestern University with a degree in journalism, political science, and legal studies.

An aspiring journalist and storyteller, I'm especially interested in covering topics and issues at the crossroads of business, technology and politics, and about how policies impact local communities and everyday people.

You can read some of my favorite stories below. Thanks for stopping by!

About Me
Midstory •

The Silicon Heartland Is Running Out of Homes

For decades, the pitch for residents and companies alike to move to the Midwest has been simple: the affordability of homes, even in the region’s largest metros. The pitch has worked. In the Columbus, Ohio, area — dubbed the Silicon Heartland — major tech firms like Intel and the defense technology manufacturer Anduril have invested billions of dollars that could create thousands of jobs. And Chicago is casting itself as the world leader in quantum computing, with a major hub taking shape on...
Midstory •

As Data Centers Strain Grids, Who Should Pay?

As energy-hungry data centers spring up across the Midwest, utility companies are planning new generation and infrastructure upgrades on an unprecedented scale after decades without significant load growth. Utilities under the Midcontinent Independent System Operator, whose grid spans from the upper Midwest to the Gulf Coast, expect to add 15 gigawatts of capacity — enough to power New York City at its summer peak demand — each year for the next five years, the group said in June.
Bloomberg.com •

Costco Lines, Canceled Trips, Fuel Rewards: Americans Hunt for Cheap Gas

Americans are searching for ways to offset rising gas prices as the effect of the war in Iran hits their wallets.At a Costco Wholesale Corp. gas station near San Antonio, wait times have stretched as much as 30 minutes and lines wrap around the block. Elsewhere, drivers are refreshing apps like GasBuddy and going out of their way for cheaper fuel and discounts as prices reach nearly $4 a gallon on average. Others say they are trimming spending on grocery, takeout and travel.

Americans are searc...
Bloomberg.com •

God and Money Mix as Christians Fast and Put Faith in Investing

This year, a small but growing group of Christians will spend Lent — the 40-day period before Easter, when tens of millions of people around the world sacrifice a personal luxury — rethinking their finances.Talk of financial fasting, or giving up spending for Lent, is bubbling up across social media. Nearly 1,500 videos on TikTok alone are tagged #nobuy2026, while surveys show Americans leaning into frugal-living challenges and cutting back discretionary purchases. Interpretations of what consti...
Bloomberg.com •

NJ Transit Riders See Simple Commutes Turn Into Hours of Agony

Danny Wild is a senior coordinator for digital operations at Major League Baseball’s office in Manhattan and he’s experiencing what can best be described as commuter misery.While some colleagues enjoy spring training in sun-dappled Florida and Arizona, he’s one of thousands of New Jersey commuters coping with extensive delays as Amtrak and New Jersey Transit reduce service so workers can transfer wires and electrical systems to a new bridge over the Hackensack River.

Danny Wild is a senior coor...
Chicago Sun-Times •

As immigration enforcement surges in North Carolina, Chicagoans share advice, whistles

When federal immigration agents moved into Chicago’s streets, the sound of whistles followed. For months, the sharp blasts rang through many of the city’s neighborhoods, alerting residents to the presence of agents and attracting observers and protesters.The whistles have grown into a symbol of resistance in Chicago — and have already spread to other parts of the country targeted by President Donald Trump’s immigration blitz.“It’s effective because people start understanding that if they hear th...
Chicago Sun-Times •

Hemp product ban, tacked onto law to reopen government, will hurt Illinois businesses

Amanda Montgomery and her husband started AM and PM Hemp Farm in downstate Kirkland in 2020. After her husband died unexpectedly last year, the farm, which produces and sells a range of hemp-derived goods, has been her “sole livelihood,” Montgomery said.But the farm could go up in smoke due to the Republican-led spending deal to reopen the federal government that passed Congress and was signed by President Donald Trump late Wednesday.“This bill would pretty much destroy my entire farm operation,...
Chicago Sun-Times •

Two Illinois moms among millions facing SNAP cutoff as pantries say: ‘We cannot meet this need’

Natasha McClendon keeps a cabinet in her Englewood home stocked with possible sides, like potatoes and macaroni pasta, to feed her two school-age daughters and husband, who has a disability. But the family has no meat and just ran out of frozen vegetables to make a meal.The family was due to get about $1,100 next week for groceries through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. But they are among the nearly 2 million Illinois residents who will likely have to find another way to buy food...
Chicago Sun-Times •

What to know about PIT, the driving maneuver feds used in Southeast Side car chase

Border Patrol agents intentionally rammed their vehicle into an SUV they were pursuing on Chicago’s Southeast Side Tuesday, causing the car to spin and crash.The maneuver, known as a precision immobilization technique, or PIT, is a driving tactic used by some law enforcement agencies to end a vehicle pursuit.However, some law enforcement professionals and legal experts say the move is ineffective and dangerous. Many police departments across the country, including the Chicago Police Department,...
Chicago Sun-Times •

Cubs fans pack Wrigley for Game 1 of wild-card series: 'Some more magic'

Joel and Stephanie Jerabek have been Cubs fans since elementary school.Growing up in Yorkville, Stephanie Jerabek, 68, recalls watching Cubs legends like Ron Santo and Glenn Beckert, hearing Jack Brickhouse’s play-by-play coverage and meeting Ernie Banks in person.The Jerabeks were among the tens of thousands of Cubs fans who descended upon the Friendly Confines on Tuesday for the team’s wild-card series opener against the Padres.This is the first time the Cubs have clinched a playoff spot in fr...
Chicago Sun-Times •

Hundreds plunge into Chicago River in city’s first open-water swim in nearly a century

About 300 swimmers plunged into the Chicago River on Sunday morning for the first organized open-water swim in almost a century as spectators lined the Dearborn and Clark Street bridges and the Riverwalk.“Reclaiming our river not only creates a recreational space for residents and visitors, but it also puts us on the map, along with other global destinations, where open-water swims have become part of city culture,” Mayor Brandon Johnson said at the 7 a.m. start.Participants who were swimming th...
Dallas News •

The nation’s fastest-growing city paused building. Is Princeton ready to reopen the gates?

Madelyn Awalt thought she had found the perfect home for her family in Princeton, a small city 10 miles east of McKinney.

But problems started the day the family moved into the new, $285,000, house nearly four years ago. — the dishwasher shutting off mid-cycle and appliances tripping a breaker. Awalt eventually replaced the electrical panel and wiring in the house.

Then came the mold, so severe she and her family spent this summer living in an extended-stay hotel, waiting three months for thei...
Dallas News •

From schoolhouse to hub of hope: Esperanza Community Center aims to uplift neighborhood

A weathered red sign stood outside J. Frank Dobie Pre-K School on a recent afternoon, two months after it announced the last day of classes — and the end of the school itself. Across the street, Victoria Gonzalez, 59, has been keeping an eye on the schoolhouse. Her family has lived in the neighborhood for more than 30 years, and she worries that the building would sit empty and attract vandals. “We were pretty upset when they closed it, because we were like, ‘Wow, this is the perfect pre-K bui...
The Daily Northwestern •

In Focus: Colectivo Coffee workers allege toxic workplace environment, lack of accountability under current management

Interviews with seven current and former employees and internal communications obtained by The Daily reveal that the chain has faced a host of mismanagement allegations, including “inappropriate” behavior from the Evanston store manager, a “toxic” workplace culture and a lack of support from upper management.

These allegations contrast with the chain’s public image — Colectivo leaders have called their company “a deeply progressive organization,” and its members have been represented by the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers union since 2021.

“(Colectivo) say what they need to say and do certain things on the public scale that look good, that look like they are very pro-workers’ rights,” Ridenour said. “They want to look like a collective for Colectivo, and it’s not at all how they actually run their stores.”
Midstory •

How America’s Quintessential Battleground Broke Down

As Ohio goes, so goes the nation. At least, it used to. The Buckeye State — the seventh most populous and 34th in size among the states — has been a longtime focus of politicians, pundits and political scientists alike for a simple but peculiar reason. In each presidential election between 1964 and 2016, the candidate that won Ohio also won the presidency. Ohio’s streak stands as the longest in American history. During this period, Ohio was not only a bellwether, but also the quintessenti...
Midstory •

A New Federal Program Aims to Create the Nation’s Next Silicon Valleys — in the Midwest

When Silicon Valley — the iconic northern California tech cluster home to thousands of companies like Apple, Google and Netflix — started in the 1950s, it had all the right ingredients for innovation and tech-fueled growth: pioneers of the semiconductor, personal computer and internet industries, scholarship and research at area universities, and generous government funding. Now, a new federal program is trying to reproduce this recipe for the 21st century around the country — including in Am...
The Daily Northwestern •

Downtown lease sparks concerns over cost, transparency amid discussion on Civic Center’s future

Growing up in Evanston in the 1980s, Emilio Vargas remembers the Lorraine H. Morton Civic Center as the building at the center of the city. His mother would bring him to art shows, book fairs and other events. Now, as an adult, Vargas said he most recently went to the Civic Center to vote.
The city, however, is poised to leave the Georgian Revival-style building at 2100 Ridge Ave. — the building that has been the heart of Evanston civic life since 1979 — before the end of the year. 
At its Jan....
Medill News Service •

After China’s surprised chip breakthrough, Washington has new worries about future of export controls

WASHINGTON – When Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo was in Beijing in August to discuss trade with economic officials, she and others in the tech industry were shocked by a new smartphone, unveiled by Chinese telecom giant Huawei. The phone was named the Mate 60 Pro, featuring a seven-nanometer processor developed by a Huawei subsidiary and produced at the Chinese semiconductor fabrication plant SMIC. It immediately set off alarm bells among Western nations because it meant that China had achieve...
Medill News Service •

Biden signs executive order, takes ambitious step toward AI regulation

WASHINGTON – President Joe Biden signed a long-anticipated executive order on artificial intelligence Monday, marking the federal government’s most comprehensive effort to rein in the technology to date. “One thing is clear: to realize the promise of AI and avoid the risks, we need to govern this technology, and there’s no other way around it,” Biden said during the signing ceremony. The executive order expanded upon a “Blueprint for an AI Bill of Rights” the Biden administration issued in 2022...