In November 2019, the Chicago Sun-Times published a story about Paige Dotson, the 22-year-old daughter of Russell Dotson, a decorated sailor who served 22 years in the Navy.
It was the first in a series of stories by reporter Stephanie Zimmermann on bureaucratic failures and broken promises by the military to pay for college for the children of qualified veterans under the Post-9/11 GI Bill.
Paige Dotson had to leave DePaul University and found herself on the hook for a huge and unexpected bill for college that her family was promised would be covered. And she wasn’t the only one who found herself in that situation.
As a result of the Sun-Times’ reporting, the Navy fixed things for the Dotsons and some other military families. But others are still facing problems because of these GI Bill snafus, problems that a secret report Zimmermann obtained were widespread and longstanding.
You can read her stories below.