These are the finalists for the 2023 Peter Lisagor Awards

The finalists for the 2023 Peter Lisagor Awards, represent some of the best journalism produced in Illinois and northwest Indiana from across print, digital, and broadcast media.

Our thanks to everyone who submitted nominations for consideration. Entries were judged by an out-of-state SPJ chapter.

Award recipients will be announced at a dinner ceremony Friday, May 10, at the Union League Club of Chicago. Tickets will be on sale until Friday, April 26 at 11:59 p.m. on Eventbrite.

Questions? Email us at lisagorawards2023@gmail.com

Watchdog Award

Made possible by the Driehaus Foundation.

“Stalled Justice,” The Chicago Tribune
“Missing in Chicago,” City Bureau and the Invisible Institute
“Profiled: The State of Traffic Stops in Illinois,” by WBEZ Chicago and the Investigative Project on Race and Equity

Best All Media

Best Use of Social Media

No award given.

Best Investigative Reporting

Injustice Watch; “Exploited Elders” by David Jackson
WBEZ Chicago, Chicago Sun-Times and the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project; “Extremism in the Ranks” by Dan Mihalopoulos, Tom Schuba, Kevin Hall
The Invisible Institute and City Bureau; “Missing in Chicago” by Trina Reynolds-Tyler, Sarah Conway

Best Feature or Human Interest Single Story

Chicago Reader; “She was somebody to us” by Katie Prout and Taryn Allen
WTTW; “Chicago Stories: The Outrage of Danny Sotomayor” by Daniel Andries, Anna Gardner, Ken Lumb, Shuling Yong, Sharon Zurek, Anthony Fleming III
CBS Chicago; “John White: Always in Flight ” by Jim Williams, Edie Kasten, Cornelius Mack and Robert Thompson

Best Feature or Human Interest Series

NewsNation; “Inside the fight to end young veteran suicide” by Mary Hall
The Chicago Crusader; “Sounding The Alarm” by Samantha Latson
The Chicago Tribune; “Migrant Crisis” by Tribune Staff

Best Multimedia Collaboration

The Associated Press; “Precious Water: As more of the world thirsts, luxury water becomes fashionable” by Martha Irvine, Dar Yasin, Theodora Tongas, Srdjan Nedeljkovic, Petros Giannakouris, Rajanish Kakade, Christopher Hulme and Dario Lopez
The Invisible Institute and City Bureau; “Missing in Chicago” by Trina Reynolds-Tyler and Sarah Conway
WBEZ Chicago and the Investigative Project on Race and Equity; “The State of Traffic Stops in Illinois” by Matt Kiefer, Amy Qin, Taylor Moore, Jim Ylisela, Angela Caputo and Andjela Padejski

Best Data Journalism

The Chicago Tribune; “Mapping a Threat” by Sarah Macaraeg
Bloomberg News; “Is the US Headed for a Recession? Look at What Richer Americans Do on Black Friday” by Leslie Patton and Laura Bejder Jensen
Chicago Sun-Times; “Voices from Chicago’s most violent neighborhood” by Andy Grimm, Jesse Howe and Andy Boyle

Best Public Service or Engagement

ProPublica; “America’s Dairyland” by Melissa Sanchez and Maryam Jameel
The Invisible Institute and City Bureau; “Missing in Chicago” by Trina Reynolds-Tyler and Sarah Conway
The Chicago Tribune; “Stalled Justice” by Joe Mahr, Megan Crepeau and Brian Cassella

Design & Visuals

Best News Photo

Block Club Chicago; “2023 in Photos” by Colin Boyle
The Chicago Tribune; “Health concerns for migrant children” by Armando L. Sanchez
Chicago Sun-Times; “Tornado tree” by Pat Nabong

Best Feature Photo

The Evanston RoundTable; “At This Time: Holiday train” by Richard Cahan
The Chicago Tribune; “Holy Flying Carp!” by John J. Kim
Lake County News-Sun; “Monster Truck Wars wows spectators at Lake County Fairgrounds; ‘Oh my God, that was so cool’” by Karie Angell Luc

Best Illustration or Graphics

South Side Weekly; “Chanting on 31st Street” by Nick Merlock Jackson
Injustice Watch; “Exploited Elders” by Veronica Martinez
Chicago Sun-Times; “Creative Chicago special section cover” by Bryan Barker

Best Design in a Print Publication

Crain’s Chicago Business; “Karen Freese Zane designs” by Karen Freese Zane
Chicago Sun-Times; “Akiko Spencer Sports Saturday cover designs” by Akiko Spencer
Chicago Sun-Times; “Bryan Barker cover designs” by Bryan Barker

Best Use of News Video

Chicago Sun-Times; “Who are the Oath Keepers?” by Brian Ernst, Angela Massino, Dan Mihalopoulos and Tom Schuba
Chicago Sun-Times; “Jyran Mitchell was a highly recruited college football prospect — and then he met Illinois State Trooper Matthew Dumais” by Brian Ernst, Dan Mihalopoulos and Tom Schuba
Chicago Sun-Times; “Inside Chicago’s catalytic converter theft epidemic” by Stephanie Zimmermann and Brian Ernst

Best Use of Feature Video

The Daily Herald; “The Demolition of Arlington International Racecourse” by Paul Valade
The Invisible Institute and City Bureau; “Missing in Chicago” by cai thomas, Brooke Lawrence, Erisa Apantaku, Trina Reynolds-Tyler, Sarah Conway and Yasmin Zacaria Mikhaiel
Voice of America TV; “November 22, 1963 – Dallas, Texas” by Kane Farabaugh

Best Use of Data Visualization

Chicago Sun-Times; “Where the money has come from in Chicago mayoral race” by Jesse Howe
WBEZ Chicago and the Investigative Project on Race and Equity; “The State of Traffic Stops in Illinois” by Matt Kiefer, Amy Qin, Taylor Moore, Jim Ylisela, Angela Caputo and Andjela Padejski
WBEZ Chicago; “Chicago Municipal Election Data Visualizations” by Matt Kiefer, Amy Qin, Ola Giwa and Alden Loury

Best Multimedia Feature Presentation

The Associated Press; “Precious Water: As more of the world thirsts, luxury water becomes fashionable” by Martha Irvine, Dar Yasin, Theodora Tongas, Srdjan Nedeljkovic, Petros Giannakouris, Rajanish Kakade, Christopher Hulme and Dario Lopez
Chicago Sun-Times; “Voices from Chicago’s most violent neighborhood” by Andy Grimm, Jesse Howe, Ashlee Rezin, Andy Boyle and Quinn Harris
Chicago Sun-Times; “Football was everything” by Anthony Vazquez

Best Social or Short-Form Video

Voice of America TV; “ Rosalynn Carter Laid to Rest in Georgia Hometown” by Kane Farabaugh
The Invisible Institute and City Bureau; “Missing in Chicago” by Cai Thomas, Brooke Lawrence, Erisa Apantaku, Trina Reynolds-Tyler, Sarah Conway and Yasmin Zacaria Mikhaiel
WTTW News; “WTTW News Explains” by the WTTW News Team and The Banditry Co.

Best Sports Photo

The Daily Herald; “Pregame Lineup” by John Starks
The Chicago Tribune; “Going to the Big Dance” by John J. Kim
The Chicago Tribune; “Neighborhood baseball” by Brian Cassella

Best Digital Design

Chicago Sun-Times; “Where the money’s come from in Chicago’s mayoral race” by Jesse Howe
Crain’s Chicago Business; “Stephanie Swearngin’s designs” by Stephanie Swearngin
WTTW; “Firsthand: Homeless” by Justin Henderson

Commentary & Presentation

Best Column or Editorial From a Small Print/Online Publication

Gateway Journalism Review; “Chicago adjunct strike provides student journalists with an invaluable reporting lesson” by Jackie Spinner
Inside Publications, Skyline Newspaper; “Are Chicagoans growing weary of sanctuary city crisis?” by Don DeBat
The TRiiBE; “Blaming migrants for Chicago’s problems is a historical trend” by Shermann “Dilla” Thomas

Best Column or Editorial From a Large Print/Online Publication

Chicago Sun-Times; “Lee Bey” by Lee Bey
Chicago Sun-Times; “Rummana Hussain” by Rummana Hussain

Best Featured Reporter or Host

Voice of America TV; “Kane Farabaugh” by Kane Farabaugh
The Invisible Institute and USG Audio; “Yohance Lacour, You Didn’t See Nothin’” by Yohance Lacour, Erisa Apantaku, Dana Brozost-Kelleher, Sarah Geis, Bill Healy, Alison Flowers, Jamie Kalven, Josh Bloch
WBEZ Chicago; “Erin Allen, Host of The Rundown Podcast” by Erin Allen

Best Interview (Audio or Video)

WBEZ Chicago; “The Rundown Podcast: It’s likely you know someone dealing with long COVID” by Erin Allen, Justin Bull and Sarah Stark
Voice of America TV; “The Artemis Generation: An Interview with European Astronaut Alexander Gerst” by Kane Farabaugh and Adam Greenbaum
WGN Radio; “How The Daily Northwestern broke the Pat Fitzgerald hazing story” by John Williams and Pete Zimmerman

Best Sports Commentary

Chicago Reader; “First pitch: a journey through ceremony and baseball” by Leor Galil and Salem Collo-Julin
The Chicago Tribune; “Shakeia Taylor” by Shakeia Taylor
Chicago Sun-Times; “Rick Morrissey” by Rick Morrissey

Best Podcast

PRX, Religion of Sports; “ROS Presents: Counterattack” by Jessica Pupovac, Josie Holtzman, Carly Peruccio, Rachel Ward and Adam Schlossman
Respair Production & Media; “Help This Garden Grow” by Damon Williams, Daniel Kisslinger, Cheryl Johnson, Sylvia Ewing and Anne Evens
Block Club Chicago; “It’s All Good: A Block Club Chicago Podcast” by Jon Hansen

Best Email Newsletter

Chicago Sun-Times; “Murals & Mosaics newsletter” by Robert Herguth
Chicago Sun-Times; “Afternoon Edition” by Matt Moore
Axios Chicago; “Axios Chicago Newsletter” by Justin Kaufmann, Monica Eng, Carrie Shepherd and Alexa Mencia

Best Food or Restaurant Coverage

WTTW; “The Journey of a Loaf of Bread from a Farm to Your Table” by Daniel Hautzinger and Sandy Noto
Chicago Reader; “Mariko Kallister knows the way of soba”; “From the finest kitchen scraps in the city, Wilson Bauer summons the best worm poop”; “18th Street Distillery brings weird, wonderful new spirits to the Midwest” by Mike Sula and Taryn Allen
Chicago Sun-Times; “Making Bolognese ragu” by Stefano Esposito

Best Music Coverage

Chicago Sun-Times; “FBG Duck killing trial expected to shine a bright spotlight on Chicago’s gang, rap ties” by Tom Schuba
Block Club Chicago; “‘Merch Cuts’ In Chicago? Outcry Sparks Closer Look Into Venues Taking A Cut Of A Band’s Merchandise Sales” by Quinn Myers
Chicago Reader; “The great touring gamble”; “A queer hip-hop lesson with He Who Walks Three Ways”; “The accidental postrock diner” by Leor Galil, Philip Montoro

Best Theater or Literary Coverage

The Hyde Park Herald; “Frank London Brown’s ‘This is Life’” by Christian Belanger
Block Club Chicago; “‘The Loop Files’ Takes Readers Behind The Scenes Of Legendary Rock Station’s Glory Days” by Gwen Ihnat
Newcity; “Theater criticism” by Mary Wisniewski

Best Headline From a Small Print/Online Publication

Chicago Reader; “Lycan it rough” by Dan Jakes and Kerry Reid
WTTW News; “What the Fluff? It’s a ‘Holy Cow’ Year for Cottonwood, and Here’s Why” by Patty Wetli

Best Headline From a Large Print/Online Publication

Chicago Sun-Times; “They were 2 Chicago pizza delivery guys. Then, they ran a Mexican drug cartel, feds say” by Paul Saltzman

Best Feature Reporting Single Story/Episode

LARGE

Chicago Sun-Times; “The community stood behind us” by Neil Steinberg
Chicago Sun-Times; “Inside Chicago’s catalytic converter theft epidemic” by Stephanie Zimmermann
Bloomberg News; “Chicago’s Empty Office Towers Threaten Its Future as a Major Financial Hub” by Isis Alm and Shruti Date Singh

SMALL

Injustice Watch and WBEZ Chicago; “Failure of Medical Release Reform” by Carlos Ballesteros, Shannon Heffernan and Amy Qin
50 Cent A Word Substack; “Journey To My Alma Mater” by John W Fountain
Chicago Reader; “Juggalo family values” by Micco Caporale and Philip Montoro

AUDIO

WGN Radio; “A visit to New Philadelphia: Freedom on the Illinois prairie” by Dave Schwan
WBEZ Chicago; “The stars of the high school concert? A rock band of migrant teens” by Elly Fishman, Lauren Frost, Jamie Kelter Davis and Cassie Walker Burke
NPR; “Jumping for joy and sisterhood, the 40+ Double Dutch Club holds a playdate for women” by Cheryl Corley

VIDEO

WTTW; “Chicago Stories: Candy Capital” by Eddie Griffin, Anna Gardner, Lauren Drell, Tim Boyd, Oral User, Scott Holoubek, Anthony Fleming III and Geoffrey Baer
Voice of America TV; “The Inside Story: A Shadow Over Dallas” by Kane Farabaugh, Steven Herman, Jean Michel Mathurin, Adam Greenbaum, David Futrowsky and Brian Allen
WTTW; “Chicago Stories: The Outrage of Danny Sotomayor” by Daniel Andries, Anna Gardner, Ken Lumb, Shuling Yong, Sharon Zurek and Anthony Fleming III

Best Feature Reporting Series

LARGE

The Chicago Tribune; “I-55 Crash Aftermath” by Jonathan Bullington and Jake Sheridan
The Chicago Tribune; “Migrants’ Journey” by Nell Salzman
Chicago Sun-Times; “Voices from Chicago’s most violent neighborhood” by Andy Grimm

SMALL

The Chicago Reader; “2023 Police District Council Races” by Jim Daley and J. Patrick Patterson
Injustice Watch; “Exploited Elders” by David Jackson
The Daily Herald; “Seven Murders That Shocked The Suburbs” by Barbara Vitello, Jake Griffin, Steve Zalusky and Mick Zawislak

AUDIO

The Invisible Institute and USG Audio; “You Didn’t See Nothin” by Yohance Lacour, Erisa Apantaku, Dana Brozost-Kelleher, Sarah Geis, Bill Healy, Alison Flowers, Jamie Kalven and Josh Bloch
WBEZ Chicago/Open Campus; “Living with student debt” by Lisa Kurian Philip, Alex Keefe, Steven Arroyo, Ascha Lee and Kate Grossman

VIDEO

No award given.

Best Investigative Reporting

LARGE

The Chicago Sun-Times and WBEZ Chicago; “Chicago mass school closings’ aftermath” by Sarah Karp, Nader Issa, Lauren FitzPatrick and Alden Loury
WBEZ Chicago and the Investigative Project on Race and Equity; “Profiled: The State of Traffic Stops in Illinois” by Matt Kiefer, Ola Giwa, Leslie Hurtado, Taylor Moore, Angela Caputo, Jim Ylisela, Michael Liptrot and Alden Loury
The Chicago Tribune; “Stalled Justice” by Joe Mahr, Megan Crepeau and Brian Cassella

SMALL

Injustice Watch; “Exploited Elders” by David Jackson

AUDIO

The Invisible Institute and USG Audio; “Yohance Lacour, You Didn’t See Nothin’” by Yohance Lacour, Erisa Apantaku, Dana Brozost-Kelleher, Sarah Geis, Bill Healy, Alison Flowers, Jamie Kalven, Josh Bloch

VIDEO

Voice of America TV; “Lawmakers Seek to Curb Chinese Purchases of US Farmland” by Kane Farabaugh

WAND News; “Special Education teacher’s aide admits to misconduct” by Alyssa Patrick, Eric Ahola and Jacklynn Sylvester

Best Reporting on Crime and Justice

LARGE

The Chicago Sun-Times; “The community stood behind us” by Neil Steinberg
The Invisible Institute and The Intercept; “See No Evil: Why Does the Chicago Police Department Tolerate Abusive Racists in Its Ranks?” by Jamie Kalven
The Chicago Sun-Times; “Voices from Chicago’s most violent neighborhood” by Andy Grimm

SMALL

Injustice Watch and WBEZ Chicago; “The Failure of Medical Release Reform” by Carlos Ballesteros, Shannon Heffernan and Amy Qin
The Invisible Institute and City Bureau; “Missing in Chicago” by Trina Reynolds-Tyler, Sarah Conway
The Trace; “Chicago Police Make an Arrest in Only 20 Percent of Fatal Shootings” by Rita Oceguera and Justin Agrelo

AUDIO

WBEZ Chicago; “Downstate Illinois leaders ask for help with end to cash bail” by Mawa Iqbal

VIDEO

WTTW News; “Elder Parole” by Brandis Friedman
WAND News; “WAND News investigates man wanted in Springfield murder” by Alyssa Patrick, Eric Ahola and Jaylyn Cook

Best Education Reporting

LARGE

The Chicago Tribune; “Toxic Traces at the Tap” by Emily Hoerner
WBEZ Chicago and the Chicago Sun-Times; “Chicago’s 50 Closed Schools” by Sarah Karp, Nader Issa, Lauren FitzPatrick, Alden Loury, Jesse Howe and Kate Grossman
The Chicago Tribune; “Election Extremists” by Dan Petrella, Zareen Syed and Rick Pearson

SMALL

The DePaulia; “Faculty: Decisions made hastily, without collaboration in effort to close DePaul’s $56.5 million gap” by Patrick Sloan-Turner
Chalkbeat Chicago; “Chicago’s shift away from school choice” by Mila Koumpilova, Reema Amin and Becky Vevea
The Hyde Park Herald; “Bret Harte creates a home for new migrant students” by Michael Liptrot

VIDEO

WTTW News; “Teachers, Parents Plead for Hope Learning Academy to Keep Its Doors Open Following Sudden Closure Announcement” by Amanda Vinicky and Acacia Hernandez
Voice of America TV; “US Students’ ‘Big Idea’ Could Help NASA Explore Moon” by Kane Farabaugh

Best Business Reporting

LARGE

Bloomberg News; “Three Years After Covid Hit, Restaurants Are Still Desperate for Workers” by Leslie Patton
Bloomberg News; “Chicago’s Empty Office Towers Threaten Its Future as a Major Financial Hub” by Isis Almeida and Shruti Date Singh
The Chicago Sun-Times; “Inside Chicago’s catalytic converter theft epidemic” by Stephanie Zimmermann

SMALL

Crain’s Chicago Business; “Chicago’s always been a union town. Now the face of organized labor is changing” by Brandon Dupré
South Side Weekly; “CashDrop Employees Speak Out” by Jocelyn Martinez Rosales
Chicago Medicine Magazine; “Private equity seeks role in medical practice but the shift has raised concerns about a focus on profits over patients” by Howard Wolinsky

VIDEO

Voice of America TV; “The War in Ukraine Comes Home to Farms in Illinois” by Kane Farabaugh and Adam Greenbaum

Best Reporting on Race and Diversity

LARGE

The Chicago Tribune; “Migrants with Disabilities” by Nell Salzman
The Chicago Tribune; “Evanston Reparations” by Jonathan Bullington and Alex Hulvalchick
The Invisible Institute and The Intercept; “See No Evil: Why Does the Chicago Police Department Tolerate Abusive Racists in Its Ranks?” by Jamie Kalven

SMALL

Crain’s Chicago Business; “What dollar stores cost Chicago’s South and West side communities” by Corli Jay and Ally Marotti
The Invisible Institute and City Bureau; “Missing in Chicago” by Trina Reynolds-Tyler and Sarah Conway
14 East magazine; “The Long Shadow of White Supremacy at DePaul” by Cam Rodriguez

AUDIO

Change Agents the Podcast, produced by Juneteenth Productions for Reparations Media NFP; “How to Tackle Anti-Blackness” by Wendy Wei, Angela Lin, Consuela Hendricks, Judith McCray, Maurice Bisaillon, Nicole Nir and Lee Edwards
WBEZ Chicago and the Investigative Project on Race and Equity; “Profiled: The State of Traffic Stops in Illinois” by Matt Kiefer, Ola Giwa, Leslie Hurtado, Taylor Moore, Angela Caputo, Jim Ylisela, Michael Liptrot and Alden Loury
The Invisible Institute and USG Audio; “Yohance Lacour, You Didn’t See Nothin’” by Yohance Lacour, Erisa Apantaku, Dana Brozost-Kelleher, Sarah Geis, Bill Healy, Alison Flowers, Jamie Kalven and Josh Bloch

VIDEO

WTTW; “Chicago Stories: Pullman and the Railroad Rebellion” by Rachel Pikelny, Anna Gardner, Brendan Walsh, Brian Wingert, Oral User, Brian Clark and Lucia Agajanian
WTTW News; “Chicago Tonight: Black Voices” by Brandis Friedman, Erica Gunderson, Crystin Immel, Angel Idowu
WTTW News; “Chicago Tonight: Latino Voices” by Joanna Hernandez, Erica Gunderson, Acacia Hernandez, Crystin Immel, Emily Soto

Best Science and Technology Reporting

LARGE

The Chicago Tribune; “Peoria Botulism” by Jonathan Bullington
Reuters; “Alzheimer’s disease: implications of disease-modifying treatments and who benefits” by Julie Steenhuysen
The Chicago Sun-Times; “Fermilab’s ‘muon shot’” by Mitchell Armentrout

SMALL

Crain’s Chicago Business; “The whole physics world will be watching Fermilab soon. Here’s why” by John Pletz
Crain’s Chicago Business; “Argonne finishes building its most powerful supercomputer yet” by John Pletz
Chicago Health Magazine; “Oh, Naturale! Chicago explores the role of trees in human health and heat mitigation” by Kathleen Aharoni

VIDEO

Voice of America TV; “The Inside Story: The Artemis Generation” by Kane Farabaugh, Adam Greenbaum, Jean Michel Mathurin, David Futrowsky, Brian Allen
WTTW; “Chicago Stories: The Race to Reverse the River” by Eddie Griffin, Robert Loerzel, Anna Gardner, Lauren Drell, Tim Boyd, Oral Berat User, Paul Thornton, Anthony Fleming III

Best Political and Government Reporting

LARGE

The Chicago Sun-Times; “They were 2 Chicago pizza delivery guys. Then, they ran a Mexican drug cartel, feds say” by Frank Main, Oscar Lopez
Bloomberg News; “More Migrants In Big US Cities Bring New Tensions for Democrats” by Shruti Date Singh, Augusta Saraiva, Laura Nahmias
Injustice Watch and the Chicago Sun-Times; “How Illinois’ safety net to protect the elderly from financial exploitation is falling short” by David Jackson

SMALL

The Ballot; “As Lightfoot Departs, A ‘Woefully Unprepared’ Chicago Leaves Migrants In ‘Inhumane’ Conditions For Weeks — With No Plan In Sight” by Quinn Myers, Alex V. Hernandez, Madison Savedra, Mina Bloom, Colin Boyle
Raw Story; “Lawmakers, Law Breakers” by Alexandria Jacobson
Crain’s Chicago Business; “One City, 50 Wards: Does the City That Works Actually Work?” by Steve Hendershot

AUDIO

WBEZ Chicago; “How admittedly corrupt ex-Illinois lawmakers get to keep their pensions” by Dave McKinney
WGN Radio; “Illinois Sheriffs’ Association president says assault weapons ban is ‘unconstitutional’” by Lisa Dent, Steve Bertrand, Brian Althimer, Andrew Harris
WGN Radio; “Gov. Pritzker on state issues and presidential aspirations: ‘I love the job I have now’” by John Williams, Pete Zimmerman

VIDEO

WTTW News; “Pritzker Quickly Signs Illinois Assault Weapons Ban Into Law: ‘We Got It Done’” by Amanda Vinicky
Voice of America TV; “Illinois’ First Muslim American Lawmakers Begin Work in Diverse Legislature” by Kane Farabaugh
WTTW News; “Analyzing Lori Lightfoot’s Legacy: A Combative Mayor Whose Reform Push Faltered Amid Pandemic Woes, Self-Inflicted Wounds” by Heather Cherone

Best Arts and Entertainment Reporting

LARGE

The Chicago Tribune; “Michael Phillips” by Michael Phillips
The Chicago Tribune; “Nina Metz” by Nina Metz
Crain’s Chicago Business and ProPublica; “She was the queen of Chicago’s arts community. But her collection now means trouble for the Art Institute” by Elyssa Cherney, Steve Mills

SMALL

The TRiiBE; “Beyoncé’s Renaissance tour inscribes Chicago as the mecca of house music” by Tiffany Walden
The Windy City Times; “Patric McCoy exhibition unearths forgotten moments from Chicago’s Black queer history” by Matt Simonette
Crain’s Chicago Business; “Can a later, shorter ‘Chicago Tonight’ compete?” by Corli Jay

AUDIO

WGN Radio; “Behind the music with ‘lifetime musician’ John Oates” by Bob Sirott, Joe Romano, Hayley Boyd
Car Con Carne; “Car Con Carne podcast” by James VanOsdol
WBEZ Chicago; “Nerdette: Undercover” by Greta Johnsen, Anna Bauman, Brendan Banaszak

VIDEO

WLS-TV; “Chicago’s Magnificent Museums” by Roz Varon, Stephen Bourque, Joseph Imbrogno, Irit Nayden

Best Sports Reporting

LARGE

The Chicago Tribune; “Steve McMichael’s entry to the Hall of Fame is now all but certain” by Dan Wiederer
The Chicago Tribune; “Simeon Anniversary” by Colleen Kane, Stacy St. Clair
The Chicago Sun-Times; “He created a mania” by Ben Pope

SMALL

The Windy City Times; “Legendary coach Dorothy Gaters on her career, being part of the LGBTQ+ community” by Andrew Davis
A Shot on Ehlo (readjack.substack.com); “Million Dollar Shot, Million Dollar Doc” by Jack Silverstein
The Evanston RoundTable; “Inside ETHS boys basketball: 72 hours to prepare for 32 minutes – and the rest of their lives” by Michael Kellams

AUDIO

WBEZ Chicago; “Sisters to sail the Race to Mackinac 100 years after their great-grandfather’s win was overturned” by Lauren Frost, Courtney Kueppers, Justine Tobiasz
WSCR-AM / 670 The Score; “Danny Parkins reports toxic environment at Northwestern Baseball” by Danny Parkins, Mitch Rosen

VIDEO

WAND TV; “Endurance: The Recovery of Amber Johnson” by Deron Molen, Eric Ahola

Best Deadline Reporting

LARGE

Bloomberg News; “ION Cyberattack” by Katherine Doherty, Mark Burton, Isis Almeida, Donal Griffin

SMALL

Block Club Chicago; “Migrants Sleep Outside In Frigid Temps As City Council Squabbles About What To Do Next” by Madison Savedra, Alex V. Hernandez, Ariel Parrella-Aureli, Colin Boyle, Quinn Myers
WTTW News; “Lightfoot Campaign Asks CPS Teachers to Encourage Students to Help Her Win Reelection in Return for Credit” by Heather Cherone

AUDIO

No award given.

VIDEO

No award given.

Best Community Reporting

LARGE

The Chicago Sun-Times; “Voices from Chicago’s most violent neighborhood” by Andy Grimm
WBEZ Chicago and Chicago Sun-Times; “Chicago mass school closings’ aftermath” by Sarah Karp, Nader Issa, Lauren FitzPatrick, Alden Loury
Patch, Joliet; “Ex-Chief, Ex-Deputy Chief Conspired To Damage Mayor: IL State Police” by John Ferak

SMALL

The Chicago Reader; “Ukrainians in Chicago reflect on a year of full-scale war” by Jamie Ludwig, Jim Daley
Newcity; “No Sanctuary: Are Historic Churches the Lost Souls of the City” by Mary Wisniewski
Block Club Chicago; “Basketball Hoops Were Ripped Out Of Beverly Decades Ago. Now, A Push To Bring Them Back” by Crystal Paul

VIDEO

Voice of America TV; “Migrant Surge Overwhelms Chicago” by Kane Farabaugh

AUDIO

No award given

Best Reporting on Climate Change

LARGE

The Chicago Tribune; “Mapping a Threat” by Sarah Macaraeg
The Associated Press; “Precious Water: As more of the world thirsts, luxury water becomes fashionable” by Martha Irvine, Dar Yasin, Theodora Tongas, Srdjan Nedeljkovic, Petros Giannakouris, Rajanish Kakade, Christopher Hulme, Anna Jo Bratton
The Chicago Tribune; “Navigator Pipeline” by Nara Schoenburg

SMALL

Chicago Health Magazine; “Rising Concerns” by Katie Scarlett Brandt
Grist; “The End of Coal Culture” by Siri Chilukuri, John McCracken, Virginia Harold
The Evanston RoundTable; “Protecting trees has deep roots in Evanston history” by Wendy Pollock

AUDIO

Respair Production & Media; “Help This Garden Grow” by Damon Williams, Daniel Kisslinger, Cheryl Johnson, Sylvia Ewing, Anne Evens

AUDIO

No award given