The Chicago Reporter

The Chicago Reporter and its staff have received dozens of awards for journalistic excellence and public service, which have brought recognition to the publication and, sometimes, solutions to the problems covered. Recent honors include:

2011

Angela Caputo and Kimbriell Kelly were awarded a 2011 Salute to Excellence Award from the National Association of Black Journalists for “Stolen futures,” an investigative package about teens prosecuted as adults, mostly for nonviolent offenses.

Kelly Virella and Kimbriell Kelly, along with WBEZ’s Natalie Moore, won the Chicago Headline Club’s Peter Lisagor Award in the multimedia collaboration category for “Taser timeout,” an examination of excessive Taser use at a Kankakee County jail where Cook County detainees are often sent.

Angela Caputo, Kimbriell Kelly and Alissa Groeninger won the Chicago Headline Club’s Peter Lisagor award in the in-depth reporting in a magazine with circulation under 20,000 for “17”—an investigation of teens prosecuted as adults, mostly for nonviolent offenses.

Joe Gallo, Jon Lowenstein and Mark Abramson won the Chicago Headline Club’s Peter Lisagor Award for photography in a magazine with circulation under 20,000 for their photography on the “17” investigation.

Christine Wachter won the Chicago Headline Club’s Peter Lisagor Award for graphics in a magazine with circulation under 20,000 for her graphics documenting the path teens take from juvenile to adult court, the millions of dollars spent on job training yielding meager results and the overrepresentation of black youth in the child welfare system.

2010

Kelly Virella, Rui Kaneya and Kimbriell Kelly were awarded the Herman Kogan Award, in the print category, by the Chicago Bar Association for “Above the Law,” an investigation of the Illinois State Police’s practice of ignoring thousands of court orders to seal and expunge criminal records.

Jeff Kelly Lowenstein, Kimbriell Kelly, Jessica Young and Jennifer Fernicola won the National Association of Black Journalists’ Salute to Excellence Award in the specialty category for magazines with a circulation below 1 million for “Lower Standards,” which exposed racial disparities in the quality of care and staffing levels at Illinois nursing homes.

2009

The Community Media Workshop presented Alden Loury and three other journalists with the prestigious Studs Terkel Award, an honor meant to celebrate the legacy of the renowned Chicago journalist and others who embody his community-focused approach to journalism.

The Chicago Reporter’s “Fallen & Forgotten,” written by Fernando Diaz, was a finalist in the magazine/specialty publication category of the 2008 IRE Awards, presented by Investigative Reporters & Editors, a professional organization for investigative journalists.

Kelly Virella captured the Chicago Headline Club’s Peter Lisagor Award in the business reporting category for non-daily newspaper, magazine or newspaper magazine section for “A Renter’s Nightmare,” an examination of lenders and mortgage service companies taking over thousands of foreclosed apartment buildings in the Chicago area and, in some cases, threatening to evict tenants without lawful notice and valid court orders.

Fernando Diaz, Jeff Kelly Lowenstein, Alden Loury, Rui Kaneya and Christiana Schmitz were presented awards for meritorious achievement by the Chicago Bar Association in its 2009 Herman Kogan Media Awards for installments of The Chicago Reporter’s “Children of the Incarcerated” series.

Jeff Kelly-Lowenstein and The Chicago Reporter were among the recipients of the National Citizen’s Coalition for Nursing Home Reform’s Public Service Award for their investigation showing widespread racial disparities in Illinois nursing homes and the human impact.

2008

Heartland Alliance presented The Chicago Reporter, the Chicago Community Trust, the Chicago Public Library, Chicago Public Radio and WTTW11, with the Midwest Light of Human Rights Award for the media collaboration “Chicago Matters: Beyond Borders,” a yearlong examination of immigration in the Chicago region.

Jeff Kelly Lowenstein and Rui Kaneya received a meritorious achievement award in the 19th annual Herman Kogan Media Awards sponsored by The Chicago Bar Association for “Missed Signals,” an investigation of Chicago Police officers sued for wrongful death in fatal shootings of civilians.

Fernando Diaz received the 2008 Justice and Journalism Fellowship for Ethnic Media from USC Annenberg’s Institute for Justice and Journalism.

Jeff Kelly Lowenstein was named a 2008 Ochberg Fellow for the Dart Center for Journalism and Trauma.

The Chicago Reporter was honored for "commitment and support of the advancement of Latinos with disabilities" by Radio Vida Independiente of the Progress Center for Independent Living and the Illinois Department of Human Services for its investigation of undocumented immigrant workers denied workers’ compensation benefits.

Angelica Herrera received honorable mention in the English-language Hispanic Immigration Stories category of the 2008 Felix Varela Awards for “The Best of All Bad Choices,” an examination of the limited immigration options available to Mexican migrants.

Fernando Díaz was been named the 2008 Emerging Journalist of the Year by the National Association of Hispanic Journalists.

The Chicago Headline Club presented its 2008 Watchdog Award for Excellence in Public Interest Reporting to Jeff Kelly Lowenstein and Rui Kaneya along with ColorLines’ Tram Nguyen for the series “Missed Signals,” an investigation of Chicago Police officers sued for wrongful death in fatal shootings of civilians.

Kimbriell Kelly and Alden Loury won the Chicago Headline Club’s Peter Lisagor Award for business reporting in a trade or specialty magazine, newspaper or newsletter for “High Price of Homeownership,” an examination of wide racial disparities in high-cost mortgage lending.

Kimbriell Kelly, Jeff Kelly Lowenstein and Angelica Herrera won the Chicago Headline Club’s Peter Lisagor Award for for in-depth reporting in a trade or specialty magazine, newspaper or newsletter for the Reporter’s three-part series on immigration.

2007

The Reporter won the Clarion Award from the Association for Women in Communications. The national award was won in the category of magazine series for the Reporter's 2006 story, "51 Cents an Hour" by Kimbriell Kelly.

The Reporter was honored with a Peter Lisagor Award for Exemplary Journalism, sponsored by the Chicago Headline Club. Kimbriell Kelly and Angelica Herrera won in business reporting category for their "May/June 2006 story " on human trafficking.

Alden Loury was chosen as a Jennings Fellow in the inaugural Peter Jennings Project for Journalists and the Constitution.

2006

The Reporter earned the prestigious Paul Tobenkin Memorial Award, the highest recognition given by the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism for reporting on racial issues.

Reporter staff members were honored twice with Peter Lisagor Awards for Exemplary Journalism, sponsored by the Chicago Headline Club. Sarah Karp, Rupa Shenoy and Robert VerBruggen won in in-depth reporting category for a series on ex-offenders (March 2005, May/June 2005, July/August 2005). In the business category, Kimbriell Kelly won for her story, "Rising values," (July/August 2005).

The Reporter earned a 2005 Utne Independent Press Award in the Local Coverage category. Utne editors describe each issue of the Reporter as “hard-hitting, readable, and relevant.” The national award honors the best of independent journalism.