Jennifer Whidden

Jenny Whidden reports on the effects of climate change on Chicago’s suburbs for the Daily Herald, based in Arlington Heights, Illinois. A second-year Report for America corps member, Whidden previously was a Statehouse reporter for New Hampshire’s Granite State News Collaborative, covering legislation related to racial justice. A native of Rolling Meadows, Illinois, Whidden holds a bachelor’s degree in journalism from Marquette University. There, she was managing editor of the student paper, the Marquette Tribune, which won top honors in General Excellence from the Wisconsin Newspaper Association. Whidden enjoys going to the movies, reading fiction and spending time with Princeton, her cat.

Daily Herald

The Daily Herald is a 149-year-old, employee-owned news organization, and the largest in suburban Chicago. These suburbs account for half the population of the Chicago metro area and have the vast majority of the region’s governmental entities. There are 75 towns, 96 school districts and six counties and court systems in this area, offering rich opportunities for enterprising reporters.