Borderless Magazine
Borderless Magazine is a nonprofit news outlet that is reimagining immigration reporting. Borderless covers labor and justice, among other issues, for Midwestern immigrant communities.
Illinois
The TRiiBE
The TRiiBE is a digital media platform that is reshaping the narrative of Black Chicago. Our original works in journalism and creative storytelling capture the multifaceted essence of the Black experience. The TRiiBE produces and uplifts narratives that drive social justice and equity. We build community through digital engagement, our annual print magazine and public events.
Northern Public Radio – WNIJ
Northern Public Radio, a member station of NPR, has a mission to enrich, inspire and inform listeners in northern Illinois through programs and services that share ideas, encourage thought, entertain and create community.
Melissa Ellin
Melissa Ellin covers community mental health in Normal/Bloomington for WGLT, an NPR affiliate station at Illinois State University. Before this, she did general assignment reporting for Boston.com and statehouse reporting for MetroWest Daily News, while finishing her undergraduate journalism and English degrees at Boston University. She's freelanced for The Maine Monitor, Brookline News, and The Boston Globe. She also has experience with local and national data-driven investigations, including a story for The Boston Globe that uncovered corruption in the Massachusetts Department of Correction's prisoner grievance system. You can also read her byline in NBC Boston and the AP. She graduated in May 2023 with honors.
Kyle Williams
Kyle Williams covers sports in Chicago, Illinois, for the Chicago Sun-Times. Prior to joining the Sun-Times, Williams graduated from Northwestern University with a master's degree from the Medill School of Journalism. His journalism career started the summer of his freshman year with an internship at ABC7 for the daily talk show, ""Windy City Live."" Following that internship, Williams interned at Marquee Sports Network and the News & Observer in Raleigh, North Carolina. He has covered everything from the Chicago Cubs to North Carolina women’s soccer. As an undergraduate student, he majored in journalism with a minor in anthropology and sociology.
Chicago Sun-Times
The Chicago Sun-Times is the legendary news voice of Chicago’s working class. The news organization was recently acquired by a diverse consortium of philanthropists, business leaders and Chicago area labor organizations.
WGLT
Founded in 1966 and licensed to Illinois State University, WGLT is an NPR member station providing the highest quality local, national and international news, balanced with music and culture. WGLT champions independent nonprofit journalism as a public service with on-air and digital content freely available. WGLT also serves as a training ground for emerging journalists. In the last decade, WGLT has won nearly 50 awards for journalism, including six regional Edward R. Murrow Awards.
Mariah Rush
Mariah Rush covers the South and West sides of Chicago for the Chicago Sun-Times. Originally from South Bend, Indiana, she graduated from the University of Notre Dame in 2021. Rush was most recently a national real-time reporter for McClatchy News, covering the midwest region. She has previously reported for the Chicago Tribune, the Philadelphia Inquirer and the Tampa Bay Times and has served as the Managing Editor for Notre Dame's independent newspaper, The Observer. Rush has written about everything from news deserts in America, to the policing of Black teens in Illinois, to the phenomenon that is Wordle. In her leisure time, she can be found consuming TV and reading detective novels with her dog, Simi.
Claire Savage
Claire Savage reports for The Associated Press in Chicago, covering institutions serving young people in Illinois and investigating how well they help youth. Before joining the AP, Savage reported on online disinformation, with an emphasis on inaccurate Covid-19 and vaccine claims, for Agence France-Presse in Washington, D.C. Savage was an intern at NBC Washington/Telemundo and completed a fellowship with Atlantic Media. She holds a master's degree in international journalism from American University and a bachelor's degree in Spanish and international business from Washington University in St. Louis, where she earned All-American honors in swimming. Savage grew up outside Cleveland, Ohio, and returns frequently to visit her family and favorite ice cream shop.
Cora Lewis
Cora Lewis covers workers and the business of agriculture for The Midwest Center for Investigative Reporting, a nonprofit newsroom based in Champaign, Illinois. Prior to joining The Midwest Center, Lewis reported on labor and breaking news for BuzzFeed News, where she received a Front Page Award from The Newswomen’s Club of New York for stories covering on-call scheduling. Her work has led to the resignation of an abusive CEO and has been featured on “This American Life.” She has followed minimum wage movements, teachers’ strikes, automation, the on-demand economy, alternative organizing models and union politics. Born and raised in New York City, Lewis received her bachelor’s degree in philosophy from Yale University and her master’s in fiction from Washington University in St. Louis.