CHICAGO (AP) — Winners have been announced in the Illinois Associated Press Media Editors 2020 newspaper contest.
The awards were announced on May 7 during a virtual event held by the Illinois Associated Press Media Editors during the annual convention of the Illinois Press Association.
The contest featured news and sports stories, features, editorials, columns and photos from 2020.
Because of an administrative error, the Belleville News-Democrat withdrew its entries from consideration for the Associated Press Media Editors - Illinois awards. Division 1 award winners have been adjusted to reflect the News-Democrat’s withdrawal.
The Illinois APME also inducted Chicago Sun-Times columnist Mary Mitchell into its Lincoln League of Journalists, which recognizes those “who have provided exemplary service to other journalists and to daily newspapers published in Illinois.”
Paul Saltzman and Alice Bazerghi of the Chicago Sun-Times also earned the News Innovator of the Year award for substantial and ongoing coverage of COVID-19.
The Associated Press is a not-for-profit news cooperative representing thousands of newspapers and broadcast stations in the United States.
Winners in the 2020 Illinois APME Newspaper Contest:
DIVISION I
GENERAL EXCELLENCE: 1st Place, Daily Chronicle; 2nd Place, Effingham Daily News; 3rd Place, Chicago Daily Law Bulletin,
EDITORIAL/ WRITING SWEEPSTAKES: 1st Place, Effingham Daily News, Andrew Adams, Charles Mills, Cathy Griffith, Coping with Covid;
BEST WEBSITE: 1st Place, Chicago Daily Law Bulletin, Emma Zelewsky, chicagolawbulletin.com; 2nd Place, Effingham Daily News, Staff, Effingham Daily News
BREAKING NEWS: 1st Place, Effingham Daily News, Charles Mills, Homes saved in massive response to multiple blazes; 2nd Place, Daily Chronicle, Kelsey Rettke, Matthew Wells, Blaze at Standard Roofing rages for hours Friday, results in almost $1M loss, says fire chief; 3rd Place, Daily Chronicle, Kelsey Rettke, Katrina J. E. Milton, Looting in DeKalb follows peaceful Black Lives Matter protest
BUSINESS REPORTING: 1st Place, Effingham Daily News, Andrew Adams, Coping with Covid: Area companies receive over $73M in PPP
DIGITAL STORYTELLING: 1st Place, Effingham Daily News, Charles Mills, New group comes to aid of woman raising great-grandchildren; 2nd Place, Daily Chronicle, Kelsey Rettke, Katrina J.E. Milton, Mark Busch, Fairdale Five Years Later - 2015 and 2020
EDITORIAL WRITING, 1st Place, Effingham Daily News, Jeff Long, Effingham Daily News editorials by Jeff Long; 2nd Place, Daily Chronicle, Kelsey Rettke , Rettke: If you care about business, you’ll follow public safety rules as we enter Phase 3
ENTERPRISE REPORTING: 1st Place, Daily Chronicle, Eddie Carifio, Kelsey Rettke, Long-term care COVID-19 battles series
FEATURE: 1st Place, Chicago Daily Law Bulletin, Sarah Mansur, Stories behind the data; 2nd Place, The Naperville Sun, Wendy Fox Weber and Annie Alleman, Virus Movie Makes a Comeback & Sometimes the perfect movie setting is right here
FEATURE PHOTO: 1st Place, Daily Chronicle, Mark Busch, Learning the meaning of Memorial Day
INVESTIGATIVE REPORTING: 1st Place - tied, Daily Chronicle, Kelsey Rettke, Katie Finlon , Sycamore city water woes series; 1st Place - tied, Daily Chronicle, Eddie Carifio, Kelsey Rettke , Long-term care COVID-19 FOIA series
PICTURE STORY: 1st Place, Daily Chronicle, Mark Busch, Consequences after fatal DUI devastates two families; 2nd Place, Daily Chronicle, Mark Busch, Local basketball teams battle on the court during First National Challenge; 3rd Place, Daily Chronicle, Mark Busch, Sunflowers in full bloom
PUBLIC SERVICE, 1st Place, Effingham Daily News, Andrew Adams, Charles Mills, Cathy Griffith, Coping with Covid
SPORTS PHOTO, 1st Place, Daily Chronicle, Mark Busch, Celebrating victory; 2nd Place, Daily Chronicle, Mark Busch, Touchdown dive; 3rd Place, Daily Chronicle, Mark Busch, Making the catch
SPORTS REPORTING: 1st Place, Daily Chronicle, Kaleb Carter, Salmi feature; 2nd Place, Daily Chronicle, Eddie Carifio, NIU signs highest rated recruit
SPOT NEWS PHOTO: 1st Place, Daily Chronicle, Mark Busch, Clashing with police
VIDEO STORYTELLING: 1st Place, Daily Chronicle, Kelsey Rettke, Black Lives Matter protesters march to Sam Cooke’s “A change is gonna come;” 2nd Place, Daily Chronicle, Kelsey Rettke, Katrina J.E. Milton, Video: Looting in DeKalb after peaceful protest
COLUMN OR BLOG: 1st Place, Daily Chronicle, Kelsey Rettke , Rettke: If you care about business, you’ll follow public safety rules as we enter Phase 3
SPORTS COLUMN OR BLOG: 1st Place, Daily Chronicle, Eddie Carifio, Carifio columns
PHOTO SWEEPSTAKES
1st Place, The Telegraph, John Badman, Walgreens Robbery
DIVISION 2
GENERAL EXCELLENCE, 1st Place, The Northwest Herald; 2nd Place, Herald & Review; 3rd Place, The Southern Illinoisan,
EDITORIAL/ WRITING SWEEPSTAKES: 1st Place, The Register-Mail, Staff, Black Voices of Galesburg
BEST WEBSITE: 1st Place, Herald & Review, Staff, Herald & Review website;
2nd Place, The Herald-News, Staff, TheHerald-News.com
BREAKING NEWS: 1st Place, The Beacon News, Beacon-News Staff, Riots erupt in Downtown Aurora; 2nd Place, The Beacon News, Megan Jones, Sarah Freishtat, Stacy St. Clair, Aurora civil unrest, violence; 3rd Place, The Northwest Herald, Katie Smith, Amanda Marrazzo, JoAnn Cunningham receives 35-year sentence for murder of son AJ Freund.
BUSINESS REPORTING: 1st Place, The Northwest Herald, Cassie Buchman, Drew Zimmerman, ‘Emotional,’ devastating’: Former Bowes employees, FightBack patients discuss closures, layoffs; 2nd Place, The News Sun, Steve Sadin, Lake County restaurants adapt in effort to survive; 3rd Place, The Northwest Herald, Katie Smith, Tech company backs out of attempt to buy former Harvard Motorola Campus
COLUMN OR BLOG: 1st Place, The Northwest Herald, Jon Styf, Styf columns; 2nd Place, The Herald-News, Joseph Hosey, Columns by Joseph Hosey; 3rd Place, Herald & Review, Chris Coates, Chris Coates columns
ENTERPRISE REPORTING: 1st Place, The Register-Mail, Staff, Black Voices of Galesburg; 2nd Place, The Beacon News, Sarah Freishtat, Inside a hospital COVID unit; 3rd Place, The Northwest Herald, Kelli Duncan, Sam Lounsberry, State program names Harvard, Richmond as two McHenry County communities hit hardest by COVID-19
FEATURE: 1st Place, Southern Illinoisan, Molly Parker, Local icon remembered: Jason Tanner embodied spirit of Carbondale to many people; 2nd Place, The Telegraph, Rachel Rodgers, From archive to exhibit: Sun-Times photo collection sold by Dixon collector to Chicago museum; 3rd Place, The Northwest Herald, Kelli Duncan, Algonquin salon offers empowerment workshops for girls, helps parents care for Afro-textured hair
FEATURE PHOTO: 1st Place, Herald & Review, Clay Jackson, Night to Shine; 2nd Place, Southern Illinoisan, Isaac Smith, Only the essentials; 3rd Place, The Northwest Herald, Matthew Apgar, Fishing at Dawn
INVESTIGATIVE REPORTING: 1st Place, The Northwest Herald, Katie Smith, ‘Stop! Don’t choke me!’: Video shows arrest under investigation for excessive force; 2nd Place, Southern Illinoisan, Molly Parker, Brian Munoz, Outbreak uncertainty; 3rd Place, The Beacon News, Sarah Freishtat, Elder care facilities failed infection control inspections before pandemic hit
PUBLIC SERVICE: 1st Place, Herald & Review, Staff, COVID coverage; 2nd Place, Southern Illinoisan, Molly Parker, Randolph County COVID-19 outbreak; 3rd Place, The Herald-News, Alex Ortiz, Public service stories by Alex Ortiz
SPORTS COLUMN OR BLOG: 1st Place, The Northwest Herald, Joe Stevenson, Joe Stevenson’s columns; 2nd Place, The Times, J.T. Pedelty, Pedelty Box; 3rd Place, The Northwest Herald, Sean Hammond, Sean Hammond’s columns
SPORTS PHOTO: 1st Place, The Northwest Herald, Matthew Apgar, State Champ; 2nd Place, Herald & Review, Clay Jackson, St. Teresa Victory; 3rd Place, Herald & Review, Clay Jackson, Tough Loss
SPORTS REPORTING: 1st Place, The Daily Gazette, Eric Ingles, Henze, Brinker team up to take Eastland to title; 2nd Place, The Daily Gazette, Ty Renolds, Tackling challenge of Big 10 Football; 3rd Place, The Northwest Herald, Sean Hammond, Former Illinois football player Oladipo violated 5 student codes, no longer enrolled at university
SPOT NEWS PHOTO: 1st Place, The Telegraph, John Badman, Walgreens Robbery; 2nd Place, Southern Illinoisan, Byron Hetzler, Hard to say goodbye; 3rd Place, The Telegraph, John Badman, Gunfire Injures Man
EDITORIAL WRITING: 1st Place, Southern Illinoisan, The Southern Illinoisan Editorial Board, The Southern Illinoisan Editorial Writing;
PICTURE STORY: 1st Place, Herald & Review, Clay Jackson, In Touch With Nature
DIVISION 3
GENERAL EXCELLENCE: 1st Place, Chicago Sun-Times; 2nd Place, Chicago Tribune; 3rd Place, The Pantagraph
EDITORIAL/ WRITING SWEEPSTAKES: 1st Place, Chicago Sun-Times, Frank Main, Andy Grimm, ‘Long delays for justice,’ Frank Main, Andy Grimm
BEST WEBSITE: 1st Place, Chicago Sun-Times, Chicago Sun-Times staff, chicago.suntimes.com, the Chicago Sun-Times’ main web portal; 2nd Place, The Pantagraph, Staff, Pantagraph website; 3rd Place, Chicago Tribune, Staff, Chicago Tribune website
BREAKING NEWS: 1st Place, Chicago Sun-Times, Chicago Sun-Times staff, ‘3 shot, 2 of them fatally, as third night of unrest grips Kenosha;’ 2nd Place, Chicago Tribune, Chicago Tribune staff, Police shooting at CTA Red Line subway stop in Chicago; 3rd Place, Daily Herald, Marni Pyke, Pritzker issues ‘shelter in place’ order
BUSINESS REPORTING: 1st Place, Chicago Tribune, Alexia Elejalde-Ruiz, Grocery prices are down from their COVID-19 summer peaks; 2nd Place, Chicago Sun-Times, Tim Novak, Lauren FitzPatrick, Cook County Land Bank Authority investigation, Tim Novak, Lauren FitzPatrick; 3rd Place, Chicago Tribune, Lauren Zumbah, Ally Marotti, Employees find new rules as they return to the office.
COLUMN OR BLOG: 1st Place, Journal Star, Phil Luciano, Phil Luciano columns; 2nd Place, Chicago Tribune, Georgia Garvey, Weekly column by Georgia Garvey; 3rd Place, Chicago Sun-Times, Ismael Perez, 3 columns by Ismael Perez
DIGITAL STORYTELLING: 1st Place, The Pantagraph, Laura Sparks and Chris Coates, How much do you know about Adlai Stevenson II?; 2nd Place, Chicago Tribune, Kori Rumore, Timelines by Kori Rumore; 3rd Place, Chicago Tribune, Staff, Remembering those who died of COVID-19
EDITORIAL WRITING: 1st Place, Chicago Sun-Times, Chicago Sun-Times editorial board, ‘Strife on the streets and police reform’ editorials; 2nd Place, Chicago Sun-Times, Lorraine Forte, ‘Kids belong in school (real school) despite pandemic’ editorials, Lorraine Forte; 3rd Place, Chicago Sun-Times, Lee Bey, ‘Keep Mercy Hospital open’ editorials, Lee Bey
ENTERPRISE REPORTING: 1st Place, Chicago Sun-Times, Frank Main, Andy Grimm, ‘Long delays for justice,’ Frank Main, Andy Grimm; 2nd Place, Chicago Sun-Times, Lauren FitzPatrick, ’30 public schools in Chicago are named for slaveholders;′ 3rd Place, The Pantagraph, Analisa Trofimuk and Sierra Henry , Assessing access
FEATURE: 1st Place, Chicago Tribune, Staff, A young boy’s killing and the uncertain future of Cabrini-Green’s rowhouses; 2nd Place, Chicago Sun-Times, Neil Steinberg, Ashlee Rezin Garcia, ‘Our worst day,’ Neil Steinberg, Ashlee Rezin Garcia; 3rd Place, Chicago Sun-Times, Stefano Esposito, ’Tragedy on the tracks 25 years later’
FEATURE PHOTO: 1st Place, The Dispatch-Argus, Jessica Gallagher, Grocery Shopping; 2nd Place, Daily Herald, John Starks, Socially Distanced Santa; 3rd Place, Chicago Tribune, Brian Cassella, Working from home
INVESTIGATIVE REPORTING: 1st Place, Chicago Tribune, Staff, The fatal flaw in Illinois’ firearms enforcement; 2nd Place, Chicago Sun-Times, Tim Novak, Lauren FitzPatrick, Cook County Land Bank Authority investigation, Tim Novak, Lauren FitzPatrick; 3rd Place, Chicago Sun-Times, Frank Main, Andy Grimm, ‘Long delays for justice,’ Frank Main, Andy Grimm
PICTURE STORY: 1st Place, Chicago Tribune, Staff, COVID-19 Pandemic; 2nd Place, The Dispatch-Argus, Jessica Gallagher, Mourning in the Quad-Cities; 3rd Place, The Dispatch-Argus, Meg McLaughlin, Window Project
PUBLIC SERVICE: 1st Place, The News-Gazette, Jeff D’Alessio, Being Black in America; 2nd Place, Chicago Tribune, Chicago Tribune staff, Chicago Tribune coronavirus blog and COVID-19 data pages; 3rd Place, The News-Gazette, Staff, School’s out ... but not in the pages of The News-Gazette
SPORTS COLUMN OR BLOG, 1st Place, Chicago Sun-Times, Rick Morrissey, A selection of 3 sports columns by Rick Morrissey; 2nd Place, Chicago Sun-Times, Rick Telander, ‘Finally seeing the full picture’; 3rd Place, Chicago Sun-Times, Ben Pope, ‘Last fans standing,’ Ben Pope
SPORTS PHOTO: 1st Place, Daily Herald, Mark Welsh, Championship Hug; 2nd Place, The Pantagraph, David Proeber, Super-sectional Victory; 3rd Place, Daily Herald, Patrick Kunzer, Performing On Beam
SPORTS REPORTING: 1st Place, Chicago Tribune, Shannon Ryan, Jamal Collier, A snapshot of life in sports during 6 months of COVID-19; 2nd Place, Chicago Tribune, Colleen Kane, How Chicago Bears rookie Darnell Mooney turned his serious nature into a big NFL opportunity; 3rd Place, Chicago Tribune, Stacy St. Clair, Games postponed
SPOT NEWS PHOTO: 1st Place, Chicago Tribune, Erin Hooley, Looting; 2nd Place, Rockford Register Star, Scott P. Yates, Fire destroys Loves Park apartment building; 3rd Place, Chicago Sun-Times, Ashlee Rezin Garcia, ‘Burning rage’
VIDEO STORYTELLING: 1st Place, Chicago Sun-Times, Chicago Sun-Times staff, ‘Experience Illinois’ first day of legal recreational pot in under 3 minutes,′ Jan. 1, 2020; 2nd Place, Chicago Sun-Times, Brian Ernst, Ashlee Rezin Garcia, Brian Rich, ‘Learn to buy legal weed like a pro’; 3rd Place, Rockford Register Star, Kevin Haas, Scott P. Yates, Arrests on video spur excessive force complaints in Rockford