Cheers to 50 years! Chicago Reporter alums Tom Brune, John Schrag and Kay Humphries.
Thank you to everyone who helped make our two-day Friends of The Chicago Reporter celebration a rousing success! Reporter alumni and our supporters gathered in true windy-city fashion on July 21 at the acclaimed Bronzeville Winery to recognize award-winning investigative journalism and the 50th anniversary of the founding of The Chicago Reporter.
The following day, July 22, we held a panel at Columbia College Chicago featuring inspirational Reporter alumni discussing the news organization’s legacy and its impact on their careers.
Our guests also enjoyed video clips from our oral history project, produced by alum Jeff Spitz of Groundswell Educational Films and supported by the Illinois Humanities Council.
Double Thank You! During the events, an anonymous Chicago Reporter alum offered to match up to $5,000 in donations. We are happy to announce that we made the match, and then some!
These donations will help us kick off our NEW independent effort to continue data-driven investigations on race and equity. Watch for more details soon.
We are grateful to the more than 150 supporters—including alumni from across the nation representing all five decades––who joined us in celebrating The Chicago Reporter’s legacy.
Soon to come: a slideshow of our celebrations! Did you take pictures at either event? Send them to Friends.of.TCR@gmail.com.
Thanks to our generous donors, these events were free to attend.
50th Anniversary Host Committee
Kevin B. Blackistone
Tom Brune
Angela Caputo and Ken Kook
Thom Clark
Nora Duff and James Ylisela Jr.
Sylvia Ewing
Sarah Karp and Daniel Ash
Susan Lloyd
John McDermott Jr.
Jack Roberts
Susy Schultz
Laura S. Washington
John A. McDermott Sponsor ($2,500 and up)
Friends of The Chicago Reporter Core Committee
Lillian Calhoun Sponsors ($1,000-$2,499)
Hon. Jacqueline Y. Collins
Anne Evens, Sylvia Ewing, Elevate
Christie Hefner
Michael McDermott and Nickie Sage
Donna Norkus
Hon. Toni Preckwinkle
Roy Larson Sponsors ($500-$999)
Michael Bennett
Victoria and Barnaby Dinges Charitable Fund
Donna LaPietra and Bill Kurtis
Lisa Madigan
Kim Mongoven
Irene Pace
Bettylu Saltzman
Rev. Alexander E. Sharp
Fred Stein and Nikki Will Stein
Alysia Tate
In-kind Sponsors
BTS Enterprises Promotional Products
Chicago Headline Club Foundation
Chicago Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights
Complete Communications Inc.
Crossroads Fund
DLA Piper
McDermott Will & Emery
Pamplin Media Group
Thinkinc.
Uncaged Photography
