The Chicago Journalists Association would like to extend a hearty congratulations to all winners of the 2021 Dorothy Storck Award and Sarah Brown Boyden Awards! Both contests recognize the best journalism in Illinois and northern Indiana.
Dorothy Storck Award Winners
First-Place Winner: Deborah Douglas, The Emancipator
Second-Place Winner: John W. Fountain, Chicago Sun-Times
Second-Place Winner: Neil Steinberg, Chicago Sun-Times
Sarah Brown Boyden Award Winners
BEST OF THE BEST
Madison Hopkins, Better Government Association and Cecilia Reyes, Chicago Tribune
ARTS
Leor Galil, Chicago Reader
“Thirty years ago, a Black queer zine captured the scene that birthed house”
BEST SERIES
Better Government Association, The Chicago Reporter and Injustice Watch
BREAKING NEWS
Staff, Daily Herald
Coverage of damage caused by a June 21 tornado that swept through Woodridge and Naperville, Illinois
BUSINESS
John Lippert, Better Government Association and Natalie Moore, WBEZ
“Amazon’s Massive Chicago-Area Expansion Fueled by $741 Million From Taxpayers”
EDUCATION
Irene Romulo, Cicero Independiente, Injustice Watch and Type Investigations
“’Gang Contracts’ in Cicero and Berwyn Schools Raise Concerns About Criminalization of Youth”
FEATURES
Mick Dumke, Tony Briscoe and Haru Coryne, ProPublica
- “Disinvested: How Government and Private Industry Let the Main Street of a Black Neighborhood Crumble.”
- “How a Chicago Political Hangout Went From Bustling to Boarded-Up — Even After the City Promised Help”
- “The Murder Chicago Didn’t Want to Solve”
HEALTH/SCIENCE
Duaa Eldeib, ProPublica
“A Crisis of Undiagnosed Cancers Is Emerging in the Pandemic’s Second Year”
INVESTIGATIONS
Madison Hopkins, Better Government Association and Cecilia Reyes, Chicago Tribune
- “42 Fires, 61 Deaths: A Story of Failed City Oversight”
- “Deadly Fires, Broken Promises”
- “The Failures Before the Fires: Dozens Die in Chicago Buildings Where the City Knew of Fire Safety Issues”
NEWS/SPORTS PHOTOGRAPHY
Karie Angell Luc, for Daily Herald
POLITICS
Alex Nitkin and Erin Hegarty, The Daily Line
PUBLIC SERVICE
Madison Hopkins, Better Government Association and Cecilia Reyes, Chicago Tribune
- “42 Fires, 61 Deaths: A Story of Failed City Oversight”
- “Deadly Fires, Broken Promises”
- “The Failures Before the Fires: Dozens Die in Chicago Buildings Where the City Knew of Fire Safety Issues”
SPORTS
Patrick Finley, Chicago Sun-Times
“Ex-Bears QB Erik Kramer back from the brink”
TECHNOLOGY
Jared Rutecki, Better Government Association and Ray Long, Chicago Tribune
“No Ransom Paid, but Illinois AG Office Is Spending More Than $2.5 Million on Hacker Attack”
TRANSPORTATION
Jamie Nesbitt Golden, Block Club Chicago