CJA Names 2021 Award Winners

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

“The Failures Before The Fires: Dozens Die in Chicago Buildings Where the City Knew of Fire Safety Issues”

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

“The Circuit”

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 

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

NEWS/SPORTS PHOTOGRAPHY

Karie Angell Luc, for Daily Herald

Images of the Norge ski jump

POLITICS

Alex Nitkin and Erin Hegarty, The Daily Line

“Lightfoot’s campaign promise on police oversight comes tantalizingly close, 16 months after the last deal fell apart”

PUBLIC SERVICE

Madison Hopkins, Better Government Association and Cecilia Reyes, Chicago Tribune

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 

“As City Boosts Development Near Public Transit, South Siders Urge Investment in Green Line — Where a Shutdown Crippled a Community”