CJA Reveals Finalists for 2023 Sarah Brown Boyden Awards

The Chicago Journalists Association (CJA) is excited to announce the finalists for its 2023 Sarah Brown Boyden Awards. This year’s contest once again saw a record number of submissions. The Sarah Brown Boyden Awards honor the best of the best journalism in Chicago and Northern Indiana across 18 different categories. 

The winners will be announced at CJA’s 84th Anniversary Awards Ceremony on Friday, November 10, 6:30-9:30 p.m., in Rettinger Hall of the Newberry Library, 60 W. Walton St.

To get tickets, visit chicagojournalists.net/donations. Congratulations to all of our finalists!

Finalists for the 2023 Sarah Brown Boyden Awards

ARTS

• Mark Braboy and Matt Chapman, The TRiiBE
  • “Who is behind the hip-hop blogs spreading fake news about O-Block on social media?”

• Elyssa Cherney, Crain’s Chicago Business and Steve Mills, ProPublica
  • “Nepal Wants a Sacred Necklace Returned. But a Major Museum Still Keeps It on Display.”
  • “Questions Shadow These Items From a Renowned Art Collection”
  • “A Rare Statue of Buddha Fails to Sell at Auction as Questions Swirl Around a Renowned Art Collection”

• Atavia Reed, Block Club Chicago
  • “YouTubers And TikTokers Are Flocking To The South Side To Mock ‘The Hood’ — And Some Say The Trend Does Real Harm”

BEST SERIES

• Duaa Eldeib, ProPublica
  • “‘God, No, Not Another Case.’ COVID-Related Stillbirths Didn’t Have to Happen.”
  • “Her Child Was Stillborn at 39 Weeks. She Blames a System That Doesn’t Always Listen to Mothers.”
  • “She Says Doctors Ignored Her Concerns About Her Pregnancy. For Many Black Women, It’s a Familiar Story.”

• Sarah Karp, WBEZ Chicago with Nader Issa and Lauren FitzPatrick, Chicago Sun-Times and Alden Loury, WBEZ Chicago
  • “Chicago closed 50 schools 10 years ago. Did the city keep its promises?”
  • “CPS help was short-lived for Chicago schools that absorbed students from schools closed in 2013”
  • “10 years after mass CPS school closings, enrollment is even worse. What can be done”

• Stacy St. Clair and Christy Gutowski, Chicago Tribune
  • “The Tylenol murders: The story of a 40-year-old unsolved case begins with a terrifying medical mystery”
  • “The Tylenol murders, part 4: ‘That’s Jim Lewis!’ The task force turns its attention to a man with a disturbing past.”
  • “The Tylenol murders, part 6: A sting operation turned up the heat on a ‘perfect cold case’”

BREAKING NEWS

• Debbie-Marie Brown, Chicago Reader
  • “Rogers Park neighbors debate a new men’s shelter”

• Jason Meisner, Ray Long and Megan Crepeau, Chicago Tribune
  • “Apparent slip-up during ex-ComEd CEO Anne Pramaggiore cross-examination leads to revelation about interview with feds”
  • “Defendants found guilty on all counts in ‘ComEd Four’ trial; juror says panel wanted ‘politics to run in a correct manner’”
  • “After resounding ‘ComEd Four’ verdict, former House Speaker Michael Madigan’s legacy on the line”

BUSINESS

• Joseph Pete, The Times of Northwest Indiana
  • “‘Damn near slave labor’: Teamsters picket outside MonoSol plant over forced overtime, 60-hour workweeks”
  • “Unions troubled Ports of Indiana not renewing Metro Ports’ lease”
  • “USW crashes US Steel CEO appearance, rallying for fair contract with no concessions”

• Amy Yee, Andre Tartar and Marie Patino, Bloomberg CityLab
  • “How Fixes to the $800 Billion Covid Relief Program Got Money to More Small Businesses”

COLLABORATIONS

• Sarah Karp, WBEZ Chicago with Nader Issa and Lauren FitzPatrick, Chicago Sun-Times and Alden Loury, WBEZ Chicago
  • “Chicago closed 50 schools 10 years ago. Did the city keep its promises?”
  • “CPS help was short-lived for Chicago schools that absorbed students from schools closed in 2013”
  • “10 years after mass CPS school closings, enrollment is even worse. What can be done”

• Stacy St. Clair and Christy Gutowski, Chicago Tribune with Claire Tighe, Jessica Glazer, Anmargaret Warner, Molly Getman, Matt Hickey and Morgan Springer, At Will Media
  • “Unsealed: The Tylenol Murders” Episode 1
  • “Unsealed: The Tylenol Murders” Episode 5
  • “Unsealed: The Tylenol Murders” Episode 8

• Staff, Block Club Chicago and Borderless
  • “After the Buses”

COMMENTARY

• Brandon Patterson, South Side Weekly
  • “South Shore Residents Ask ‘What About Us?’ A CBA is the City’s Chance to Deliver for Them”

• Damon Williams, Raych Jackson and Staff, The TRiiBE
  • “In Brandon Johnson’s administration, there’s opportunity for bravery”
  • “An appeal to Chicago’s Black voters: don’t fear your liberation”
  • “WTF Chicago!”

EDUCATION

• Jewél Jackson, Illinois Answers Project with Mila Koumpilova, Chalkbeat Chicago
  • “Illinois schools slow to spend COVID relief money”

• Sarah Karp, WBEZ Chicago with Nader Issa and Lauren FitzPatrick, Chicago Sun-Times and Alden Loury, WBEZ Chicago
  • “Chicago officials said students would be better off after their schools closed. Here’s what really happened.”
  • “What became of the buildings left behind after Chicago closed 50 schools?”
  • “10 years after mass CPS school closings, enrollment is even worse. What can be done?”

• Jennifer Smith Richards, Chicago Tribune with Jodi S. Cohen, ProPublica
  • “The school that calls the police on students every single day”
  • “The federal government is investigating an Illinois school where students with disabilities were frequently arrested”

FEATURES

• Christy Gutowski, Chicago Tribune
  • “Chicago’s walking man”

• Staff, Block Club Chicago
  • “Proud City”
  • “LGBTQ Families”
  • “This queer Rogers Park couple is raising 2 kids with an ‘abundance of love’”

• Wendy Wei, South Side Weekly
  • “Churches of color stand shoulder to shoulder at ‘Unity Good Friday’”

HEALTH/SCIENCE

• Katie Scarlett Brandt, Chicago Health Magazine
  • “Life After Death”

• Duaa Eldeib, ProPublica
  • “‘God, No, Not Another Case.’ COVID-Related Stillbirths Didn’t Have to Happen.” 
  • “Her Child Was Stillborn at 39 Weeks. She Blames a System That Doesn’t Always Listen to Mothers.”
  • “She Says Doctors Ignored Her Concerns About Her Pregnancy. For Many Black Women, It’s a Familiar Story.”

• Sarah Karp, Kristen Schorsch and Kate Grossman, WBEZ Chicago
  • “An Illinois lifeline program for suicidal kids has become a bridge to nowhere for many”
  • “What is the SASS mental health program for kids?”
  • “Kids in crisis face long wait lists for therapy”

INNOVATION

• Staff, Cicero Independiente
  • “Why is it so hard to run for office in Cicero?”

• Staff, WCIU-TV and Block Club Chicago
  • “On The Block: Powered by Block Club Chicago, interviewing then Mayor-elect Brandon Johnson”

INVESTIGATIONS

• Carlos Ballesteros, Injustice Watch
  • “Chicago police denied scores of undocumented crime victims a path to citizenship”
  • “Illinois DCFS blocks undocumented survivors of child abuse from applying for legal status, records show”
  • “Illinois AG investigating Chicago police over handling of U visas”

• Joe Mahr, Megan Crepeau and Brian Cassella, Chicago Tribune
  • “Yearslong delays in murder cases break rules, inflict pain and gouge taxpayers”
  • “From missing evidence to no-show cops, Cook County court machinery jams at every turn”
  • “Judges could push the pace on slow-moving murder cases. Most of them don’t.”

• Melissa Sanchez and Maryam Jameel, ProPublica
  • “Death on a dairy farm”
  • “Officials move to address problems facing immigrants workers on Wisconsin dairy farms”
  • “Following death of an 8-year-old on Wisconsin dairy farm, officials look to bridge law enforcement language gap”

NEWS/SPORTS PHOTOGRAPHY

• Karie Angell Luc, for images of “Monster Truck Wars” (Lake County News-Sun)

• Kathleen Hinkel, Chicago Reader
  • “Farewell to Dave’s Records”

• Casey Toner, Illinois Answers Project with Mina Bloom and Colin Boyle, Block Club Chicago
  • “Life and death in Chicago’s most dangerous bike lane”

POLITICS

• Mick Dumke, Block Club Chicago
  • “As Chicago struggled with migrant crisis for a year, city council’s immigrant rights committee didn’t meet once”
  • “These city council committees didn’t do much but spend your money. Now Mayor Brandon Johns wants to reward their leaders”
  • “After failing to act as Chicago struggled with migrant crisis, city council’s immigration committee calls on itself to meet more often”

• Tonia Hill and Staff, The Triibe
  • “Are there too many Black people running for Chicago mayor? Residents weigh in”
  • “Is Chuy out of step with the progressive movement: Black and brown leaders weigh in”
  • “Vallas flooded Black Chicago with cash but Black voters didn’t follow”

• Sarah Karp, WBEZ Chicago with Nader Issa and Lauren FitzPatrick, Chicago Sun-Times and Alden Loury, WBEZ Chicago
  • “Chicago closed 50 schools 10 years ago. Did the city keep its promises?”
  • “CPS help was short-lived for Chicago schools that absorbed students from schools closed in 2013”
  • “10 years after mass CPS school closings, enrollment is even worse. What can be done”

PUBLIC SERVICE

• Duaa Eldeib, ProPublica
  • “‘God, No, Not Another Case.’ COVID-Related Stillbirths Didn’t Have to Happen.” 
  • “Her Child Was Stillborn at 39 Weeks. She Blames a System That Doesn’t Always Listen to Mothers.”
  • “She Says Doctors Ignored Her Concerns About Her Pregnancy. For Many Black Women, It’s a Familiar Story.”

• Emily Hoerner, Chicago Tribune
  • “An Illinois law required schools to test water for lead. They found it all over the state.”
  • “With no state funding and shifting guidance, schools’ actions on lead in water vary widely”
  • “Did your Illinois public school find lead in its water? Look up results here.”

• David Jackson, Chuck Neubauer, Grace Golembiewski and Rachel Hinton, Illinois Answers Project
  • “Pritzker’s Personal Fortune Intersects With State Contracts”
  • “A Powerful Pritzker Administration Insider Cashed In as a Consultant”
  • “Insurance Giant Failed Foster Kids with Inadequate Care”

SPORTS

• Lauren Frost, Courtney Kueppers and Justine Tobiasz, WBEZ
  • “Sisters to sail the Race to Mackinac 100 years after their great-grandfather’s win was overturned”

• Theresa Horton, Chicago News Weekly
  • “Kenwood Academy’s Varsity Baseball Team Makes History!”

• Colleen Kane, Stacy St. Clair and Terrence Antonio James, Chicago Tribune
  • “Bound by basketball, friendship and grief: Simeon’s terrific 2013 state championship team, a decade later”
  • “Catching up with the 2012-13 Simeon Wolverines: Where they’ve been — and where they are now”

STUDENT JOURNALISM

• Lulu Anjanette, Richard Brum, Laaiba Mahmood, Brian Chan, Karlie Sanchez and Mateusz Kornec, University of Illinois Chicago
  • “The general election and runoff for Chicago mayor and key city council seats (the entire team)”
  • “Johnson overcomes the odds to win Chicago mayor’s race” 
  • “The UIC faculty strike”

• Olivia Cohen, Columbia College
  • “Faculty retention declines at Columbia – especially among instructors of color”

• Cam Rodriguez, DePaul University (now Illinois Answers Project)
  • “The long shadow of white supremacy”
  • “What I learned from reporting on and researching DePaul’s legacy of racism”

TECHNOLOGY

• Jocelyn Martínez Rosales, South Side Weekly
  • “CashDrop Employees Speak Out”

• Amy Yee, Bloomberg CityLab
  • “Ride-Hailing Drivers Struggle With Crime and Gas Costs”

TRANSPORTATION

• Mack Liederman, Block Club Chicago
  • “Does CTA boss Dorval Carter use public transit? Records show he swiped pass one in 2021”
  • “CTA’s top leaders rarely swiped onto transit, records show. Officials call for president to be fired”
  • “Rush hour riders face longer waits as CTA aims to stop ghost riders”

• John Lippert, for Chicago Tribune
  • “Hundreds of Englewood homes were razed for a railroad expansion. Those who remain want clean air, green space and jobs.”

• Casey Toner, Illinois Answers Project with Mina Bloom and Colin Boyle, Block Club Chicago
  • “Life and death in Chicago’s most dangerous bike lane”