The Chicago Journalists Association (CJA) is excited to announce the finalists for its 2026 Sarah Brown Boyden Awards. Submissions for this year’s contest once again included journalism at the highest level. These awards honor the best journalism in Chicagoland, Illinois and Northwest Indiana across 20 categories. 

Winners will be announced at CJA’s 87th Anniversary Awards Ceremony on Friday, Nov. 13, 6:30-9:30 p.m., at the Newberry Library, 60 W. Walton St., Chicago.

To buy tickets, visit Eventbrite. Congratulations to all of our finalists!

ARTS

• Jamie Nesbitt Golden, Block Club Chicago
  “How Kennedy-King College’s WKKC Became A Black Radio Powerhouse

• Erica Thompson and Mike Davis, Sun-Times/WBEZ 
  • “Arts groups’ pledges and George Floyd, five years later,”
  • “Did the ‘We See You, White America’ movement spark change in Chicago?”
  • “How Merit School of Music built a culture of inclusion for students’”
    
• Mary Wisniewski, Freelancer, for Newcity
  • “The Right Stuff”

BEST SERIES

• Brett Chase, Chicago Sun-Times and WBEZ, “Soaked”
  • “Flooding in Chicago is getting worse. Here’s why.”
  • “After a flood, mold sticks around and can make people sick”
  • “Few Chicago residents buy flood insurance, but should they?”
    
• Jon Seidel and Adriana Cardona-Maguigad, Chicago Public Media, “Beating the charges, bearing the scars”
  • Marimar Martinez, shot by Border Patrol in Chicago, speaks out after Good, Pretti deaths: ‘I am their voice’
  • ICE protesters keep beating Trump in Chicago court, but the battles take a toll
  • ‘Broadway 6’ defendants: ‘We didn’t commit a crime’
    
• Staff, Chicago Tribune, “The story of Operation Midway Blitz”
  • “64 days in Chicago”
  • “They were already living in one of Chicago’s worst buildings. Then came the ICE raid.”
  • “Inside Chicago’s growing resistance.”

BREAKING NEWS

• Francia García Hernández, Colin Boyle, Ariel Parrella-Aureli, Melody Mercado, Molly DeVore and Mack Liederman, Block Club Chicago
  • “Federal agents handcuff Chicago alderperson who tried to help immigrant”
  • “Border patrol agents descend on Little Village sparking fury, fear”
  • “Daycare worker pulled out of school by armed federal agents”
    
• Maira Khwaja and José Abonce, Invisible Institute and South Side Weekly
  • “Federal agents storm South Shore building, detaining families and children”
    
• Staff, Chicago Tribune
  • “National Guard arrives in Illinois”
  • “On Halloween, ‘state-sponsored terror’ in Chicago and north suburbs”
  • “Only 2.6% on list of 614 ‘Operation Midway Blitz’ arrestees had criminal histories”

BUSINESS 

• John Lippert and Maya Wilkins, Chicago Tribune and Post-Tribune
  • “Gary residents say US Steel is jeopardizing their jobs and air quality” 

• Ariel Parrella-Aureli, Block Club Chicago (Investigating Alleged Abuse At Warlord)
  • “Warlord chef’s abuse went unchecked for years”
  • “After former Warlord chef’s abuse exposed, ex-employee says it was assault” 
  • “Warlord on brink of ruin”

• Sophie Sherry, Tom Schuba, Nader Issa, Alden Loury, Mariah Woelfel, Esther Yoon-Ji Kang, Amy Qin, WBEZ and the Chicago Sun-Times
  • “Chicago’s invisible property owners”
  • ‘Unlivable’ conditions festered at Chicago apartment building long before  jarring immigration raid”
  • “What happened when the Sausage King of Chicago bought a South Side housing complex?”      

COLLABORATIONS

• Jose Abonce, Alma Campos, Jim Daley, Andrew Fan, Francia García Hernández, Sebastían Hidalgo, Maheen Khan, Maira Khwaja, Efraín Soriano, Jonathan Torres, Wendy Wei; from Block Club Chicago, Cicero Independiente, the Investigative Project on Race and Equity, Invisible Institute, South Side Weekly, and The TRiiBE, “Chemical agents” 
  • “Feds used chemical agents even after judge said to stop”

• Alex Nitkin and A.D. Quig, Illinois Answers Project and Chicago Tribune, “Missteps result in property tax hikes” 
  • “Brace for impact: Tax hikes loom”
  • “Record property tax increase slams homeowners”
  • “No resolution in sight”
    
• Casey Toner and Maggie Dougherty, Illinois Answers Project and Capitol News, “Addicted to gambling”
  • “Someone has decided they can make money off you”
  • “What compulsive gamblers know”
  • “Recovering gamblers lift each other up as formal resources lag”

COMMENTARY

• Rummana Hussain, Chicago Sun-Times
  • “January still stings 20 years after my dad’s death”
  • “Iraq, like Chicago, has more to offer than ominous headlines”
  • “‘Foreign’ sport no more: Americans finally get soccer”

• Maudlyne Ihejirika, Chicago Sun-Times
  • “Reflecting on the Rev. Jesse Jackson”
    
• Michele Weldon, various outlets
  • “Caligula Vs. Epstein: Can Good Triumph Over Evil?”
  • “The Amazing Thing I Can Still Do at Age 67”
  • “The Good Kind of Secrets”

EDUCATION

• Jonathan Bullington & Gregory Royal Pratt, Chicago Tribune, Language and Music School 
  • “Oak Park school operates in loophole created by state law”

• Mila Koumpilova, Chalkbeat Chicago, “Sustainable Community Schools investigation”
  • “Chicago’s Sustainable Community Schools are growing. But few outperform neighboring schools.
  • “Unspent money, turnover and tension: Chicago’s Sustainable Community Schools provide lessons for the future”
  • “Is dual credit paying off for students?”

• Efraín Soriano, Robin Carnilius, April Alonso, Luis Velazquez, Cicero Independiente IEP
  • “FIRME: The Program Training Latinx Parents to Advocate for Children with Disabilities”
  • “Tu Hijo, Tu Voz: Para Tu Primer Junta de IEP”

FEATURES

• Gregory Royal Pratt, Chicago Tribune
  • “Bridgeport family sells home after 116 years”
  • “ICE releases some immigrants without a way back home. These volunteers are waiting to help” 
  • “Chicago man reflects on Cape Verde roots: ‘The world now knows who we are’” 

• Michele Weldon, various
  • “Cue The Holiday Romance Movies”
  • “At 67, I’m Proud To Be A Fashionista” 
  • “Why Does It Feel Like Everyone Is Getting Cancer?”

Mary Wisniewski, Newcity

• “The Rewrite Stuff”

HEALTH/SCIENCE

• Christy Gutowski and Gregory Royal Pratt, Chicago Tribune
  • “Plastic surgeon still operating after eight deaths”
  • “Illinois regulators to audit case, seek changes in law after Tribune investigation”
  • “Plastic surgeon license suspended”
    
• Emily Hoerner, Christy Gutowski, Lisa Schencker, Chicago Tribune
  • “Chicago hospitals funnel patients into long-lasting guardianships, angering family, friends”
  • “When hospitals choose private guardians, patients pay the price”
  • “New safeguards approved”

• Josh McGhee, MindSite News; Janani Jana, Rachel Heimann Mercader, Claire Murphy, Maggie Dougherty, Skye Garcia, Nicole Johnson, Rachel Yoon, Tyler Williamson, Jai Indra, Charlotte Ehrlich, Emma Sullivan, Margarita Williams, Sam Biggs, Hope Moses, Ashley Quincin, Jasmine Kim, Mariam Cosmos, Tom O’Connor, Sara Cooper, Sin Yi Au, Christiana Freitag, Mitra Nourbakhsh, Angeles Ponpa, Nora Rosenfeld, Britton Struthers, Arthi Venkatesh, and Sarah Xu, Medill Investigative Lab-Chicago at Northwestern University; Medill assistant professor Kari Lydersen; Medill assistant professor Matt Kiefer;  Dana Brozost-Kelleher, Isabelle Senechal, and Sam Stecklow of Invisible Institute; Medill externs Jenna Mayzouni, Allende Miglietta, and Stephana Ocneanu; South Side Weekly
  • “Shadow arrests: Police make growing use of forced psychiatric hospitalization”
  • “From the elevator to the floor in 18 seconds”
  • “Despite crisis training, many officers still resort to force”

IMMIGRATION

• Dan Mihalopoulos, Lauren FitzPatrick, Chip Mitchell, Tom Schuba, Sophie Sherry, Frank Main, Chicago Sun-Times and WBEZ
  • “Transcript: Gregory Bovino says arrestees in downtown Chicago chosen based partly on ‘how they look’”
  • “Tear gas, car crashes, chokeholds: Risky tactics have driven Trump’s Chicago deportation ‘blitz’”
  • “Gregory Bovino’s the star of Trump’s deportation show — we trace his roots”
    
• Crystal Paul, Mack Liederman and Charles Thrush, Block Club Chicago
  • “Who were the Midway Blitz border patrol agents?”
    
• Staff, Chicago Tribune
  • “64 days in Chicago”
  • “ICE raid”
  • “Chicago’s growing resistance movement”

INNOVATIVE STORYTELLING (tie, which is why there are four)

• Francia García Hernández, Madison Savedra and Block Club Chicago staff
  • “Chicago under siege”
    
• Jason McGregor, Jocelyn Allison, Rachel Herzog, Geoffrey Black, Allan Goldstein, John Pletz, Crain’s
  • “As Obama Center nears debut, signs emerge of changing neighborhood”
  • “Watch the Obama Center get built from above”
  • “An inside look in the Obama Center”

• Jake Sheridan, Chicago Tribune
  • “Hundreds of Chicagoans training to push back against ICE”
  • “ICE hits Chicago’s Northwest side hard”
  • “ICE hits Wicker Park”

• Casey Toner and Maggie Dougherty,  Illinois Answers Project and Capitol News, “Addicted to gambling”
  • “Someone has decided they can make money off you”
  • “What compulsive gamblers know”
  • “Recovering gamblers lift each other up as formal resources lag”

INVESTIGATIONS

• Christy Gutowski, Gregory Royal Pratt, Chicago Tribune
  • “Plastic surgeon still operating after eight deaths”
  • “Illinois regulators to audit case, seek changes in law after Tribune investigation”
  • “Plastic surgeon license suspended”
    
• Emily Hoerner, Christy Gutowski, Lisa Schencker, Chicago Tribune
  • Hospitals funnel patients into long-lasting guardianships
  • When hospitals choose private guardians, patients pay the price
  • New safeguards approved for Illinois hospitals’ adult guardianship cases

• Crystal Paul, Mack Liederman and Charles Thrush, Block Club Chicago
  • “Who Were The Midway Blitz Border Patrol Agents? Most Were Veteran Immigration Officers”

NEWSLETTERS

• Hannah Boufford and staff, Block Club Chicago
  • “Chicago Under Siege”
  • “How our newsroom covered immigration arrests, protests and chaos”
  • “Most Operation Midway Blitz Border Patrol agents were veteran immigration officers”
    
• Shia Kapos, Politico
  • “Making a play for first U.S. primary”
  • “Super PAC spending ‘completely nuts’”
  • “Chicago mayor’s race: wink, wink”
    
• Jake Wittich, Anna DeShawn and Lu Calzada, Windy City Times (BLACKlines and En La Vida)
  • “BLACKlines”
  • “En La Vida”

NEWS/SPORTS PHOTOGRAPHY

• Colin Boyle, Block Club Chicago
  • “Border Patrol Agents Pose At The Bean For Apparent Photo Op”
    
• Arthur Maiorella, Block Club Chicago
  • “Bike Die-In At Vigil Of Slain Cyclist”
    
• Ashlee Rezin, WBEZ and the Chicago Sun-Times
  • “Recoil”

POLITICS

• Francia García Hernández, Block Club Chicago
  • “As Chuy García Retires, Independents See Opportunity For New Era Of Latino Leadership”

• Jeremy Gorner and Rick Pearson, Chicago Tribune
  • “Harassment claims known for years”
  • “Illinois Speaker tries to contain fallout over harassment allegations”
  • “Watchdog finds Benton violated the law”

• Manny Ramos, Block Club Chicago
  • “How Ald. Raymond Lopez Became Conservative Media’s Favorite Chicago Democrat”

PUBLIC SERVICE

• Jonathan Bullington, Adriana Pérez, Chicago Tribune
  • “Abandoned oil, gas wells are a $160M problem”
  • “Mysterious company abandoned 603 oil wells. Here’s how they did it.”
  • “Getting oil and gas operators to pay can take decades”
    
• Jackie Serrato, Block Club Chicago, Borderless Magazine, the Chicago Reader, the Chicago Sun-Times, Chinatown Spotlight, Cicero Independiente, Injustice Watch, La Raza, La Voz, Lumpen Radio, ProPublica, Reparations Media, South Side Weekly, The TRiiBE and WBEZ
  • “The Immigration Hub”
  • “The edition of The Immigration Hub,” in English and Spanish
  • “How more than a dozen newsrooms came together to amplify immigration coverage”

• Staff, Chicago Tribune
  • “64 days in Chicago”
  • “They were already living in one of Chicago’s worst buildings. Then came the ICE raid.”
  • “Inside Chicago’s growing resistance.”

SPORTS

• Joseph S. Pete, The Times of Northwest Indiana
  • “Challenges of Chicago Bears potential move to Hammond” 
  • “Wolf Lake site would pose challenges for Bears”
  • “Preservation group would prefer Bears look elsewhere”

• Claire Savage and Alyce Brown, The Associated Press
  • “At the Olympics and beyond, women’s sports media outlets are writing their own playbooks” 

STUDENT JOURNALISM

• Carly Gist, Gateway Journalism Review
  • “Abortion rights foes and supporters chafe at limitations on their speech”
  • “Is free press at risk?” 
  • “When a university tries to stop the press”
    
• Tara Sun, student journalist in partnership with Capitol News
  • “A real farm crisis: Bankruptcies rise for third straight year”
  • “Illinois grows millions of bushels of soybeans. Why aren’t we eating them?”

TECHNOLOGY

• Angie Leventis Lourgos, Chicago Tribune
  • “Massive Illinois salmonella outbreak”
    
• Claire Savage, The Associated Press
  • “A grim job outlook meets a scrappy workforce as administrative assistants harness AI” 

• Amy Yee, Chicago Sun-Times
  • “Green Era’s food waste processor creates compost and renewable energy”
  • “In Illinois, soybean is king”
  • “Loyola’s lab turns used cooking oil into fuel to run buses”

TRANSPORTATION

• A.D. Quig and Talia Soglin, Chicago Tribune
  • “Chicago bike lane ticketing program records big fines against delivery companies”

• Talia Soglin, Chicago Tribune
  • “A little-known program allows CTA and Metra to suspend riders. Most of them are Black”
    
• Stephfon Ward and Tia Ewing, WFLD FOX 32 Chicago
  • “How fast is too fast? Inside Homewood’s ‘Wolfpack’ speed crackdown”