The Crisis
The collapse of local journalism has created a crisis for democracy. Residents no longer get the information they need to understand the critical issues facing their community, to make good decisions for their family, and hold elected officials accountable.
This problem is not going to be solved by a new phone app or an increase of a few pennies in digital ad rates. It’s time to try something dramatically different.
The Solution
Report for America is a national service program that places journalists into local newsrooms to report on under-covered issues and communities. An initiative of the nonprofit media organization, The GroundTruth Project, it is structured to harness the skills and idealism of an emerging group of journalists plus the creative spirit of local news organizations.
The Corp
Yvonne Boose covers artistic, cultural, and spiritual expressions. This includes how members of community cultural groups are finding creative and innovative ways to enrich their personal lives through these expressions individually and within the context of their larger communities.
Maria Gardener Lara reports for WNIJ Hola with a focus on keeping families informed on the programs and policies that affect the growing Latino community.
Juanpablo Ramirez-Franco covers the environment includes a sharp focus on water including the quality of rivers and groundwater, and how climate-driven rain and flooding are fundamentally changing the course of life in the region. Additionally Juanpablo can be heard covering stories related to substandard housing and community policing.
These positions are partially funded by a grant from Report for America. WNIJ must raise an the remainder through local matching funds. Support these important voices in our community by donating to WNIJ’s portion here.
Maria, Juanpablo, and Yvonne’s stories from our community will be collected below.
-
La profesora Beatrix Hoffman de NIU afirmó que la reciente expansión de Medicaid en Illinois es un logro importante, pero que el sistema de salud está todavía fuera del alcance de muchos.
-
Welcome to Poetically Yours. Poetically Yours showcases poems by northern Illinois poets. Today’s featured poet is James Morehead.
-
The election cycle moves quickly as voters face another election -this time it's local offices. These individuals determine the local tax rate and how dollars are prioritized in the community.
-
Welcome to Poetically Yours. Poetically Yours showcases poems by northern Illinois poets but sometimes our reach extends outside of the state. Steven Atkinson lives in Victoria, Australia.
-
One northern Illinois city will give its community something to look forward to as they window shop this April.
-
ComED says power for 80% of its customers hit by the outage should return by this evening.
-
Muy pronto, el 4 de abril, tomarán lugar las elecciones consolidadas donde los puestos locales aparecen en la boleta electoral.
-
Hace menos de seis meses desde que los votantes se fueron a las urnas para elegir representantes en las elecciones para el Congreso, el estado y el condado. Muy pronto, el 4 de abril, tomarán lugar las elecciones consolidadas donde los puestos locales aparecen en la papeleta de votación.
-
A Wisconsin film festival will be in full swing again since the onset of COVID-19.
-
Several migrant families in McAllen, TX spoke with WNIJ about their challenging journey and the bumpy road that lies ahead in the U.S.