THE LOOP — Block Club Chicago won five local journalism awards Friday for a range of stories about issues including problems at pop-up COVID testing centers, traffic stops of Black drivers and the city’s most dangerous bike lane.
The Peter J. Lisagor awards are presented by the Chicago Headline Club, the local branch of the Society of Professional Journalists.
Block Club was honored for:
- Best Reporting on Race and Diversity for a story by Pascal Sabino entitled “Chicago Police Are Arresting Thousands More Black Drivers After Traffic Stops Than They Report.” The story was co-published with Injustice Watch.
- Best Deadline Reporting for Mina Bloom and Noah Asimow’s coverage of a deadly fire in Humboldt Park.
- Best Use of Social Media for Kelly Bauer’s series of stories about widespread problems at pop-up COVID testing sites in Chicago and across the country. The series led to federal charges against one operator.
- Best Use of Feature Video for Colin Boyle’s work on “Life And Death In Chicago’s Most Dangerous Bike Lane,” which was co-published with Illinois Answers Project.
- Best Feature Photo for Kathleen Hinkel’s photo series “An Ode To Chicago’s Queer Spaces: Photos Of Pride, Love And LGBTQ+ Joy In Chicago.”
The awards were announced Friday night during a ceremony at the Union League Club of Chicago. Block Club was nominated for 15 awards, including Bauer for the Headline Club’s Watchdog Award.
The Peter J. Lisagor Awards are named after the late, longtime Washington Bureau Chief of the Chicago Daily News.
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