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Illinois Issues writers win awards from national journalist group

December 3, 2004

SPRINGFIELD - Two Illinois journalists earned First Place in the fifth annual Excellence in State Government Coverage awards program for pieces that appeared in Illinois Issues, a monthly public affairs magazine published by the University of Illinois at Springfield. Sponsored by the Association of Capitol Reporters and Editors, the ACRE awards honor the best Statehouse reporting by print, TV, radio, wire, and online journalists in the country.

Charles N. Wheeler III was honored for three of his "Ends and Means" columns about significant public policy issues. Wheeler, whose commentary appears each month in the magazine, is director of the graduate Public Affairs Reporting program at UIS and was previously a longtime Statehouse reporter for the Chicago Sun-Times.

Kate Clements’ award recognized “Risky Math,” an assessment and analysis of challenges facing the state’s public pension systems that appeared in the May issue. Clements is Statehouse bureau chief for the Champaign News-Gazette.

ACRE is an organization of journalists who cover Statehouses. In 2001, the association also honored Illinois Issues for “outstanding work in state government journalism.” These latest awards were announced November 12 at the association’s annual conference, held in Columbia, South Carolina.

For more information, contact Issues executive editor Peggy Boyer Long at 206-6559. The magazine’s website is http://illinoisissues.uis.edu.