Ben Joravsky
Bio:
I moved to Chicago in 1981 and have been writing about local politics ever since. I started freelancing for the Reader in the early 1980s and became a full-time staff writer in 1990. Since 2003, I've zeroed in on larger citywide matters, with a special interest in exposing municipal financing scams, most notably Tax Increment Financing and the the city's proposal to bring the Olympics to Chicago. I've also written dozens of profiles and features, including my year with the Roosevelt High School boys basketball team, which was included in the Best American Sports Writing Anthology. Over the last few years, Mick Dumke and I have collaborated on investigations exposing everything from the parking-meter-sale ripoff to our costly and unfairly enforced marijuana laws. I've written five books, including Hoop Dreams and The Greens, which I co-wrote with Rick Stone. I've won many journalism prizes, including the 2010 Chicago Journalist of the Year Award from the Chicago Journalists Association and the 2010 Illinois Journalist of the Year Award from Northern Illinois University. Last but not least, I also write for The Third City, a daily humor blog that "rarely lies to the American people."
I moved to Chicago in 1981 and have been writing about local politics ever since. I started freelancing for the Reader in the early 1980s and became a full-time staff writer in 1990. Since 2003, I've zeroed in on larger citywide matters, with a special interest in exposing municipal financing scams, most notably Tax Increment Financing and the the city's proposal to bring the Olympics to Chicago. I've also written dozens of profiles and features, including my year with the Roosevelt High School boys basketball team, which was included in the Best American Sports Writing Anthology. Over the last few years, Mick Dumke and I have collaborated on investigations exposing everything from the parking-meter-sale ripoff to our costly and unfairly enforced marijuana laws. I've written five books, including Hoop Dreams and The Greens, which I co-wrote with Rick Stone. I've won many journalism prizes, including the 2010 Chicago Journalist of the Year Award from the Chicago Journalists Association and the 2010 Illinois Journalist of the Year Award from Northern Illinois University. Last but not least, I also write for The Third City, a daily humor blog that "rarely lies to the American people."
- News & Features, Miscellany, Jan 13, 2000
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"I Guess I'm the Skunk at the Garden Party"
State rep long shot Claude Walker breaks up what might have been a slick power play.
- News & Features, Neighborhood News, May 9, 2002
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"It's All About Access"
Integration did its job well, says open housing advocate Aurie Pennick. Now she's got to figure out what to do about gentrification.
- News & Features, Neighborhood News, Jan 9, 2003
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"Someone Must Pay"
An effort to discourage drunk driving misses its mark.
- News & Features, Neighborhood News, Jun 22, 2000
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"Someone Wants Us Out"
It may look like harassment, but the police say their constant presence at a low-key coffeehouse is just plain old law enforcement.
- Blogs, Bleader, Mar 14, 2007
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"Stir the Soul"? Not quite
The real significance of the 45-5 City Council vote in favor of the costly Olympic financing plan.
- Blogs, Bleader, Mar 30, 2007
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"The Bruces" are sitting this one out
In the tight 35th Ward race, two ward operators crucial to Rey Colon's 2003 victory over Vilma Colom are taking a pass this time around.
- News & Features, Neighborhood News, Jan 4, 2001
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"This neighborhood's hot. Where are the coffee shops?"
The northwest side is ripe for development, and a newcomer is ready to show 'em how it's done.
- News & Features, Neighborhood News, Jul 20, 1995
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10,000 arguments: one year on the tenants' hot line
- News & Features, Neighborhood News, Apr 14, 1994
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150,000 haircuts: Vic Lala looks back at 50 years on LaSalle Street
- Blogs, Bleader, Dec 8, 2011
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A Reader poll on legalizing reefer—and not one word about Mayor Rahm
A survey on marijuana legalization in Chicago: Guess what the answers are
- News & Features, Neighborhood News, Mar 7, 1996
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A Bitter Pilsen
Medrano's replacement is another Daley special
- News & Features, Neighborhood News, Jan 7, 1988
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A book to go by: case studies in community development
- News & Features, Neighborhood News, Jan 2, 2003
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A Born Fighter
Danielle Green overcame huge obstacles to become one of the top basketball players in the city and then at Notre Dame. Her next challenge might take her to Iraq.
- News & Features, Neighborhood News, Mar 21, 1996
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A Bridge So Far
Staving Off Howard's End
- News & Features, Neighborhood News, Aug 31, 2000
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A Bridge Too Far
Albany Park residents get an "improvement" they don't want.
- Blogs, Bleader, Apr 24, 2009
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A Call From President Jones
Former state senate president Emil Jones Jr. responds to aldermen responding to him responding to their community benefits agreement for the Olympics: It's still a "sham."
- News & Features, Politics, Apr 17, 2008
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A City Off Track
Amid the Olympic fervor, local athletes are still getting shortchanged.
- News & Features, Feature, May 15, 2008
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A Commission of Puppets
Why the people charged with protecting Chicago's lakefront have a hard time saying no to the mayor
- News & Features, Neighborhood News, Jan 20, 1994
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A condo runs through it: debating the River's Edge development plan
- News & Features, Neighborhood News, Feb 20, 1992
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A confederacy of churches: far south siders trade economic development for airport quiet
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