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, Politics, Apr 1, 2010
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Do as We Say, Not as We Do
The Chicago Public Schools are broke. Teachers have been asked to share the pain. Coaches have been asked to work for free. Bigger class sizes have been threatened. So why are CEO Ron Huberman and other top bureaucrats taking raises?
- News & Features, Ben Joravsky on Politics, Jun 30, 2011
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How a CPS teacher went from 'excellent' to 'do-not-hire' in one year
- News & Features, Feature, Jul 7, 2011
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The grass gap
People all over Chicago smoke pot—but almost everyone busted for it is black
- News & Features, Politics, Jan 27, 2011
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Mr. Nice Guy
Is Miguel del Valle tough enough to be mayor? And does toughness matter?
- News & Features, Politics, Sep 2, 2010
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Define "Redefinition"
Exemplary art teacher Sunny Neater-DuBow was fired without due process because CPS says her job has been redefined. So why is her exact job now posted as an opening?
- News & Features, Feature, Oct 27, 2011
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The mayor's millionaire club
Who has access to Rahm Emanuel’s inner sanctum
- News & Features, Politics, May 27, 2010
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Less Is More at CPS
Schools CEO Ron Huberman says he's cut 50 administrators from the central office. But records show he's added almost as many—at higher salaries.
- News & Features, Ben Joravsky on Politics, Sep 22, 2011
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Mayor union-buster
Rahm Emanuel fights the Chicago Teachers Union over a longer school day–and it’s not about the kids
- News & Features, Feature, Oct 22, 2009
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The Shadow Budget
The Daley administration commands an off-the-books kitty of taxpayer money equivalent to a sixth of the official city budget. Now we’ve got documents that show what they want to do with it.
- News & Features, Politics, Oct 6, 2011
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The $78 million bag
That's what Cook County spent last year on weed (or to arrest and prosecute those possessing it)
- News & Features, Feature, Jul 21, 2011
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Public schools, private budgets
Charter schools are the fastest-growing part of Chicago's public education system, but how they spend our tax money is mostly a secret
- News & Features, Politics, Mar 3, 2011
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How Ameya Pawar Bowled Over 47th Ward
Joravsky gladly eats crow after young upstart busts machine
- News & Features, Politics, May 20, 2010
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The Shadow Budget: Who Wins in Daley's TIF Game
The economic development funds are supposed to go to neighborhoods that need it. Guess where they're really going. For the first time ever: how the city spends TIF funds, ward by ward
- News & Features, Ben Joravsky on Politics, Aug 18, 2011
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Laid off from teaching—forever
Why Chicago Public Schools slapped its "do-not-hire" designation on another highly rated teacher.
- News & Features, Ben Joravsky on Politics, Nov 23, 2011
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Library envy
As Mayor Emanuel cuts, his hometown shows how to invest in a library
- News & Features, Politics, Aug 12, 2010
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The Vanishing Beat Cop
Thanks to an old budget trick, Chicago has even fewer police on the streets than it appears.
- News & Features, Politics, Apr 13, 2011
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Stacking the Odds in Favor of Charter Schools
Charters unload problem students onto neighboring public schools - then reap the benefits.
- News & Features, Ben Joravsky on Politics, Sep 29, 2011
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Wake up, Chicago Teachers Union
Mayor Emanuel has changed the rules—and you need to get in the game
- News & Features, Politics, Oct 28, 2010
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The Practical Party
Or, why I won't be voting my gut much on Tuesday
- News & Features, Politics, Jan 20, 2011
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Chico and the Man
Now that he's running for office, Gery Chico would rather you forget his ties to Mayor Daley
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