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Laura S. Washington

Laura S. Washington (BSJ78, MSJ80) is a member of the inaugural class of the Medill Hall of Achievement of 1997.

Washington is a columnist for the Chicago Sun-Times and a political analyst at ABC 7, Chicago’s network affiliate.

Washington was also the longtime editor and publisher of The Chicago Reporter, a nationally recognized investigative monthly specializing in racial issues and urban affairs.

Her column has appeared in the Chicago Sun-Times since 2001. She is a frequent commentator on National Public Radio and Chicago Public Radio. She has also written a column for the Chicago Tribune. In 1985, Washington was appointed deputy press secretary to Mayor Harold Washington, Chicago's first black mayor. She also served as a producer for the investigative unit at CBS-2/Chicago, correspondent for “Chicago Tonight” on WTTW-TV, and wrote an op-ed column for the Chicago Tribune.

She has been honored with more than two dozen local and national awards for her work, including two Chicago Emmys, the Peter Lisagor Award and the Racial Justice Award from the YWCA of Metropolitan Chicago. In 1999, the Chicago Community Trust awarded her a Community Service Fellowship, for "exemplary service, commitment and leadership in individuals from the nonprofit sector."

Newsweek magazine named Washington one of the nation's "100 People to Watch" in the 21st Century. Newsweek said: "her style of investigative journalism has made (the Reporter) a powerful and award-winning voice."

She is a member of the Chicago chapter of the National Associations of Black Journalists and serves on the board of the Field Museum. Washington. She is widely quoted and featured in the national media, including Time magazine, The New York Times, NBC Nightly News and PBS News Hour and the BBC. She speaks frequently to local and national audiences.