Chicago, Ill.
Award of Excellence
Special news topics, Editor's choice, local/regional
News Design Editor: Robb Montgomery
Design Editor: Eric White
Photo Editor: Nancy Stuenkel
Graphic Artist: Greg Good
M.E./News: Don Hayner
Executive Managing Editor: John Barron
Editor-in-Chief: Michael Cooke

A multi-day investigation capping six months of reporting by Cheryl Reed and Lori Rackl. This is the kind of project that makes you both sad and glad to be able to tell.

Sad, to discover the horrible truth about how systematically Illinois vets have been treated by our government. Glad – that they no longer suffer in anonymity. I wish I had six months to lay it out! In reality we had to produce it in a hurry to beat our competition – I pulled a double shift to photo edit and pull the package together in rough form and then worked it live the next day with Eric White and our top editors.

We completely remade the front page the first day late in the evening while on deadline. That seems to be the way we innovate as a team on the front – We are completely willing to rip it up and start over again to get it right. And, the Editor-in-Chief is right there with you to the bitter end working the problem – that's why his name is on the award l – this award is TEAM and that validates the evolution of our collaboration. It's a good marker and a reminder that that dedication to excellence is the key to our newsroom doing its best work.

Touches I like – the guts to run the tough photos of the burn victim. The logo by Greg Good, The By The Numbers list and the small lede photo on Day One front, and the little kicker headlines that run with each photo (probably because I wrote them . . !) Our photo staff really brought this one home. – Robb Montgomery