- Pritzker Fellows
- Former Fellows
- Laura Washington
Laura Washington
Chicago Sun-Times Columnist & ABC-7 Political Analyst
Biography
Laura S. Washington is a Chicago Sun-Times columnist and political analyst for ABC 7, Chicago’s ABC-owned station.
In 2015, she served as a Visiting Fellow at the University of Chicago’s Institute of Politics. Washington brings more than two award-winning decades of experience as a non-profit professional and multi-media journalist. She specializes in African-American affairs, local and national politics, race and racism, and social justice. From 2003 to 2009, she served as the Ida B. Wells-Barnett University Professor at DePaul University and fellow at the DePaul Humanities Center.
From 1990 to 2002, Washington served as editor and publisher of The Chicago Reporter, a nationally recognized investigative monthly specializing in racial issues and urban affairs.
Her column has been published by the Chicago Sun-Times since 2001. She is a commentator on National Public Radio and Chicago Public Radio. In 1985, Washington was appointed deputy press secretary to Mayor Harold Washington, Chicago's first African American mayor. She also served as a producer for the investigative unit at CBS-2/Chicago, correspondent for “Chicago Tonight” on WTTW-TV and has written an op-ed column for the Chicago Tribune.
Washington earned bachelor's and master's degrees in journalism from The Medill School at Northwestern University, where she has also taught and lectured.
Her work has been honored with dozens of local and national awards, including two Chicago Emmys, the Peter Lisagor Award, and the Studs Terkel Award for Community Journalism and the Racial Justice Award from the YWCA. Washington is a founding inductee to the Medill School of Journalism Hall of Achievement. The Chicago Community Trust awarded her a Community Service Fellowship, for "exemplary service, commitment and leadership in individuals from the nonprofit sector." In 2018, she was named and inaugural inductee to the Chicago Women’s Journalism Hall of Fame.
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.”
Washington is widely quoted and featured in the national media, including Time Magazine, the Associated Press, New York Times, NBC Nightly News, MSNBC, PBS News Hour and the BBC. She is a frequent lecturer and moderator before local and national audiences.
Her civic activities service on the boards of Global Girl Media, The Field Museum, The Arts Club of Chicago, and Block Club Chicago.
Seminars
“ChiElect 2019”
On February 26, Chicagoans go to the polls to elect Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s successor. With 21 candidates vying to make the ballot, many more competing in aldermanic races, city clerk and city treasurer, and a handful of ballot initiatives, Chicago voters have dizzying choices.
Who are the candidates? What are their paths to victory? What coalitions and alliances will form or fall away?
Chicago stands at a political, economic and social crossroad. What are the key issues and challenges facing the city, and how are the candidates addressing them?
We’ll look at gun violence, policing, education, workforce development and the economy, pension reform, affordable housing, and a host of other issues and how they are playing out in the campaigns.
Who is making a difference? Which candidates are reaching beyond campaign rhetoric to propose real solutions?
Chicago is one of America’s most diverse—and segregated—cities. How do race, ethnicity class impact the debate?
We’ll have an opportunity to question the candidates and hear directly from them where they stand on the issues in this series of student-only seminars.
What is the structure of Chicago city government and who is running for what and why? Chicago has a strong mayor/weak city council style of government, but the balance of power can easily shift - what’s in store for the next mayor?
What qualifications, skills and alliances will he/she need to meet the city’s myriad challenges?
What are the city’s immediate concerns? What’s coming down the road? We’ll have a brief primer on how Chicago city government functions and what’s ahead.
Special Guest: Heather Cherone, Managing Editor and City Hall Reporter for The Daily Line
Join IOP Pritzker Fellow Laura Washington for mayoral candidate discussions. As part of ChiElect, the IOP has invited all mayoral candidates to discuss their visions for the city and why they are running for Chicago’s head office. Each program is on the record, and students will get a chance to ask the candidates questions.
As a tax-exempt 501(c)(3) organization, the University of Chicago does not support or oppose any candidate for political office. The IOP is providing an equal opportunity for all candidates.
ChiElect: Candidate Paul Vallas – January 14th, 12:30-1:30pm
ChiElect: Candidate Lori Lightfoot – January 22nd, 5:30-6:30pm
ChiElect: Candidate Willie Wilson – January 24th, 3:30-4:30pm
ChiElect: Candidate Gery Chico – January 28th, 12:30-1:30pm
ChiElect: Candidate Bob Fioretti – January 31st, 3:30-4:30pm
ChiElect: Candidate Susana Mendoza - February 7th, 12:30pm-1:30pm
ChiElect: Candidate Amara Enyia - February 14th, 12:30pm-1:30pm
Stay tuned for additional discussions and potential schedule changes!
Chicago voters have spoken - who’s left standing for the April 2nd runoff? What issues emerged as most important to the city’s voters? How will the issues, challenges and strategies change in the second round? What policy and political lessons can we learn from the first round?
What relationships and new alliances formed? What does it all mean for the future of Chicago?
Special Guest: Shia Kapos, Reporter for Politico's Illinois Playbook