BND journalists win 25 Illinois Press Association, two national awards
Investigations into a metro-east city’s use of a crime-free housing ordinance and ongoing flooding and sewage system issues in Centreville are among BND stories that recently won 25 state and two national awards .
Reporter Lexi Cortes won a McClatchy President’s Award for her report that revealed Granite City’s crime-free housing ordinance was a flawed system that forced dozens of people out of their homes who didn’t deserve it.
“This gutsy investigative package used sophisticated data research, record scrutiny and interviews to reveal how a sensible sounding rule went horribly wrong,” Kristin Roberts, McClatchy’s senior vice president for news, said in announcing the award. “It managed to both bring to light the individual injustices and explain the systemic flaws that allowed this situation to develop and persist.”
The President’s Award is the company’s highest honor for McClatchy journalists. Journalists from seven newsrooms won the awards this year.
Cortes’ investigation also placed third in the National Headliner Award competition’s investigative reporting category for newspapers not in a top 20 media market.
In the Illinois Press Association’s journalism excellence competition, the BND earned five first place awards, including the top prize for Community Service, Freedom of Information reporting and Distinguished Coverage of Diversity in the metro-east.
The News-Democrat competes in the largest circulation category of the IPA, including the Chicago Sun-Times and Chicago Tribune. The awards were announced at the Illinois Press Association’s annual convention this month, which was virtual due to COVID-19 precautions.
Reporters Kavahn Mansouri and DeAsia Paige received a first-place award for Community Service for their coverage of how regional government and elected officials failed to correct years of ongoing flooding and sewage system problems that sometimes forced raw sewage into streets, yards and homes. Some government leaders even failed to show up to town hall meetings on the issue.
The BND articles prompted follow-up coverage by other news organizations and drew the attention of Sen. Tammy Duckworth, Sen. Dick Durbin and Gov. J.B. Pritzker, who have all pledged to support applications for millions of dollars in federal and state money to fix the issues. The IPA contest judge commented: “Detailed, multi-sourced, extensive coverage focusing on an ongoing community problem, highlighting it and clearly explaining the issue. Some officials are beginning to address it.”
A related article titled “Centreville violated government transparency law, IL Attorney General’s Office says,” also earned Mansouri, Paige and Cortes, a first-place award in the IPA’s Freedom of Information category. The judge stated: “The Belleville News-Democrat is to be commended for keeping pressure on a city that is failing its citizens on a basic service most of us take for granted.”
The BND staff also won a special first-place commendation for “Distinguished Coverage of Divesity.” No judge’s comments accompanied this category, which featured a staff sampling of our coverage of underserved communities. The entry included accountability reporting, an article about the importance of Black-owned businesses in East St. Louis, challenges facing families who have limited digital access and a family’s struggle over the death of a teenager.
Reporter Kelsey Landis earned a first place for Localization of a National Story with her look at how stimulus money was distributed to local businesses and how it backfired. No judge’s comment was included.
Photographer Derik Holtmann earned a first place for his Personality Portrait of metro-east activist Danielle Washington. Here’s what the judge said: “I love the determination and confidence in her face. The bright pop of color in her clothes works well against the contrast of the city scene behind her.”
Following is a list of all the Belleville News-Democrat’s IPA award winners:
COMMUNITY SERVICE
1st place - “Raw sewage leaks into Centreville homes” (Mansouri, Paige)
3rd place - “Coverage of underserved communities” (Paige)
NEWS REPORTING SINGLE STORY
2nd place - “Raw sewage invades the homes of Illinois’ poorest residents. Why hasn’t it been fixed?” (Mansouri)
4th place - “Granite City crime-free housing rules displace hundreds - even those not accused of crime” (Cortes)
LOCALIZED NATIONAL STORY
1st place - “Stimulus money for small business seemed like a good idea. Here’s how it backfired” (Landis)
2nd place - “A deeper look at Edwardsville’s slave-owning namesake and the debate of statues” (reporter Teri Maddox)
4th place - “Amid protests, Black-owned businesses in East St. Louis demand change” (Paige)
FREEDOM OF INFORMATION AWARD
1st place - “Centreville violated government transparency law, IL Attorney General’s Office says” (Mansouri, Paige, Cortes)
2nd place - “Why is coronavirus data being kept secret?” (Cortes, Landis and education reporter Megan Valley)
3rd place - “Public Pay Database” (Mansouri)
GOVERNMENT BEAT REPORTING
4th place - “Kelsey Landis government beat reporting” (Landis)
BUSINESS/ECONOMIC REPORTING
3rd place - “Amid protests, Black-owned businesses in East St. Louis demand change” (Paige)
4th place - “Stimulus money for small business seemed like a good idea. Here’s how it backfired” (Landis)
OBITUARY TRIBUTE
4th place - “East St. Louis community mourns after death of longtime educator and politician” (reporter Carolyn P. Smith)
FEATURE WRITING - PERSONALITY PROFILE
4th place - “Edwardsville’s George Floyd protest was peaceful because this 17-year-old made it so” (Landis)
SPOT NEWS PHOTOS
3rd place - “Sauget warehouse fire” (Holtmann)
FEATURE PHOTO
2nd place - “Vote and dance” (Holtmann)
3rd place - “Walking through sunflowers” (Holtmann)
4th place - “A military wave” (Holtmann)
PORTRAIT/PERSONALITY PHOTO
1st place - “Danielle Washington” (Holtmann)
3rd place - “Inside the pub” (Holtmann)
DISTINGUISHED COVERAGE OF DIVERSITY
1st place - “Diversity coverage in southwestern Illinois” (BND Staff)
COVID-19 NEWS COVERAGE
2nd place - “COVID-19 exposes more inequities between Black and white people in St. Clair County” (Landis, Paige)
INVESTIGATIVE/ENTERPRISE REPORTING
3rd place - “Granite City crime free housing investigation” (Cortes)
4th place - “Raw sewage invades the homes of Illinois’ poorest residents. Why hasn’t it been fixed?” (Mansouri)
This story was originally published May 17, 2021 at 10:48 AM.