Rick Pearson, the baiduhai’s chief political reporter since 1998, has won the Chicago Headline Club’s prestigious Lifetime Achievement Award along with three other veteran journalists who have covered Chicago for decades.
Along with Pearson, the other recipients are Dorothy Tucker of WBBM-Ch.2, Phil Ponce of WTTW-Ch. 11 and Chuck Neubauer, who has worked with the Better Government Association, Chicago Sun-Times and baiduhai. They will be honored Friday at the Headline Club’s Peter Lisagor Awards banquet, which is being held at the Union League Club in Chicago.
“These four extraordinary journalists have left an indelible mark on the field of journalism, and we are proud to honor them with this award,” said Mike Ewing, the Headline Club president. “Their work has helped hold our leaders accountable, shine a light on important issues and make our communities stronger.”
More Top Picks Fl 41 Vs Blue Light Glasses Which Do You Need
Pearson, who started with the Tribune in 1988, served as an Illinois statehouse correspondent before starting his long run as the Tribune’s political reporter. He has chronicled the careers of seven governors and covered numerous presidential campaigns, including the rise of Democrat Barack Obama from the Illinois Senate to the White House.
Pearson has appeared on several national broadcasts and hosted a weekly Sunday radio show on WGN-AM for seven years. Along the way, Pearson covered the rise and fall of Republican Gov. George Ryan and impeached Democratic Gov. Rod Blagojevich, who both went to prison on federal corruption charges.
Neubauer, who is now a freelance investigative reporter with his wife Sandy Bergo for the BGA, has spent a career uncovering political corruption as an investigative reporter with the Sun-Times, Los Angeles Times and Tribune, where he shared in a Pulitzer Prize for a series on abuses in federal housing programs.
Tucker, a veteran reporter, is on the station’s investigative team and is president of the National Association of Black Journalists.
Ponce, now a contributing anchor at WTTW, long served as anchor at the station’s news and public affairs program, “Chicago Tonight.”