SPRINGFIELD – Capitol News Illinois on Wednesday announced the hire of Andrew Adams as a state government and data reporter, further expanding its newsroom to five full-time reporters.
Adams joins the team after a stint at Government Technology magazine, where he covered the public-sector technology industry, focusing on state and local government and education. He will bring the same focus on high-engagement and enterprise reporting to the CNI newsroom.
His work will include interactive data visualizations, database building, photography and the in-depth written reporting on state government that has been Capitol News Illinois’ mission since its inception in January 2019.
Prior to his time at Government Technology, Adams covered state government as the Public Affairs Reporting intern for The State Journal-Register in Springfield through the University of Illinois at Springfield. In that role, he was the lead reporter on several major stories, such as the indictment of longtime House Speaker Michael Madigan, for the capital city’s daily newspaper.
His visual storytelling skills will bring a new element to Capitol News Illinois at a time of rapid expansion for the outlet. Driven by a $2 million grant from the Robert R. McCormick Foundation and donations from the Illinois Broadcasters Association and Southern Illinois Editorial Association, CNI is expanding to broadcast journalism and placing a new emphasis on multimedia.
Adams’ skills will complement the rest of the CNI team in that effort.
“In 2023, news is more interactive, more visual and more data-driven than ever and I’m excited that CNI is choosing to develop new methods for newsgathering and delivery alongside its expanded geographic footprint” Adams said. “I’m thrilled to support CNI’s mission to bring unbiased and reliable coverage of state government to the people of Illinois.”
A Chicago resident, Adams has spent time as a staff reporter at the Effingham Daily News and has freelanced for outlets across the state. He received his master’s degree from UIS and a bachelor’s degree from the Illinois Institute of Technology in Chicago.
Adams will work remotely from Chicago, further expanding the publication’s footprint beyond Springfield along with Hannah Meisel, who joined the CNI reporting team in January and splits time between Springfield and the Chicago area. Adams will also spend time in Springfield when lawmakers are in session.
He joins Bureau Chief Jerry Nowicki and reporter Peter Hancock, who have been at the outlet since its founding, as well as investigative reporter Beth Hundsdorfer, who joined the team in November 2021 and Meisel.
“Andrew’s skillset helps us cast a wider net in serving our readers and will help cement capitolnewsillinois.com as a go-to source for the reader who is looking to better understand state government,” Nowicki said. “I’m excited to see what he brings to our well-rounded team of state government reporters.”
Capitol News Illinois operates solely on grants and donations. It does not charge a subscription for access to its coverage or a fee to publish its stories. The McCormick Foundation and Illinois Press Foundation have been the major donors to CNI during its first four years of operation.
Adams’ first day was Wednesday, Feb. 22.
Capitol News Illinois is a nonprofit, nonpartisan news service covering state government. It is distributed to more than 400 newspapers statewide, as well as hundreds of radio and TV stations. It is funded primarily by the Illinois Press Foundation and the Robert R. McCormick Foundation.
