By CAPITOL NEWS ILLINOIS
SPRINGFIELD – Capitol News Illinois on Monday welcomed Beth Hundsdorfer to its full-time reporting staff.
Hundsdorfer is a veteran investigative reporter who spent nearly 20 years at the Belleville News-Democrat, 13 of which were spent on the investigative beat. She also covered cops and courts.
Her investigative journalism included work on issues such as solitary confinement in the Illinois Department of Corrections, fatal flaws in the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services that resulted in the death of 53 children, discriminatory housing practices in the city of Belleville and dismal prosecution rates in sex crimes cases in southern Illinois.
Her resume includes two John Jay College Journalism awards for excellence in criminal justice, a National Headliners Grand Award, a George Polk Award and a Robert F. Kennedy Journalism Award for local reporting among other accolades.
Prior to joining Capitol News Illinois, she had a brief stint at St. Louis Public Radio, and she spent two years as the public information officer at the Illinois State Police, fielding news media inquiries on issues ranging from traffic crashes to policy and procedure.
Hundsdorfer plans to bring that experience to Capitol News Illinois to help expand the news service’s investigative and enterprise coverage, as well as its coverage of state agencies.
“I am so happy to return to journalism at this pivotal time. Journalism, particularly investigative journalism, shines a light to expose corruption, protect the most vulnerable of our society and inform the citizenry,” Hundsdorfer said.
Capitol News Illinois Bureau Chief Jerry Nowicki said he’s excited about what Hundsdorfer will bring to the Statehouse reporting team which also includes Peter Hancock.
“Beth’s experience and drive will be of great value to our news team,” he said. “She’s already contributing ideas and helping guide upcoming reporting projects. We’re lucky to have her.”
Capitol News Illinois is also paired annually with an intern through the Public Affairs Reporting program run through the University of Illinois Springfield. This year’s PAR contributor will be Grace Kinnicutt, an Illinois State graduate who ascended to news editor at the college’s Vidette news publication.
Capitol News Illinois is a nonprofit news service covering state government that is operated by the Illinois Press Foundation and funded primarily by the Foundation and the Robert R. McCormick Foundation. Its stories have been published by more than 450 daily and nondaily newspapers statewide. It began operations in January 2019.
Capitol News Illinois is a nonprofit, nonpartisan news service covering state government and distributed to more than 400 newspapers statewide. It is funded primarily by the Illinois Press Foundation and the Robert R. McCormick Foundation.
