Credit: Feodora Chiosea (iStock)
DePaul journalism students contributed reporting to an investigative series by the Better Government Association. Their story digs into Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker's business investments and potential conflicts of interest, including companies that may have received favorable treatment from state government over Medicaid contracts. The series is a finalist for a national award in health care journalism from the National Institute for Health Care Management Foundation.
Grace Golembiewski, who earned her bachelor's degree from DePaul and is now studying for her master's, is nominated for a national journalism award. (Courtesy of Grace Golembiewski)Grace Golembiewski, a graduate student studying journalism, captained the work for Associate Professor Jason Martin’s course Social Responsibility of Journalism in the fall of 2022. Golembiewski shared a byline
in the piece , “Pritzker’s Personal Fortune Intersects With State Contracts,” with David Jackson, Chuck Neubauer and DePaul alumna Rachel Hinton.
Golembiewski said she enjoyed learning from Pulitzer Prize-winning Jackson. “Not only did David have trust in my work, but he taught me a lot through his investigative process, interviewing skills, and reporting structure,” she says.
These skills will be essential as she continues her career, Golembiewski says: “Together we combed through hundreds of contacts and data, and I can now pick out important information in data and state contracts.”
Seventeen students in two classes contributed research to the series. Martin says this real-world experience is exactly what he was looking for his students. “I wanted an application component so students could experience real steps of investigative reporting that holds government accountable and puts ethics into practice.”
Winners of the National Institute for Health Care Management Foundation awards will be announced this month.