Benson receives Lisagor Award

Associate Professor Chris Benson, received a 2014 Peter Lisagor Award from the Chicago Headline Club in the Online: Best Individual Blog category for the “Reasonable Doubt” column he writes for The Chicago Reporter.

Chris’ columns deal with issues related to race, justice and the media. In particular, he wrote a series about Anthony Dansberry, who spent 20 years in prison on a murder charge before his sentence was commuted in January 2015 by out-going Gov. Pat Quinn. Lawyers for Northwestern University Law School’s Center on Wrongful Convictions used Chris’ columns in making their case for Dansberry’s commutation.

The Chicago Headline Club is the largest Society of Professional Journalists chapter in the country and announced winners of the 2014 Awards at its annual dinner. The awards recognize the best of Chicago journalism and are named for Peter Lisagor, the Chicago Daily News’ Washington bureau chief from 1959 to 1976.