Excellence in Online/Digital Journalism, Data
ABOUT THE WORK: WBEZ Chicago compiled and used various datasets for the series and used that information to identify themes, sources and visualizations to illustrate the data findings.
First, to determine how unaffordable Chicago had become for some renters, we digitized and analyzed historical median rent data of Chicago community areas — found in a collection of Chicago Local Community Fact Books at the University of Chicago Library — all the way back to 1930. We also analyzed more recent data on rent and household income tracked by the University of Minnesota and the U.S. Census Bureau.
The analysis revealed rents were rising faster than incomes. Our research also showed that in past decades a majority of rents in most communities remained affordable to households making half of Chicago’s median household income. More recently, though, that was true in only a handful of neighborhoods.
Esther Yoon-Ji Kang is a reporter on WBEZ's Race, Class and Communities desk. Prior to arriving at the station, she was a breaking news producer, reporter and editor. Her work has appeared on NPR’s All Things Considered and Morning Edition, Marketplace and Here and Now, as well as various newspapers and web publications. Esther has won numerous national and local awards, including a Sigma Delta Chi investigative award from the Society of Professional Journalists and an Edward R. Murrow writing award. Her work has also been recognized by the National Headliner Awards, the Asian American Journalists Association, the National Association of Black Journalists and the Chicago Headline Club. Esther graduated from Northwestern University and has taught undergraduate and graduate courses at the journalism school.
Amy Qin is a reporter who specializes in using computer programming and data to tell stories. She is currently a data reporter at the Guardian US working on series tracking the Trump administration's targeting of public information and data. She previously worked at WBEZ and the Arizona Republic. She is a proud member of AAJA Chicago and former AAJA Chicago board member.
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