Journalists View Interviews

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Journalists View Interviews

William 'Bill' Barnhart - Journalists View

Bill Barnhart spent the bulk of his life as a journalist, first with the Chicago based 'City News Bureau,' then the 'Suburban Tribune,' and starting in 1979 with the 'Chicago Tribune,' where he wrote a daily column for the Business Section. He retired from the Trib in 2008. He has coauthored two books with former state legislator Gene Schlickman, the first on former Illinois governor Otto Kerner, who served from 1961 to 1968, the second on the legal career of Justice John Paul Stevens.

Rich Bradley - Journalists View

Rich Bradley started his life-long career in radio while still in college in the early 1960s, and in 1974 helped create a public radio station at Sangamon State University (renamed the University of Illinois - Springfield in 1995). He served as the news director for the NPR affiliated station for thirty years, and is considered the father of the Illinois Public Radio Network. During his tenure, he covered the administrations of four governors, from Gov. Jim Thompson through Gov. Rod Blagojevich.

Ben Kiningham - Journalists View

As a reporter for various radio stations and a statewide radio network for forty years, Ben Kiningham's beat was the Illinois Statehouse in Springfield. He covered gubernatorial administrations from Dan Walker to George Ryan, as well as the Illinois legislature and various state agencies.

Mike Lawrence - Journalists View

Mike Lawrence began his journalistic career in the mid-1960s, spending much of it with the Quad City Times-Democrat while reporting on Illinois' political scene. In 1987 Lawrence went to work as Press Secretary for Secretary of State Jim Edgar, and followed Edgar when he became Governor in 1991. Lawrence resigned in 1997, and moved to Carbondale to work at the Southern Illinois University Public Policy Institute

Taylor Pensoneau - Journalists View

Taylor Pensoneau covered the Illinois Statehouse beat for the

Bernie Schoenburg - Journalists View

Bernie Schoenburg began his journalistic career with the Bloomington Pantagraph and the Associated Press before taking a job as the Illinois statehouse reporter for the Springfield State Journal-Register in 1990. During his career, he has covered the Jim Edgar, George Ryan, and Rod Blagojevich administrations.