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The News Team

 

Jerry NowickiJerry Nowicki,
Editor-in-Chief

Jerry has more than five years of experience in and around state government and nearly 10 years of experience in news. He was the editor of the LeRoy Farmer City Press in McLean and DeWitt counties from October 2013 until the paper’s closure in March 2017. During his editorship, the Press was named best weekly newspaper in Illinois by the Illinois Press Association. He continues to report on issues facing state government while being the chief editor on all stories published by Capitol News Illinois. He grew up in south suburban Evergreen Park and received a bachelor’s degree from Illinois State University and a master’s degree online from Purdue University. Learn more about Jerry Nowicki.


Jennifer FullerJennifer Fuller,
Broadcast Director

Jennifer has worked in journalism for more than 20 years, beginning as a student at Southern Illinois University. From SIU, she moved on to the PAR program at the University of Illinois Springfield, earning her master’s degree in 2001. She continued her coverage of the capitol city at Capitol Radio Group, anchoring the Morning NewsWatch at WTAX and coordinating news content for the other stations in the group. Jennifer returned to my roots and rejoined the team at WSIU Public Broadcasting in the fall of 2003, working her way up to Associate Director for News and Public Affairs in the intervening 20 years. In her time as a journalist, she has covered presidents and governors, legislatures and city councils. She was on the air when 9/11 happened and have covered both breaking and investigative stories that garnered awards. In addition, she has spent her career working to protect the rights of journalists via the Illinois News Broadcasters Association and is a proud past-president of the organization. She also serves on the INBA Foundation Board of Directors. Learn more about Jennifer Fuller.


Peter HancockPeter Hancock,
Statehouse Reporter

Peter was one of the founding reporters with Capitol News Illinois. He came to Springfield after many years working in Topeka, Kansas, where he covered the Kansas statehouse and other beats. He began his reporting career in 1989 at a small county weekly newspaper and has worked in a variety of settings including both daily and nondaily newspapers, online media and public radio. A native of the Kansas City area, he has degrees in political science and education from the University of Kansas. Learn more about Peter Hancock.


Beth Hundsdorfer Beth Hundsdorfer,
Investigative Reporter

Beth has worked in journalism for 25 years starting out as an intern at KMOX radio. She started in newspapers at a Texas daily, then joined the Belleville News Democrat in 2000. During her nearly 20 years there she covered breaking news, the police and courts, and county government, before joining the investigative team. In 2023, Beth won her second Robert F. Kennedy journalism award with her reporting partner, Molly Parker, who joined the CNI team earlier this year for their reporting on abuse at the state-run Choate Mental Health and Developmental Center in Anna. Beth previously won RFK in 2007 for reporting about 53 children who died while in the care of the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services. Beth has been the co-winner of two John Jay College Awards for Excellence in Journalism, an Investigative Editor and Reporter journalism award, a National Headliners grand award and a Sigma Delta Chi award. Beth has a daughter, Hannah, and a new son-in-law, Jameson. She grew up in Highland, Illinois.  Learn more about Beth Hundsdorfer.


Hannah MeiselHannah Meisel,
Statehouse & Chicago Reporter

Hannah has been covering Illinois government and politics since 2014, and since then has worked for a variety of outlets from NPR affiliate stations to a startup newsletter. She’s a graduate of both the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and the U of I’s Springfield campus, where she received an M.A. through the Public Affairs Reporting program and got her start reporting in the Capitol. Hannah is often seen and heard on TV and radio analysis programs that air across Illinois, and in 2021 she was awarded “best reporter” among downstate radio stations by the Illinois News Broadcasters Association. Learn more about Hannah Meisel.


Andrew AdamsAndrew Adams,
Statehouse & Chicago Reporter

Andrew has experience covering cities and communities throughout Illinois and his stories have appeared in papers from Chicago to Effingham. His unique blend of data-driven and traditional reporting help identify the throughlines of policy and politics. Learn more about Andrew Adams.


Molly ParkerMolly Parker,
Investigative Reporter

Molly joined Capitol News Illinois in July 2023. Most recently, she worked as a reporter for Lee Enterprises, on its Midwest Public Service Journalism team and for The Southern Illinoisan in Carbondale. In that role, Molly exposed poor living conditions and mismanagement of a housing authority in Cairo, Illinois, that resulted in a federal takeover and the relocation of about 400 people. In 2022, Molly and Capitol News Illinois Reporter Beth Hundsdorfer won the domestic print award in the Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights journalism contest for a series of stories exposing patient abuse inside a state-run developmental center. Molly is also an assistant professor of journalism at Southern Illinois University and a distinguished fellow with ProPublica’s Local Reporting Network. Learn more about Molly Parker.


Jeff RogersJeff Rogers,
Illinois Press Foundation Executive Director & Capitol News Illinois Founding Editor

Jeff has more than 30 years’ experience working for newspapers as a reporter and editor. He was the editor of daily newspapers in northern Illinois and Wisconsin before joining as Capitol News Illinois’ editor, where he oversees the news service’s development, growth and fundraising. He grew up in Lanark in northwest Illinois and has a journalism degree from Bradley University in Peoria. Learn more about Jeff Rogers.


K. Ellen StackhouseK. Ellen Stackhouse,
Director of Audience Development & Engagement

K. Ellen, a digital media and marketing professional, comes to CNI with 20 years of experience working in public and commercial media. Over the past 15 years, she held various roles at WSIU Public Broadcasting (a PBS/NPR affiliate), where she served as a lead project manager overseeing digital, development, and marketing initiatives. For the last eight years, she served as the Assistant Director of Digital Services, where she led teams responsible for web management, marketing, social media, and data analytics. Prior to her role at WSIU, she worked in print media serving as a feature writer for The Southern Illinoisan (Lee Enterprises) where she contributed to several publications. She is a two-time graduate of Southern Illinois University with a B.S. in Speech Communications and a M.S. in Professional Media & Media Management Studies. Learn more about K. Ellen Stackhouse.


Andrew CampbellAndrew Campbell,
Videographer & Editor

Andrew Campbell has been working as a photojournalist since 2017. He started at Newschannel 20 in Springfield where he became Chief Photojournalist. Before joining Capitol News Illinois, he was the Illinois Capitol Bureau Photojournalist for Gray TV, where he covered state politics for six TV stations across the state. Learn more about Andrew Campbell.


JC DartJennifer Dart,
Web Administrator & Analyst

Jennifer Dart joined CNI in 2023, bringing with her two decades of expertise in data analytics, web design, and website administration. Many of these skills were honed during her time with The Southern Illinoisan where she served as Assistant Webmaster, coordinating web design and animation/graphic design projects which earned state-wide recognition from the Illinois Press Association. In 2019, Jennifer migrated from commercial to public media taking on a Web Specialist role at WSIU Public Broadcasting (a PBS/NPR affiliate). There, she managed the station’s multiple local and national web presences and helped implement processes for the station’s digital broadcasting, podcasting, data analytics, and fundraising activities. Jennifer is a graduate of Southern Illinois University where she earned a BFA in Fine Arts. Learn more about Jennifer Dart.

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