Non-Profit Launching Coverage of Illinois State Government

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By: E&P Staff A non-profit foundation has launched a news organization that will cover Illinois state government.

Illinois Statehouse News (ISN) is headed by Scott Reeder, who since 1999 had been the state bureau reporter for the Small family chain of five Illinois newspapers.

Prior to accepting this position he was the statehouse bureau chief for a chain of newspapers owned by the Small family of Kankakee, Ill. Reeder won notice among open-government advocates for his series called "The Hidden Costs of Tenure" that examined the failure of Illinois school reforms which were intended to bring greater accountability to the classroom.

ISN is a project of the Franklin Center for Government and Public Integrity, a non-profit, non-partisan organization that on its Web site emphasizes its support of "free markets."

"Cash-strapped news organizations are cutting back in many areas including state government coverage, leaving voters less informed," ISN said in its launch announcement. "ISN is committed to helping fill this void with objective, non-partisan news reports."

All journalists working for ISN "are required to adhere to the Society of Professional Journalists' Code of Ethics," the organization said.

Reeder can be contacted at Scott.Reeder@franklincenterhq.org.


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