Cheryl Corley
Cheryl Corley is a Chicago-based NPR correspondent who works for the National Desk. She primarily covers criminal justice issues as well as breaking news in the Midwest and across the country.
In her role as a criminal justice correspondent, Corley works as part of a collaborative team and has a particular interest on issues and reform efforts that affect women, girls, and juveniles. She's reported on programs that help incarcerated mothers raise babies in prison, on pre-apprenticeships in prison designed to help cut recidivism of women, on the efforts by Illinois officials to rethink the state's juvenile justice system and on the push to revamp the use of solitary confinement in North Dakota prisons.
For more than two decades with NPR, Corley has covered some of the country's most important news stories. She's reported on the political turmoil in Virginia over the governor's office and a blackface photo, the infamous Trayvon Martin shooting in Florida, on mass shootings in Orlando, Florida; Charleston, South Carolina; Chicago; and other locations. She's also reported on the election of Chicago's first black female and lesbian mayor, on the campaign and re-election of President Barack Obama, on the devastation caused by Hurricane Katrina and oil spills along the Gulf Coast, as well as numerous other disasters, and on the funeral of the "queen of soul," Aretha Franklin.
Corley also has served as a fill-in host for NPR shows, including Weekend All Things Considered, Morning Edition, and defunct shows Tell Me More and News and Notes.
Prior to joining NPR, Corley was the news director at Chicago's public radio station, WBEZ, where she supervised an award-winning team of reporters. She also worked as the City Hall reporter covering the administration of the city's first black mayor, Harold Washington, and others that followed. She also has been a frequent panelist on television news-affairs programs in Chicago.
Corley has received awards for her work from a number of organizations including the National Association of Black Journalists, the Associated Press, the Public Radio News Directors Association, and the Society of Professional Journalists. She earned the Community Media Workshop's Studs Terkel Award for excellence in reporting on Chicago's diverse communities and a Herman Kogan Award for reporting on immigration issues.
A Chicago native, Corley graduated cum laude from Bradley University in Peoria, Illinois, and is a former Bradley University trustee. While in Peoria, Corley worked as a reporter and news director for public radio station WCBU and as a television director for the NBC affiliate, WEEK-TV. She is a past President of the Association for Women Journalists in Chicago (AWJ-Chicago).
She is also the co-creator of the Cindy Bandle Young Critics Program. The critics/journalism training program for female high school students was originally collaboration between AWJ-Chicago and the Goodman Theatre. Corley has also served as a board member and president of Community Television Network, an organization that trains Chicago youth in video and multimedia production.
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Twelve people died in one of the bloodiest weekends in recent history. The city's mayor and police superintendent say residents of the affected areas should do more.
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Philando Castile spent his driving career trapped in a seemingly endless cycle of traffic stops, fines, court appearances, revocations and reinstatements, raising questions about bias, race and luck.
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The city's 10-year plan to replace 900 miles of old pipes has been met with praise and criticism — and a lawsuit from residents who say the pipe work has raised lead levels in their drinking water.
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The water crisis in Flint, Mich., raised an alarm about the dangers of lead in our water supply, but it is not new knowledge. Madison, Wis., knew about it and removed all its lead pipes 15 years ago.
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The tap draws from Lake Huron. Eatery owners have bought ice, bottles and expensive filters. Large signs in windows post lead-free test results. But diners in this Michigan city are still leery.
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Research on the psychological effects of racism, especially on people of color, is still in the early stages. But psychologists warn that events like the Charleston shooting can cause serious stress.
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Chicago plans to replace its Lathrop Homes public housing project with a mix of condos and affordable housing. Residents say it doesn't need a revamp — and that the overhaul will displace too many.
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The Supreme Court ruled that in-home care workers, who are paid by the state, are not similar enough to government employees to have to pay fees that help cover the costs of collective bargaining.
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Star Wars creator George Lucas wants to build a museum full of movie memorabilia and fine art. But where? Both his hometown of San Francisco and Chicago, his "second home," are vying for it.
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Laws subjecting e-cigarettes to the same regulations as other tobacco products take effect in New York and Chicago Tuesday. They're just the latest moves to stem the rising popularity of the devices.