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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On Thursday, Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff and FEMA Administrator R. David Paulison visited Ohio to assess the damage in that state, but throughout the Midwest, thousands of residents are trying to recover from the relentless storms.
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The man behind the buyout of Chicago-based Tribune Co. has a penchant for risky investments. But they tend to pay off: Real estate mogul Sam Zell, 65, is worth an estimated $4.5 billion.
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One year later, families on the Gulf Coast are still searching for loved ones. For Dorothy Graps, the news is sweet -- after months of doubt, she was reunited with a son still alive. For others, the inability to find relatives, leaves them searching for answers. -
The National Guard is evacuating residents of St. Louis who are sweltering in the summer heat without power for fans or air conditioning. A dangerous storm lashed the city Wednesday and power isn't expected to be restored for many until next week.
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Sixteen horses have been put to death since May after injuries suffered at Arlington Park, a racetrack in suburban Chicago. Consultants have investigated and the track's surface has been adjusted. A debate lingers over why so many horses are breaking down.
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The chance of owning a home is beyond the reach of millions of Americans. In Minnesota, community groups concerned with affordable housing are joining with prison inmates trying to resurrect careers of their own. -
A federal mental health agency says as many as a half-million people who lived along the hurricane-ravaged Gulf Coast may need help for depression, anger, and other problems as they try to rebuild their lives and face the prospect of new storms.
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New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin says he plans to reach out to every segment of the community after he was re-elected over the weekend. He defeated Lt. Gov. Mitch Landrieu in a run-off. Some voters have concerns about their city's future under Nagin, but others say they've already seen positive changes.
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Mayor Ray Nagin beats Lt. Gov. Mitch Landrieu in a run-off election to decide who will lead the city's recovery from Hurricane Katrina. The election centered on the racial makeup of the city and how New Orleans will be rebuilt.
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The runoff election to decide the New Orleans mayor's race is scheduled for Saturday. Farai Chideya talks with Cheryl Corley about how residents of the city view the upcoming vote between incumbent Ray Nagin and his challenger, Lt. Gov. Mitch Landrieu.
