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Anna Savchenko

Anna Savchenko

Criminal Justice Reporter

Anna is a general assignment reporter. She’s also reported on higher education, criminal justice and public health.

Her reporting has earned her a regional Murrow award for feature reporting and a Public Media Journalists Association award for best commentary.

Anna received her master’s in English from Azusa Pacific University in California and joined WBEZ as a Poynter-Koch Media and Journalism fellow.

WBEZ - 2024 - Evanston Township HS - Cell Phone Story - July 2, 2024
Education
Schools are taking stricter measures to limit cell phone use in class. Will they work?
School officials say separating students from their phones can help curb classroom distractions and cyberbullying.
By Anna Savchenko
 
Kenwood High Schoolers buy t-shirts designed by classmate Jamari Jackson
Business
Meet the Chicago teens designing and selling their own streetwear
Some high schoolers say they started their own brands for the profits. Others are jumping into streetwear in pursuit of a creative outlet.
By Anna Savchenko
 
Junior labor seasonal workers spread mulch at Humboldt Park for the Chicago Park District in 2014
Education
Chicago sees a spike in Black teens out of school and out of work, study shows
By Anna Savchenko
 
Screenshots of facebook posts about one man
Criminal Justice
Women saw red flags, one man saw defamation
By Anna Savchenko
 
Eileen O'Neill Burke, candidate for Cook County state’s attorney, during a debate on ABC-7 on Feb. 8, 2024.
Criminal Justice
Eileen O’Neill Burke says she’s running for state’s attorney because ‘our justice system is not working’
By Anna Savchenko  and Chip Mitchell
 
Jazmin Dela Mora and her son Matthew Zermeno stand outside St. Frances of Rome School at 1401 S Austin Blvd in Cicero, Monday, Feb. 5, 2024.They are among the families affected by the end of the taxpayer-supported private school scholarship program called Invest in Kids.
Education
Families and schools are rattled by end of state private school scholarship program
By Anna Savchenko
 
Acting major Anahkah Sims, speaking at a recent faculty rally, worries Columbia College won't be the same if it loses the working professionals who made her want to attend the school in the first place. The walkout was prompted by the college's decision to cut hundreds of course sections taught by adjuncts to help fill a $20 million budget gap. Administrators say they had no choice but to make the cuts to deal with the deficit.
Education
Columbia College adjunct faculty strike leaves students in limbo
By Anna Savchenko
 
Chicago Fire Department personnel carry a plaque, Chicago flag and helmet for firefighter Andrew “Drew” Price during the procession into his funeral in the Aon Grand Ballroom at Navy Pier, Monday, Nov. 20, 2023. Firefighter Price, 39, who joined the department in 2009, died Nov. 13 after he fell through a light shaft while battling a blaze in a building in the 2400 block of North Lincoln Avenue in Lincoln Park.
Criminal Justice
Chicago firefighters reel from a year marked by loss
By Anna Savchenko
 
Karina Alvarez makes an apron at a first time sewers class at Lillstreet Art Center in Ravenswood.
Arts & Culture
From simple alterations to complex cosplay costumes, Chicagoans are embracing sewing
By Anna Savchenko
 
Helen Roper caftan romp
Race, Class & Communities
Caftan crawl honors the style of sitcom character Helen Roper
By Anna Savchenko
 
Trees with green, orange and yellow leaves line the bank of a reservoir in Indianapolis.
Environment & Public Health
Expect fall colors in Illinois to peak in mid-October, experts say
By Anna Savchenko
 
A Mississippi resident receives a Pfizer booster shot
Environment & Public Health
Health officials are encouraging Chicago-area residents to get the new COVID-19 booster
By Anna Savchenko
 
hand holding up phone showing video of robber walking into store
Criminal Justice
Robberies in Chicago are at a six-year high
By Anna Savchenko
 
Anthony Driver, president of the Community Commission for Public Safety and Accountability, speaks during a news conference at City Hall on Monday, Aug. 14, 2023.
Criminal Justice
Chicago public safety leader warns against making police discipline cases secret
By Anna Savchenko
 
Montrose Beach crowded
Environment & Public Health
A dangerous heat wave will move into Chicago this week. But how hot has this summer been so far?
By Anna Savchenko
 
Ingela Travers-Hayward and William Perry at the Burning Man festival in Nevada.
Environment & Public Health
Meet the couple taking on the opioid epidemic, one music festival at a time
By Anna Savchenko
 
Andy Robledo speaks in 2022 during a gathering to stop the City of Chicago from evicting people who live in tents under a viaduct in the West Loop.
Environment & Public Health
In the heat of summer, the ‘Orange Tent Guy’ is raising money to help the unhoused this winter
By Anna Savchenko
 
Crisis pregnancy center protesters
Abortion-rights activists target ‘crisis pregnancy centers’ accused of deception
By Anna Savchenko