Anna Savchenko
Criminal Justice Reporter
Previously, she covered Chicago’s colleges and universities when she joined the station in 2021 as a Poynter-Koch Media and Journalism fellow. Anna earned her bachelor’s degree in journalism and master’s in English from Azusa Pacific University in southern California. At Azusa Pacific, she served as editor-in-chief of the student magazine.
She speaks Russian, Greek and is learning Ukrainian.
Stories by Anna Savchenko
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‘The CTA is their last resort’: A night out with the people helping homeless riders
Outreach workers say fewer shelter beds and Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s recent crackdown on people sleeping at O’Hare has forced more unhoused people onto trains and buses.
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Chicago’s biggest police union is spending money to win power on new oversight councils
The police union paid $25,000 to two election attorneys to kick candidates off the ballot in police district races.
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For some candidates vying for District Council seats, the race is personal
Chicago’s first police district council elections are next February. We hear from one of the candidates.
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Is the Chicago Police gang database tactic an end run around the new accountability board?
Members of a new civilian police commission fear CPD’s rollout of the database was intended to circumvent their oversight authority.
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Formerly incarcerated students can now Zoom back into prison to finish their degrees
The pandemic forced prison programs across Illinois to adapt to remote learning. It also paved a path for college students leaving prison.
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Highland Park shooting victims say they are fighting back as they cope day by day
Lauren Bennett, who was shot twice, is among a group suing a gunmaker over the shooting. “Anything that could help prevent this,” she said.
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At a Chicago school far away from the war, Ukrainian children try to make a new life
The school has 65 refugee children enrolled. “The longer they stay in Chicago, they feel torn away from their country,” the principal said.
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Northwestern University brings college to an Illinois women’s prison
It’s the only program in Illinois where women who are incarcerated can earn a bachelor’s degree and among a small number of programs nationwide.
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More Chicago high school grads are eyeing HBCUs as their top college choice
Historically Black colleges are a tradition in many families, but after the racial reckoning of 2020 more students are applying to these schools.
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2022 grads reflect on college life dominated by the pandemic
“The pandemic just kind of changed my outlook,” one 2022 grad said. “Now I realize I can only take things day by day and see what happens.”
