Chip reports on criminal justice from WBEZ’s bureau on Chicago’s West Side. His investigative and narrative reporting has earned dozens of local and national awards. He is a three-time winner of the Chicago Headline Club’s annual award for “best reporter” in broadcast radio.
Before Chip joined WBEZ in 2006, his base for three years was Bogotá, Colombia. He reported from conflict zones around that war-torn country and from several other Latin American nations. The reporting reached U.S. audiences through NPR, the BBC and daily newspapers including the Dallas Morning News and the Christian Science Monitor.
From 1995 to 2003, Chip focused on immigration and Latin America as editor of Connection to the Americas, winner of the 2003 Utne Independent Press Award for “general excellence” among newsletters nationwide.
Chip was born in St. Paul, Minnesota, and raised in nearby Falcon Heights. He earned a B.A. in History from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
In Chicago, he lives with his partner and their daughter on the Northwest Side, where they founded the Humboldt Park Gators, an all-girls baseball team.
Chip Mitchell
Stories by Chip Mitchell
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A Chicago cop charged in the U.S. Capitol attack rejects a plea deal
The charges against Officer Karol Chwiesiuk include disorderly conduct in a restricted building. The judge set his trial to begin May 1.
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A young mother with postpartum psychosis pleaded guilty to a horrific killing. Should her plea be tossed?
An appeals court is ordering a review after Kimberlynn Bolaños harmed herself in prison, showing the severity of her illness.
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A Chicago cop who took a gun off the street gets fired for how she did it
The city’s Police Board finds Officer Rebecca Thuestad lied about detaining a man and then releasing him in exchange for a gun.
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16 years after a corruption scandal, a Chicago cop is finally facing discipline
A Police Board hearing this week is focusing on whether Officer Thomas Sherry joined in robberies with a crew of criminal cops.
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A lawsuit claims Waukegan police extracted another false confession from a Black teen
News of a February false confession in the Chicago suburb has led to a teen’s claim that cops did it to him too.
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A disciplinary hearing marks a shift in Chicago’s historically feeble police oversight
As the city tries to fire more cops for alleged misconduct, police bosses are being held accountable for failing to report it.
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Cook County has confirmed a record 1,920 fatal overdoses last year
A WBEZ data analysis finds that the crisis has hit middle-aged Black men hardest. Advocates say the government response should be stronger.
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When the city treats teen gatherings downtown as a threat, is it blowing an opportunity?
Some experts say Chicago officials should be providing activities and services in Millennium Park to the kids flocking there.
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16 years after alleged extortion, Chicago police sergeant is finally off the force
City investigators tied Sgt. Alvin Jones to corrupt cops, but his dismissal case got buried in red tape. Now he has quit.
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Legal experts say Cook County judges are approving subpoenas under false premises
The subpoenas command witnesses to appear in court when they’re really headed to a prosecutors’ office to help them prepare.
