Jack McCarthy, Chronicle Media suburban editor, holds the Northern Illinois Newspaper Association’s Grubb Award for Weekly Newspaper Publishing Excellence. Chronicle Media earned NINA’s top honor for non-daily publications with 15 awards, including six first-place honors. (Photo by Lynne Conner)

Chronicle Media captured the top prize for non-daily publications in the Northern Illinois Newspaper Association’s annual competition.

With 15 awards, including six first-place honors, the Chronicle earned NINA’s Donald R. Grubb Award for Weekly Newspaper Publishing Excellence at Thursday’s annual NINA awards presentation.

Staff reporter Kevin Beese earned three first-place awards. He won top honors in:

• Spot News Photo — for his photo of a grieving mother who had lost her son in a Chicago police shooting. Judges’ comments were: “A mother’s grief is never easy to document. It is hard to watch and even harder to photograph.”
• In-Depth News Story — for his coverage of the battle to keep Westlake Hospital in Melrose Park open. Judges’ comments were: “Great lead. Thorough, easy story to follow.”
• Localized News Story — for his coverage of federal employees talking about the stress they felt during the government shutdown. Judges’ comments were: “Good sourcing and good quotes.”

Other Chronicle first-place awards went to:

• Bill Dwyer for Business/Finance Story for his look at the Hotel Zachary addition to Chicago’s Wrigleyville neighborhood.
• Irv Leavitt for Columnist for his work, including his column “Leaving Chicago: Letter to My Daughter” Judges’ comments were: “This is a guy talking to me over coffee. Easy conversation, plus facts.”
• Karie Angell Luc for Video (included entries from daily publications) for her coverage of a protest demanding the resignation of then-Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel. Judges’ comments were: “Thank you for taking us inside a protest.”

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  People march in Chicago in August 2018 demanding the resignation of then-Mayor Rahm Emanuel. Karie Angell Luc’s video of the protest earned first place for Chronicle Media in the Video category in the Northern Illinois Newspaper Association’s annual awards. (Photo by Karie Angell Luc/for Chronicle Media)

Second-place honors for Chronicle Media went to:

• Tim Alexander for General Feature Story for his look at schools across the state being able to provide rescue inhalers for asthmatic children.
• Elise Zwicky for Social Issue Coverage for her work on Operation Prom Night’s re-enactment of a fatal drunken driving crash showing Pekin Community High School students the worst-case scenario of alcohol and drug use, and then getting behind the wheel.
• Dwyer for Sports Story for his piece on the Forest Park’s 50^th “No Gloves National” softball tournament.
• Beese for Spot News Story for his coverage of Lori Lightfoot’s election as Chicago mayor.

Chronicle Suburban Editor Jack McCarthy earned four third-place awards. He was honored for:

• Design (included entries from daily publications) for his work with the Suburban Chronicle.
• Headline Writing for “House Party: Casten, Underwood sworn in as Democrats take command,” topping the story of U.S. Reps. Sean Casten and Lauren Underwood being seated in Congress and “Dismissal turns deadly: Shooting spree after man’s termination results in five deaths,” topping the story on the Henry Pratt Co. mass shooting in Aurora this past February.
• Historical Feature for his profile on the Frank Lloyd Wright Trails in the state, featuring more than a dozen structures created by the famed architect.
• Localized News Story — for his coverage of current and former students of Marjorie Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida being at a Naperville town hall meeting to talk about the need for gun reform. Seventeen of the students’ classmates died in a mass shooting inside the school in 2018.

Also earning a Chronicle third-place award was:

• Beese for Spot News Story for his piece on Chicago Ald. Edward Burke being charged with extortion.

Tam Hudson is comforted as she remembers her son, Pierre Loury, who was killed by Chicago police in 2016. The photo of Hudson at a protest during the first day of jury selection in the September trial of Chicago police Officer Jason Van Dyke earned Chronicle staff member Kevin Beese first-place honors for Spot News Photo in the Northern Illinois Newspaper Association’s annual awards. (Photo by Kevin Beese/Chronicle Media)

“It’s a tremendous honor for all the people who work so hard to make Chronicle Media a quality news operation,” said Rick Hibbert, publisher for Chronicle Media LLC. “I am privileged to work with such outstanding individuals.”

NINA’s Sweepstakes prize for non-dailies, the Donald R. Grubb Award, is presented by the Northern Illinois Newspaper Association and the Northern Illinois University communications department.

Grubb was chairman of the journalism department at NIU and a spokesman for suburban journalism.