Lee V. Gaines
Lee V. Gaines is an award-winning journalist whose work has appeared in the Chicago Tribune, Chicago Reader, Chicago Magazine, Crain’s, the Pacific Standard and the Marshall Project. She also recently completed a fellowship with Chicago non-profit journalism lab, City Bureau.
Lee has more than six years of experience producing breaking news, magazine-length feature stories and investigative reports on subjects including education, the medical marijuana industry, criminal justice reform, social justice, local and regional politics, in addition to stories about Chicago’s thriving music and arts scene.
A Rhode Island native, Lee began her career as a staff reporter for GateHouse Media New England covering the Boston suburbs.
Lee reports on education from Illinois Public Media as part of the Illinois Newsroom regional journalism collaborative.
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Last week, Illinois Newsroom reported on the removal of more than 200 books from the shelves of a college in prison program’s library inside the... -
When she found out that staff at the Danville Correctional Center had removed more than 200 books from a library inside the prison’s education wing,... -
Champaign County State’s Attorney Julia Rietz says she’s concerned about how legalization could impact the juveniles she works with on a daily basis.… -
Johnny Page saw something as a child that no young person should ever see. “I witnessed my cousin being killed when I was maybe six, seven-years-old,”... -
Melissa Esparza fled her home in west suburban Chicago two years ago. Then 16, she said her parents became physically violent after years of verbal... -
Last summer, Chantil was forced to leave the townhome she shared with her two daughters and her mother in Des Plaines. (We’re withholding Chantil’s last... -
Illinois could save millions of dollars on incarceration costs if the federal ban on Pell Grants for inmates was lifted, according to a new report from... -
Perry Cline’s story is a remarkable one. He’s a formerly incarcerated 51-year-old man who overcame the odds to graduate from the University of Illinois... -
Like many people coming out of prison, Perry Cline never thought he’d get a college degree. “I thought I was just going to be another bum in the streets... -
Four years ago, Chris Miner decided to apply to the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Then 40-years-old, Miner was encouraged to apply by a...
