Journalists to Discuss Life on the Blagojevich Enemies List

EVANSTON, Ill. --- Chicago Tribune journalists Bruce Dold and John McCormick will discuss how they wound up on Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich's "enemies list" when they speak Monday, Jan. 26, at Northwestern University.

Angry over Tribune editorials critical of him, Gov. Blagojevich is alleged to have threatened to withhold state money for renovations of Tribune-owned Wrigley Field unless certain members of the Tribune's editorial board were fired. The Tribune did not respond to the threats.

The presentation by Dold and McCormick -- "Life on the Governor's Enemies List" -- will take place at 4 p.m. in the McCormick Tribune Center Forum, 1870 Campus Drive, Evanston campus. Free and open to the public, it is part of the Medill School's Crain Lecture Series.

McCormick, Chicago Tribune deputy editorial director, was the sole journalist named in the affidavit charging that the Illinois governor demanded the firing of Tribune editorial writers. A Medill graduate, he often writes about the intersection of corruption, politics and governance. He has said that at no time did anyone from the Tribune try to pressure him in any way.

As editorial page editor of the Chicago Tribune, Dold supervises the Tribune's editorial and op-ed pages. Under his direction the editorial board has received 11 national awards, including the 2003 Pulitzer Prize for editorial writing. A Medill double graduate, Dold won the 1994 Pulitzer Prize for a series of editorials he wrote about the murder of a 3-year-old by his abusive mother and the failures of the Illinois child welfare system.

The popular, admission-free Crain Lecture Series is named in honor of magazine publishers Gertrude and G.D. Crain Jr. For further information about the upcoming event, call (847) 491-5401 or visit the Medill web site at http://www.medill.northwestern.edu.