Too Fast, Too Drunk, Too Careless
For the past year, the Chicago Tribune has made an impressive commitment to covering teen-driving accidents, which kill more than 8,000 people every year around the country. Throughout 2006, Trib reporters tracked teen auto deaths in the Chicago area, looked at the reasons behind the crashes and showed the misery that resulted. This Sunday, the Trib's efforts culminated with "Teens at the Wheel," a comprehensive look at the problem with stories by Ted Gregory, James Janega, Bonnie Miller Rubin and John Keilman. The package suggests solutions by driving instructors, parents and teens themselves. The series is a throwback to the kind of civic advocacy journalism that was popular in the 1990s. Do you think the Trib goes too far by making recommendations?
The Chicago Sun-Times also had a nifty story Sunday with the brilliant headline of "Dead Person Parking." The investigation by Eric Herman, Stephanie Zimmermann and Art Golab details how at least 260 people with special parking spaces reserved for people with disabilities are actually dead. Many of the spaces, Herman, Zimmermann and Golab report, end up as reserved parking for their able-bodied relatives who keep the permits.