Former VP takes helm at Accredited Chicago Newspapers

Accredited Chicago Newspapers, an organization that works with Cook County, newspapers in the city of Chicago, and the Illinois Press Association to publish legal notices, has been purchased by its former vice president, Susan J. Walker.

Walker is assistant secretary for Cook County Suburban Publishers, Inc. The organization was purchased Oct. 9 from the estate of Bruce Sagan, who died in September at the age of 96.

For more than 30 years, Walker and Sagan worked together at Accredited Chicago Newspapers, continuing an organization that Sagan started in the 1960s with Joe Ferstl. Walker worked at the Sagan-owned Hyde Park Herald in many capacities, including as publisher and general manager, according to a news release.

“Together, we navigated the highs and lows of this ever-changing industry,” Walker said. “As someone who has spent a lifetime in newspapers and publishing, I share Bruce’s belief in honest work, local connections and the importance of doing things the right way. Our working partnership was built on mutual respect, shared vision, and a deep love for the work we do in the newspaper industry.”

Sagan was seen as a pioneer in the news business and a legend in Chicago civic and journalism circles. As the owner and publisher of the Hyde Park Herald — which he bought in 1953 at age 24 — he gave voice to a South Side neighborhood confronting racial change, housing discrimination and urban renewal, according to the release.

He published exposés on negligent landlords and controversial city planning decisions, coverage that helped Hyde Park qualify for one of the nation’s first federally funded urban renewal projects. He also built one of the largest community newspaper groups in the country, the Economist Newspaper Group, which had grown to nearly 30 newspapers with 1,000 employees and a circulation exceeding 400,000, and later played a central role in transforming Chicago into a major center for dance and theater, the release said.

“This moment is not about change; it’s about continuing what Bruce started, just as we always have,” Walker said. “I know how much this business meant to him, and I am committed to honoring his legacy by keeping it strong, vibrant, and rooted in the same values he championed.”