Letter to our readers: Introducing the Daily Herald's new climate change reporter

For years, the Daily Herald has considered climate change among the most important and most urgent topics of our time. In coming months, we'll take our coverage to a new level - and bring the issue home to the suburbs, with the help of a reporter joining us in cooperation with the national journalism resource Report For America.

Allow me to introduce Jennifer Whidden.

Jennifer is an experienced, energetic young reporter with roots in Rolling Meadows and a passion for public service reporting in general and environmental issues specifically.

A 2020 journalism graduate of Marquette University in Milwaukee, she has worked on investigative projects for the Star Ledger in Newark, New Jersey, interned on the political desk of the Chicago Tribune and, since June 2021, covered politics, with a focus on race and equity issues, at the New Hampshire Statehouse for the Granite State News Cooperative.

She brings to her work a diverse skill set, with particular focus on data science that we expect to help her produce the kinds of data-driven stories on climate and environmental issues in the suburbs that will help you better understand not only what's happening to our planet but also what's happening in our communities and our neighborhoods. And, she'll be looking for actions our institutions can take, as well as those we as individuals can adopt, to help protect the quality of life we appreciate in the suburbs.

We're excited about the breadth of reporting Jennifer will add to the Daily Herald's coverage and the new insights she'll bring on everything from the health of our prime water source, Lake Michigan. to the quality of our air and the vitality of our gardens. Watch for her reporting beginning in June.

• If you'd like to make a donation to help fund our Report For America reporter, please go to https://events.dailyherald.com/climate/