Paris Schutz
Paris Schutz reports for NBC Chicago with a focus on how political decisions play out in public life, zeroing in on city hall, public services and civic infrastructure rather than abstract party politics. His work blends daily political coverage with investigative and explanatory reporting, tracing the impact of legislation, regulations and campaigns on voters, commuters, patients and families. He consistently frames stories around accountability and practical consequences, whether the subject is a new rule for influencers, a moratorium on data centers or a missing lawmaker.
City Hall rules, data centers and paid political influencers
Schutz devotes substantial reporting to the regulatory and ethical side of modern politics at Chicago’s city hall. When Chicago’s mayor proposed a one-year moratorium on new data center construction, he outlined the zoning, water, power and quality-of-life issues driving the move, as well as the role of a dedicated task force charged with producing new recommendations. In that coverage, he treated the moratorium not just as a headline but as part of a broader debate over how the city manages large-scale development and the strain such projects can place on neighborhoods and infrastructure.
He applies a similar lens to political communication and campaign finance in his reporting on a proposal to crack down on social media influencers paid to support political campaigns.
In that piece, he details how political committees and unions have been paying influencers to post supportive content without clearly disclosing those financial relationships, and he explains how a proposed city rule would require paid influencers to identify who is funding their posts. By quoting specific examples of paid partnerships and connecting them to gaps in existing campaign disclosure law, he turns a niche topic into a concrete question of transparency and voter awareness.
Across these city hall stories, Schutz emphasizes the mechanics of proposed rules and the stakeholders behind them, highlighting council sponsors, union interests and mayoral priorities rather than focusing on partisan positioning alone. His reporting in this area positions him as a go-to voice on how Chicago’s government is adapting regulations to fast-changing sectors like data centers and digital campaigning.
Election rules, referendums and voter-facing explainers
Schutz frequently breaks down election procedures and ballot measures, with an eye toward what voters will encounter and why it matters.
In coverage of a Chicago referendum tied to the federal “Operation Midway Blitz,” he explains that the city council approved a question asking whether the city should seek financial compensation from the federal government for immigration enforcement actions that drew national attention. He walks through the language of the measure, the mayor’s role in proposing it, and the broader political context of immigration enforcement, translating council action into a clear choice that will appear on the November ballot.
His election work also includes timing and logistics coverage, such as stories on when early voting begins for the 2026 Illinois elections across the Chicago area. In that reporting, he outlines the calendar for the general election and notes when residents in different parts of the region can start casting ballots, offering straightforward guidance on access to the polls.
These pieces underscore his role in connecting official election decisions and schedules to the everyday realities of voters planning how and when to participate.
Taken together, his election explainers show a consistent emphasis on clarity and detail: he foregrounds the wording of referendums, the dates for early voting and the governmental bodies involved, giving audiences enough specifics to understand both the process and the stakes.
Accountability reporting on officials and public institutions
A recurring thread in Schutz’s work is accountability for public officials and institutions when they fall short of their responsibilities. In one widely noted story, he responded to constituent questions about an Illinois state representative who had become difficult to reach, tracking the lawmaker down and conducting an on-the-record interview about his absence from public view. The piece documents the outreach from residents, the reporter’s efforts to make contact and the legislator’s eventual answers, illustrating Schutz’s willingness to chase down officials who have gone quiet.
He applies similar scrutiny to educational and municipal systems. In coverage of Chicago Public Schools, he reports on referees and lawmakers blaming a CPS administrator for weeks-long paycheck delays, linking individual stories of unpaid workers to the administrative decisions that caused the problem.
Other CPS pieces follow budget votes and funding debates, tying state-level commitments to school district finances and showing how legislative choices filter down to classrooms and staff.
Schutz’s accountability focus extends to transportation and health care infrastructure. His reporting on crime on the CTA captures aldermanic debates over whether to boost police presence on trains and buses, framing the discussion around rider safety and resource allocation rather than rhetoric alone. In Joliet, he covers the shuttering of a maternal care unit at a local hospital, highlighting the concerns of healthcare professionals and the potential impact on families in the surrounding community.
He also tracks mayoral initiatives such as the creation of an Office of Gun Violence Reduction, paying close attention to questions about return on investment and program effectiveness.
When serious criminal cases intersect with public systems, Schutz reports those details as well, including court documents that reveal why a mother in Frankfort told authorities she killed her two-year-old son, and related coverage of her communications before the act. Across these stories, his reporting combines human narratives with institutional context, underscoring how decisions by officials, administrators and agencies affect real people.
Public space, major events and civic infrastructure
Schutz often situates politics within the physical spaces and major events that define civic life. His coverage of post-festival conditions in Grant Park, including long-term fixes suggested by the park’s advisory council as Lollapalooza cleanup begins, ties a marquee cultural event to ongoing debates over public space, park maintenance and city partnerships.
He follows similar threads in stories about large-scale sports and entertainment projects, such as a Bears stadium saga where he notes that a Hammond site might not offer as much space as previously thought. In discussing those plans, he focuses on land use, capacity and practical constraints, showing how stadium proposals intersect with broader questions about development and regional priorities.
These kinds of pieces complement his city hall coverage by grounding policy discussions in the parks, arenas and neighborhoods where residents actually experience them.
Schutz’s approach to public space and infrastructure echoes his broader reporting style: he concentrates on long-term implications, tradeoffs between economic opportunity and quality of life, and the details of how advisory councils, mayors and developers propose to manage those tradeoffs. This through-line - linking politics, policy and the lived environment - runs across his body of work and distinguishes his coverage from more generic campaign-focused reporting.
Beyond his on-air and digital reporting for NBC Chicago, Schutz has a background in political and investigative journalism at a local public affairs outlet, where he covered government, legislation, campaigns and corruption and moderated debates during election seasons.
He now extends that experience into NBC Chicago’s digital and social channels, including sharing and amplifying his stories on platforms like X. The result is a reporter whose work spans daily city hall stories, enterprise investigations and explanatory segments, unified by a clear focus on how political power shapes the institutions and spaces residents rely on.
4 more politics journalists.
A.D. Quig
A.D. Quig follows money and power through Chicago and Cook County government, showing how political decisions, taxes and public spending affect residents and businesses. At the Chicago Tribune, she covers city and county politics, municipal finance, tax policy, budgets and the structures shaping mayoral and council authority. She joined the Tribune in 2022 after covering politics for Crain’s Chicago Business and The Daily Line. Her work examines council power, ethics rules, police leadership, tax incentives, public agencies and pandemic aid. She has reported on data center tax breaks, property tax errors, federal relief spending and the fiscal effects of major development proposals. Quig combines insider government reporting with public accountability journalism. She uses public records, data and budget documents, follows committees and staff negotiations, and explains complex decisions in plain language with precise numbers and a direct link to everyday consequences.
Adam Daly
Adam Daly covers politics for amNewYork with a focus on the inner workings of city and state government and the low-profile forums where power is exercised and negotiated. He reports on commissions and panels that shape how New York is governed, treating charter reform and government efficiency as central political terrain. His coverage of moves to replace an Adams-era charter commission with a new government efficiency panel foregrounds mandate, authority, and what “efficiency” means in practice for agencies and services. He tracks who gains and loses influence when one commission supplants another and which constituencies are being answered to. Daly explains dense procedural questions in clear, reader-facing terms, using specific institutional details and occasional wordplay to connect jargon-heavy reforms to public spending, service delivery, and mayoral power.
Adam Pack
Adam Pack covers Capitol Hill through power struggles, investigations and ideological fights, focusing on how Congress intersects with Donald Trump’s agenda. He is a politics writer on Fox News Digital’s Capitol Hill team, covering Congress, federal elections, legislative battles, election rules, war powers, primaries and intraparty fights. He previously wrote for the Daily Caller News Foundation. His reporting examines deadlines, vote counts, bill language, campaign spending, court rulings, oversight reports, culture clashes and emerging issues such as AI-backed political groups. He has covered FISA reauthorization, defense spending, the SAVE America Act, housing policy, redistricting, candidate absences, primary spending and disputes over sex, gender, religion and race-based caucuses. He reports primarily through news features and investigative-style pieces built around documents, committee reports, court records, unearthed video and specific legislative details. He often co-writes complex Capitol Hill stories and publishes “FIRST ON FOX” exclusives.
Adam Sullivan
Adam Sullivan is a veteran politics reporter for WCAX who connects elections and party disputes to everyday life. He covers statewide races, party primaries, federal representation, political rhetoric, extremism, and accountability across the Upper Valley and neighboring states. His reporting includes Becca Balint’s victory over Molly Gray in the Democratic U.S. House primary to replace Congressman Peter Welch. He also reports when political controversies affect public safety, political culture, towns, and institutions, including a New Hampshire Libertarian Party post endorsing violence against elected Democrats. Sullivan follows cultural stories with civic consequences, such as Noah Kahan’s appeal to fans to stop stealing a Strafford road sign linked to his music. He writes straight news centered on concrete events, official reactions, political context, community impact, and what comes next.