Our Team

James Okafor came to journalism through an unusual path: a half-finished PhD in environmental philosophy at the University of Chicago, where his dissertation on “the phenomenology of freshwater bodies” was ultimately abandoned when he realized he’d rather write about Lake Michigan for people who would actually read it. He has been the paper’s science and environment editor for seven years, covering everything from climate data to the emotional state of the city’s waterways.

His writing is known for its contemplative depth — a quality that either enchants readers or causes them to stare out their office windows for long periods wondering what it all means. James lives in Hyde Park, walks the lakefront every morning regardless of weather, and has been described by colleagues as “the only person who can make a weather report feel like an existential crisis.” He considers this a compliment.

Marcus Williams has been covering Chicago’s streets, landmarks, and public infrastructure since 2014 — though he’d argue the streets and landmarks have been covering themselves, and he’s just the one who listens. A born-and-raised South Sider, Marcus developed his signature style after spending a winter convinced the Brown Line train was trying to communicate with him through its door chimes. (He maintains it was.)

When he’s not giving voice to the voiceless — specifically, buildings, trains, and large reflective sculptures — Marcus can be found arguing with pigeons in Grant Park or writing apologetic letters to potholes he accidentally drove over. He holds a journalism degree from Medill and a deep, abiding belief that everything in Chicago has feelings, and most of it is mildly annoyed.

Rachel Kim covers the intersection of business, technology, and questionable venture capital decisions from her desk in the West Loop — or, as she calls it, “the front row seat to Chicago’s ongoing experiment in turning money into press releases.” A former financial analyst who pivoted to journalism after realizing she’d rather write about bad ideas than build spreadsheets for them, Rachel has become the paper’s go-to voice for skewering corporate nonsense.

Her reporting style relies heavily on letting her subjects speak for themselves, a technique she describes as “just writing down what people say and waiting for readers to notice it’s insane.” She holds an MBA from Booth and a deeply held suspicion of any company whose pitch deck contains the word “synergy” more than twice. She lives in Wicker Park and is, by her own admission, unreasonably loyal to the Brown Line.

Sofia Russo has spent a decade embedded in the byzantine machinery of Chicago city government, where she has developed an almost supernatural ability to find the absurd in the procedural. Her coverage of City Council meetings, mayoral press conferences, and interdepartmental turf wars has earned her three Peter Lisagor Awards and a permanent spot on several aldermen’s blocked-caller lists.

Before joining the paper, Sofia worked as a legislative aide in Springfield, an experience she describes as “two years of watching adults argue about parking meters that I will never get back, but which prepared me perfectly for this job.” She lives in Logan Square with a rescue greyhound named Quorum, and she can recite Robert’s Rules of Order from memory — a skill she insists has come in handy exactly once.

Tom Hennessey has been writing his column, “Hennessey’s Take,” for The Windy City Dispatch since 1996. A lifelong Bridgeport resident, he’s covered everything from aldermanic scandals to the great ketchup debates, always with the kind of blunt honesty that makes editors nervous and readers loyal. He has never once used the word “vibes” in print and intends to keep it that way.

When he’s not filing copy from his usual booth at Schaller’s Pump, Tom can be found arguing with his neighbors about the proper way to shovel a sidewalk or writing strongly worded letters to the CTA. He is the author of three unpublished novels and the proud owner of a 1994 Ford Taurus that he insists “runs fine.”