Elizabeth Brackett (born December 11, 1941) is a Chicago-based correspondent and host for WTTW-TV's Chicago Tonight program, a correspondent for PBS' The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer and an author.

Contents 1 Early life and education 2 Social work career 3 Political career 4 Journalism career 5 Writing career 6 Personal 7 References

[edit] Early life and education

Brackett attended New Trier High School in Winnetka, Illinois and earned an undergraduate degree from Indiana University. She also holds a master's degree on social work from Our Lady of the Lake College.^[1]

[edit] Social work career

After graduating from Our Lady of the Lake College, Brackett worked part time as a social worker at the YMCA in the Uptown neighborhood of Chicago.^[2] She also worked for the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services as a social worker and also as a community organizer in Uptown.^[3]

[edit] Political career

In 1972, Brackett was a delegate to the Democratic presidential convention in Miami, along with Jesse Jackson and William "Bill" Singer. In 1975, Brackett served as a fundraiser and advance director for Singer's unsuccessful bid to be mayor of Chicago. In 1976, she unsuccessfully ran for a seat as a committeeman in Chicago's 43rd ward.^[4]

[edit] Journalism career

In 1977, Brackett took a job as a researcher on the assignment desk of WBBM-TV in Chicago. In 1979, she joined WGN-TV in Chicago. She later became a reporter at WLS-TV in Chicago. She then joined the forerunner to PBS' The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer, based from Chicago, in 1984.^[5]

Brackett won a national Emmy award in 1987 for her reporting on the U.S. farm crisis. ^[6] The following year, she won a national Peabody Award for her coverage of the 1988 presidential election.^[7] She also has won three Midwest Emmy awards and two Peter Lisagor awards as well.^[8]

In 1991, Brackett began appearing occasionally on WTTW's Chicago Tonight public-affairs program.^[9]

In 1994, Brackett was hired full-time as a correspondent for Chicago Tonight. Under the agreement, she was permitted to contribute to what would eventually become PBS' The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer.^[10]

From 2000 until 2001, Brackett, along with journalist and comedian Aaron Freeman, co-hosted a science-themed spin-off of Chicago Tonight called Chicago Tomorrow. ^[11]

[edit] Writing career

In 2009, a book Brackett wrote, titled Pay to Play, How Rod Blagojevich Turned Political Corruption Into a National Sideshow was published. The book is about the former Illinois governor. ^[12]

[edit] Personal

Brackett married Peter Martinez on September 27, 1998.^[13] A previous marriage ended in divorce. She has two children from her first marriage: Elisabeth (born circa 1967) and Jon (born circa 1970).^[14]

Brackett lives in the Hyde Park neighborhood of Chicago.

[edit] References