The retired educator died Aug. 25. During his three decades of teaching and advising at Evanston Township High School, Rodney Lowe built a widely admired journalism program but more importantly influenced generations of students with his dedication to excellence and the rights student journalists.

One of IJEA's founding members, William Colosimo, died on May 29 at the age of 81. He taught English and journalism at Addison Trail for three decades, retiring in 2003. As adviser of the school newspaper, the Torch, Bill was the consummate advocate for his students and for scholastic journalism.

The IJEA is proud to announce the members of the 2020 All-State Journalism Team. The 12 students selected for the honor were nominated by their respective advisers in recognition of the indispensable contributions they made to their publications during the 2019-20 school year.

Whether it was dealing with a Chicago teachers strike in the fall or a statewide closure of schools in the spring, Illinois high school journalists have overcome one challenge after another this year. Check out the best of their work as we announce the winners of our 2020 Newspaper & Digital News Contest!

Even though the 2020 Spring National High School Journalism Conference was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Illinois student journalists nonetheless received national recognition for their work thanks to a virtual ceremony held April 17. Congratulations to all!