Ray Gibson worked at the Northern Star during all four of his years at NIU. His friends and colleagues at NIU recall that Ray always knew he wanted to be an investigative reporter for the Chicago Tribune. Like many of the Star’s most successful alums, Ray (or “Gibby” as he is known to his colleagues) began at the Star as a sports reporter. Even then, he was known as an accomplished writer and a hard-edge reporter, having a talent for seeing the essence of a story before anyone else, and telling it better than anyone else. Ray served as the paper’s editor-in-chief in 1970, and he graduated from NIU in 1971 with a B.S. degree in journalism.

Ray joined the Chicago Tribune in 1974, after stints with the DeKalb Daily Chronicle and the Contra Costa Times / Valley News (Oakland County, Calif). He is a member of the Tribune’s investigative reporting team, specializing in political coverage and campaign financing. The list of important stories Ray has broken and reported on over his lengthy career is nearly endless.

Ray was nominated for the Pulitzer Prize in 1986 and 1988 for stories ranging from corruption in Chicago’s City Hall to the shooting rampage in north suburban Winnetka that took the lives of several school children. Ray was also the Tribune’s lead reporter on the “Operation Silver Shovel” probe of illegal dumping and the related payoffs to public officials.

In addition to being nominated for the Pulitzer Prize, Ray received the Tribune’s William H. Jones Award in 1992 for investigative reporting, and the Beck Award in 1995 for best domestic news story for his reporting on U.S. Rep. Mel Reynolds’ prosecution on charges he had sex with a minor.

In a profession where respect most often is offered in shot-sized glasses, Ray’s colleagues have offered him many rounds of friendship and admiration for his numerous contributions to the education of young reporters in DeKalb, Chicago and throughout the country.

Ray lives in Evanston with his wife, Edie, and their daughter, Samantha.

Ray and his wife are the authors of “Blind Justice” (St. Martin’s Press).