Lily Venson

Lily Venson began writing for Lerner Newspapers at the Rogers Park office in 1962 and left the paper in 1973 to work as head of public relations for Cook County Hospitals. During her years at Lerner, she received numerous press awards including a nomination for the Pulitzer Prize by Columbia University and the City of New York for a series she wrote on the fight to save land in Chicago to create Lawrence C. Warren state park. For her coverage of this landmark event she was awarded a plaque of recognition in 1972 by Gov. of Illinois Richard Olgalvie. Among her other stories of note, she covered the immigration battle in Chicago of Walter Polovchak. She also covered in person the last march of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. from Selma to Montgomery Alabama on March 21st 1965. All of her articles and photos which covered many historical events in Chicago are currently (as of 1/2011) being transfered to the Newberry Library in Chicago for archival deposit.