CHICAGO _ Chicago Tribune photographer E. Jason Wambsgans has been awarded the Pulitzer Prize for feature photography. He was recognized for "a superb portrayal of a 10-year-old boy and his mother striving to put the boy's life back together after he survived a shooting in Chicago," the Pulitzer citation said Monday.
Wambsgans has been a staff photographer at the Tribune since 2002. He has spent the past four years working intensively on Chicago gun violence, teaming with overnight reporters and working on projects focused on the intractable gun violence plaguing the city.
Wambsgans is a Detroit-area native and a graduate of Central Michigan University.
In addition to Wambsgans' award, Chicago Tribune reporters were named finalists by the Pulitzer board in three other categories: public service, investigative reporting and commentary.
The Tribune's "Dangerous Doses" investigation, reported by Sam Roe, Karisa King and Ray Long, was a finalist in the public service category. Reporters Michael J. Berens and Patricia Callahan were named finalists in the investigative reporting category for "Suffering in Secret."
In "Dangerous Doses," the Tribune visited more than 250 pharmacies to see how often stores would dispense potentially dangerous pairs of prescription drugs without warning patients. The testing found that 52 percent failed to mention the interaction, evidence of systematic problems that placed millions at risk across the U.S.
In response, CVS, Walgreens and Wal-Mart each vowed to take significant steps to improve patient safety at its stores nationwide. The actions affect 22,000 drugstores and involve additional training for 123,000 pharmacists and technicians.
The reporters also teamed with data scientists and pharmacologists to explore a novel scientific method of discovering previously unknown drug interactions, ultimately identifying several pairs of drugs that may increase the risk of a fatal heart condition.
"Suffering in Secret" detailed deaths and mistreatment that occurred inside taxpayer-funded group homes and day programs that serve adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities _ harm that Illinois regulators cloaked in secrecy and silence.
The Tribune identified 1,311 cases of documented harm since July 2011 _ hundreds more cases than Illinois had publicly reported. State officials would retract five years of erroneous reports and launch a variety of other reforms.
Columnist Dahleen Glanton, who has been with the newspaper since 1989, was a finalist for commentary. In the Tribune's nominating letter, her editors called Glanton "fearless."
"She challenged Tribune readers in 2016 on the most difficult issues facing Chicago and the nation _ sexual assault, racial discord, gun violence, the contentious presidential election. She wrote with courage and with a sensibility forged from personal experience," the nomination letter said.
Wambsgans' prize-winning photos appeared in connection with an in-depth report by Mary Schmich, herself a previous Pulitzer winner. In a year where Chicago homicides reached a 20-year high, the Tribune set out to document the toll of violence on children.
That led Schmich and Wambsgans to Tavon Tanner.
One of the most striking photos in the series, of Tavon pulling up his shirt to show his scarring, was taken about 10 minutes after he met Wambsgans. The two bonded immediately and shared an interest in photography, as Tavon had done a summer photography project.
"It was a gift from him. He's a brave, extraordinary little boy," Wambsgans said Monday. "He wanted his story to be told."
Chicago Tribune Associate Managing Editor for Photography Robin Daughtridge said Wambsgans' work is marked by empathy.
"Jason connects with people," Daughtridge said.
Wambsgans' work with Schmich illustrated the "hallmarks" of the newspaper's approach to reporting on city violence, according to Chicago Tribune Managing Editor Peter Kendall.
"We cover it with compassion and with context," Kendall said. "It ends up taking us on journeys like the one Jason went on with Mary to tell this story."
Wambsgans said he's been taking pictures since he was a kid. His mother bought him his first camera after noting his interest, and Wambsgans liked experimenting with film.
Of Tavon, Wambsgans said he "has the most beautiful smile, as beautiful a smile as I've ever photographed. But he also has a profound sadness."
Wambsgans said he hopes his photos help bring awareness and understanding to Chicago violence.
"That's always the hope in doing this work," Wambsgans said. "When you can show somebody's experiences you can create a bridge of understanding."
