Bio
Lolly is a general assignment reporter at the Chicago Tribune who has a particular focus on urban affairs, youth culture, housing, minority communities and government relations. She writes primarily about Chicago’s unique African-American community and the development of the Obama Presidential Center.
During her tenure, she has written about the death of Nelson Mandela, how violence is lived in troubled neighborhoods and the 2008 election and inauguration of President Barack Obama. Most recently, she covered the election of Chicago’s first African-American woman mayor, Lori Lightfoot. In addition, she’s covered Hurricanes Katrina and Rita and the last gathering of the original Tuskegee Airmen.
Before joining the Chicago Tribune, Lolly covered suburban crime, government and environmental issues for the Times-Picayune in New Orleans. She has written for the Washington Post, the Wall Street Journal, the Boston Globe, Lenny Letter and Longreads. She has served as a contributing instructor for the Poynter Institute and lectured at the Art Institute of Chicago. She is a member of the National Association of Black Journalists and is the former program officer for the Chicago Headline Club. Lolly was a 2017 Nieman Fellow at Harvard University and is a Studs Terkel Award winner. She is a Pulitzer-nominated writer who is a finalist for the Gene Burd Award for Urban Journalism.