According to this Northern District press release, the Illinois Broadcasters Association ("IBA") honored the Northern District’s Court Information Officer Joel Daly with one of two inaugural Illinois Broadcast Pioneer Awards.  The award honored Daly’s fifty year broadcasting career.  Here is some of what the IBA had to say about Daly:

Joel Daly, one of the most recognizable names in Chicago broadcasting, co-anchors ABC 7’s 4 p.m. newscast, alongside Linda Yu, and serves as a reporter for ABC 7 News. The ABC 7 News at 4 p.m. is the top rated newscast in its time period.

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Inducted into the Chicago Journalism Hall of Fame in 2003 as a “living legend,” Daly has won five Chicago Emmy Awards, including a citation for nightly commentary, a citation for “highlighting the genuine humanity and humor in the day’s happenings,” and an award for excellence in writing. He twice received the Herman Kogan Award from the Chicago Bar Association and the NATAS Silver Circle Award. His commentaries were also honored with the 1973 Liberty Bell awarded from the Chicago Bar Association and the 1974 Human Relations award from the American Jewish Congress.

In addition to his role as newscaster, Daly is active in music and theater. He appears yearly in the “Christmas Spirits” revue of the Chicago Bar Association and is part of a repertory company that regularly produces radio plays at the Museum of Broadcasting. He was critically lauded for his 1994 role as Atticus Finch in “To Kill a Mockingbird” at Chicago’s Wisdom Bridge Theater. Daly also shone in “Darrow,” a one-man play about the legendary Clarence Darrow, and as the lead character in William Kennedy’s Grand View” at the Pegasus Theater.

Click here to read more about Daly’s impressive credentials from the IBA.

Congratulations Joel.  You are an outstanding broadcaster and have done an excellent job establishing your role as the Northern District’s media contact and liaison.