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George William Bliss

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George Bliss
Born(1918-07-21)July 21, 1918
Denver, Colorado, United States
DiedSeptember 11, 1978(1978-09-11) (aged 60)
OccupationJournalist

George Bliss (July 21, 1918 – September 11, 1978) was an American journalist.[1] He won a 1962 Pulitzer Prize for investigative journalism for the Chicago Tribune and was associated with two others:

  • 1962: corruption at the Metropolitan Sanitary District of Greater Chicago.[2]
  • 1973: For uncovering flagrant violations of voting procedures in the primary election of March 21, 1972[3]
  • 1976: waste and fraud at mortgage firms related to Federal Housing Administration mortgage insurance [4]

Early life

Bliss was born on July 21, 1918 in Denver, Colorado to William Bliss and Marie Bresnanhis.[5] His father was a reporter for The Denver Post. Bliss attended Lyons Township High School and Northwestern University in Chicago, although he dropped out of Northwestern before earning a degree. After a stint at the Chicago Evening American, he joined the staff of the Chicago Tribune in 1942. He briefly left to serve in the United States Navy during World War II.[6]

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Lyons Township High School

Lyons Township High School

Lyons Township High School is a public high school located in Western Springs, Illinois, and also in La Grange, Illinois.

Northwestern University

Northwestern University

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Chicago American

Chicago American

The Chicago American was an afternoon newspaper published in Chicago, under various names until its dissolution in 1974.

United States Navy

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World War II

World War II

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Career

During his tenure at the Tribune, Bliss concentrated his efforts on unearthing corruption and government waste. In 1950, he broke the story of rampant sexual and physical abuse at the Cook County juvenile home. His 1961 series on massive corruption at the Metropolitan Sanitary District of Greater Chicago won him the 1962 Pulitzer Prize for Local Reporting. Bliss had discovered that the department had been paying salaries to people not even employed.

In 1968, the Tribune refused to let Bliss publish a story on Illinois Secretary of State Paul Powell taking bribes. Bliss left the newspaper and went to work for a local non-profit, the Better Government Association. In 1971, he uncovered corruption in the city's ambulance companies which helped reporter William Jones win a 1971 Pulitzer Prize. After the shootings of Fred Hampton and Mark Clark in 1969, the Tribune developed a reputation for being a pro-establishment newspaper. They rehired Bliss in October 1971 to counter this image.[6] He immediately began researching police brutality complaints against the Chicago Police Department, which resulted in charges filed against several Chicago police officers. He then led an investigation into the 1972 election, which uncovered evidence of missing and forged ballots. The Tribune was awarded a 1973 Pulitzer Prize for their coverage of this voter fraud. In 1974, he published his first story on fraudster Linda Taylor, part of his focus on mismanagement within the Illinois Department of Public Aid.[6] One of his most extensive series was co-authored with five Tribune reporters, including Chuck Neubauer. The team's investigation uncovered a conspiracy between mortgage companies and the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development to defraud American taxpayers. The investigative team won the 1976 Pulitzer Prize for Local Investigative Specialized Reporting.

Bliss was famous for cultivating an image as an "old-time" reporter, wearing a fedora and oversized suits and writing all his stories on an old Royal typewriter. He would sometimes even impersonate police officers or coroners to chase down leads. An estimated 100 criminal convictions resulted from his news pieces.[6]

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Better Government Association

Better Government Association

The Better Government Association (BGA) is a Chicago-based investigative journalism non-profit organization.

1971 Pulitzer Prize

1971 Pulitzer Prize

The 1971 Pulitzer Prize went to the following:

Fred Hampton

Fred Hampton

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Mark Clark (activist)

Mark Clark (activist)

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Chicago Police Department

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1972 Illinois gubernatorial election

1972 Illinois gubernatorial election

The 1972 Illinois gubernatorial election was held in Illinois on November 7, 1972. Incumbent first-term Republican governor Richard B. Ogilvie lost reelection in an upset to the Democratic nominee, Dan Walker.

1973 Pulitzer Prize

1973 Pulitzer Prize

The following are the Pulitzer Prizes for 1973.

Linda Taylor

Linda Taylor

Linda Taylor was an American woman who committed extensive welfare fraud and, after the publication of an article in the Chicago Tribune in fall 1974, became identified as the "welfare queen". Accounts of Taylor's activities were used by then Presidential candidate Ronald Reagan, for his 1976 presidential campaign onwards, to illustrate his criticisms of social programs in the United States. Her criminal activities are believed to have extended beyond welfare fraud and may have included assault, theft, insurance fraud, bigamy, kidnapping, and possibly even murder.

Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services

Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services

The Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services (HFS), formerly the Department of Public Aid, is the code department of the Illinois state government that is responsible for providing healthcare coverage for adults and children who qualify for Medicaid, and for providing child support services to help ensure that Illinois children receive financial support from both parents.

Chuck Neubauer

Chuck Neubauer

Chuck Neubauer is an American investigative reporter and journalist. He has written for Chicago newspapers including Chicago Today, the Chicago Tribune, the Chicago Sun-Times, and other news organizations including the Los Angeles Times and The Washington Times.

1976 Pulitzer Prize

1976 Pulitzer Prize

The following are the Pulitzer Prizes for 1976.

Death and legacy

In 1977, Bliss took a leave of absence from the Tribune after he was diagnosed with bipolar disorder. He became increasingly depressed and attempted suicide by throwing himself down a flight on stairs. On September 11, 1978, Bliss shot his wife in the back of the head and then himself.[6] In 1980, Bliss was named to the Chicago Journalism Hall of Fame.

Personal life

Bliss married Helen Groble in 1940; the couple had six children. After her death in 1959, Bliss married Therese O'Keefe with whom he had one son.[5]

Awards

  • 1954 Edward Scott Beck Award from the Tribune
  • 1957 Spot News Reporting Award from Chicago Newspaper Guild
  • 1958 Edward Scott Beck Award from the Tribune
  • 1958 Spot News Reporting Award from Illinois Associated Press
  • 1962 Pulitzer Prize for Local Reporting, No Edition Time
  • 1972 News Writing Award from Illinois Associated Press
  • 1973 Jacob Scher Award
  • 1974 News Writing Award from Illinois Associated Press
  • 1974 Inland Daily Press Association Award
  • 1974 United Press International News Award[5]

Source: "George William Bliss", Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, (2022, February 21st), https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_William_Bliss.

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References
  1. ^ "George Bliss". Bliss Family in America. Retrieved 2007-11-15.
  2. ^ "The Pulitzer Prize Award Winners 1962". The Pulitzer Board. Archived from the original on 2007-09-30. Retrieved 2007-11-15.
  3. ^ "The Pulitzer Prize Award Winners 1973". The Pulitzer Board. Retrieved 2017-03-29.
  4. ^ Josh Levin (2013-12-23). "The Welfare Queen". The Pulitzer Prizes.
  5. ^ a b c Elizabeth A. Brennan; Elizabeth C. Clarage; Seymour Topping (1999). Who's who of Pulitzer Prize Winners. Greenwood. p. 397. ISBN 1573561118.
  6. ^ a b c d e Levin, Josh (2019). The Queen: The Forgotten Life Behind an American Myth. Little, Brown. ISBN 9780316513272.

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