Heather Cherone is a senior reporter for WTTW/Chicago PBS who covers Chicago and Illinois politics.

On Thursday, April 23, she will present “Why the Media Must Serve as the Backbone of Democracy” at a combined Partners in Peace and “Teach-In” event at Elmhurst University.

The focus this year of both the “Teach-In” faculty panel discussion and the Partners in Peace program is democracy, and activities on the subject will take place on campus throughout the day before culminating in Cherone’s keynote.

Before joining WTTW, Cherone worked at The Daily Line as their City Hall reporter and managing editor. She also helped to launch DNAinfo Chicago, covered City Hall for that news organization, and covered politics in Los Angeles and Oakland, California.

Partners in Peace, launched in 2024 through a partnership between the National Collegiate Honors Council and the Nobel Peace Center, challenges college and university honors programs to propose a course or campus-wide activity that would foster a better understanding of the Nobel Peace Prize process and the practices of Nobel Peace Laureates as they attempt “to achieve harmony and collaboration between individuals.”

Each year, the Partners in Peace program at Elmhurst (“Think Globally, Act Locally”) echoes the focus of that year’s Nobel Peace Laureate. The 2025 Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to Venezuelan politician and activist Maria Machado for her efforts to bring democracy to that country.

The Partners in Peace/“Teach-In” lecture will begin at 5:00 p.m. on Thursday, April 23, in the Frick Center, Founders Lounge. The public lectures and other cultural programming at Elmhurst University support community engagement and lifelong learning, and prepare our students to thrive as adaptive leaders. Admission is free and all are welcome to attend. For questions, email [email protected].