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University of Illinois student JJ Kim works at his apartment in Champaign recently. Kim, a junior, is the editor-in-chief of The Daily Illini student newspaper. His reporting on domestic abuse on campus helped led to the dismissal of a member of the university’s football team. (Photo provided)
Editor's Note: This is one of a series of stories about young fast-risers in Illinois journalism.
By CHRISTOPHER HEIMERMAN For Illinois Press Association
CHAMPAIGN – Before JJ Kim spoke to a domestic abuse victim about her fight for justice, and her fear for her life, they talked about a Matthew McConaughy flick.
“She went through a traumatic experience,” the 20-year-old editor-in-chief of The Daily Illini said. “Going into it, I really wanted to make sure she was comfortable. I wanted to have a conversation like I was a longtime friend.”
Over the course of 4 hours in a Starbucks on campus, they talked movies. “Interstellar”, specifically. He got to know Hana Inman-Grabow as a person. She’s as intrigued as he was about transcendentalism. She’s into astrology.
She was also missing classes because she knew that on her way there was a chance she’d run into Lere Oladipo, a sophomore defensive lineman on the university’s football team. They shared a route to class. After all, they live very close to each other.
Yet Inman-Grabow was determined to hold Oladipo accountable for severely beating her on multiple occasions. She didn’t want to remain anonymous.
“She wanted to be named so that survivors going through the same thing would be encouraged to step forward,” Kim said.
He helped her share her story, which undoubtedly resonated with others in abusive relationships, and students who felt reports to the Title IX office would be fruitless. Inman-Grabow told Kim that for many the office designated by federal law to investigate reports of abuse was “just there to look good on paper.”
“And she was living in fear that, now that she’d shared her story and tried to get justice for it, he’d come after her,” Kim said. “That really opened my eyes.”
Leading up to the interview, Kim consulted his sports journalism professor and mentor, Jean McDonald. She gave him some basics: break the ice, don’t immediately turn on the recorder. That sort of thing.
But you can’t teach a student how to be empathetic.
“He’s a compassionate kid. He cares a lot,” McDonald said. “He’s interested in what people have to say, and he’s curious, which is one of those key components you always want in a journalist. You can’t teach that. It has to be intrinsic.”
As Kim pointed out, you couldn’t treat such an interview “like this is a sports press conference or something.”
Funny, since before being promoted to managing editor of reporting, Kim had served as The Daily Illini’s assistant sports editor. So he was all too familiar with athletic departments’ behaviors.
“Football is such a big moneymaker for this school,” Kim said.
Oladipo was dismissed from the team Nov. 19, 2019. He violated five student codes, from causing bodily harm and stalking to behaving in a way that kept Inman-Grabow from participating in the university community. While those violations warranted dismissal from school, Oladipo remains enrolled, with a dismissal held in abeyance sanction until he graduates.
“Just because he was a football player, I think he was able to get off the hook for this,” Kim said.
Kim’s reporting was undoubtedly the reason that shortly after the story ran, he received an anonymous email from a rape survivor. She discussed going on the record. And then she vanished, without ID’ing her assailant.
“I wished I could have done something more,” Kim said. “Maybe I could have phrased something better.”
He wanted to help her and others. Sure, a byline story would have generated a ton of eyes and clicks, but that didn’t matter to Kim.
“When it first happened, and she first wouldn’t reply for a week, for me the byline and the clicks were secondary,” he said. “This is a real person who went through an experience no person should go through.
“If my friends or family are hurting, I’m hurting, too.”
When The Daily Illini’s managing editor for reporting accepted an opportunity to study abroad, Kim stepped into the role and got a taste for what the editor-in-chief role would entail.
Feeling up for the task, he took the leap and applied for the EIC job.
He got it.
“As soon as I got the job, within the week, the pandemic hit,” Kim said. “My biggest concern was the safety of our staff.”
He canceled the print edition for the semester and made sure safety precautions were ironed out, communicated, and followed to a “T”.
Then he organized game nights.
“We went from people who were almost living in the newsroom together. I couldn’t even see my staff face-to-face in the newsroom,” Kim said. “Team bonding was my biggest concern, and I didn’t want anyone to feel isolated.”
He and his staff got together virtually to play Jackbox games, such as Drawful – a game in which players try to draw a clue on their smartphones, and then guess what all the others have drawn.
Talk about a way to get to know your staff, right?
“Oh, so this is the way this person thinks to describe a certain thing,” Kim said, laughing.
He said the team hit its stride over the summer, and has since done great work. For instance, The Daily Illini just published a guide that shows every university employee’s salary.
“These are taxpayer dollars that are paying these officials,” he said. “We’re making sure there’s nothing fishy going on. That’s what makes me so proud, is we’re an independent daily student newspaper. To keep them accountable for their actions is something I take very seriously.”
As a teenage, die-hard Chicago Bears fan, Kim learned the art of the scoop.
He’d attend training camps in Bourbonnais, scrutinize rookies’ performances and then post his observations on a subreddit.
“People are dying to hear how the new players are performing,” he said.
He subscribed to every sports media source worth its salt – from WGN to The Athletic – and found his analyses were on par with those of the most grizzled sports writers, and that they shared a lot of thoughts on what was going on in camp.
He also had a lot in common with McDonald (left), who despite not being a sports buff, previously served as the sports editor of The News-Gazette in Champaign.
“I like the fact that sports is a microcosm of the world,” McDonald said. “If you can do sports, you can do any other beat.”
She immediately recognized not only Kim’s talent, but also his insatiable curiosity and relentless work ethic. When they weren’t in class, Kim could often be found picking McDonald’s brain in her office in the basement of Gregory Hall.
She introduced him to other professors, who would return with rave reviews, marveling at the sheer number of questions Kim asked them.
In McDonald’s sports reporting class, Kim not only got access to press boxes, fields and courts of play, locker rooms, and the great minds of sports media. He also formed irreplaceable bonds with two classmates who are now his roommates and co-workers at The Daily Illini – the sports editor and assistant sports editor.
“It’s the ones who are fearless who get the best experiences,” McDonald said.
Kim relished those opportunities, but had his eyes forward.
“But I’ve always been fascinated by news,” Kim said.
Kim is genial and respectful. He says he’s doing OK in his role, but that he has a long way to go.
“He’s a quiet assassin,” said Ben Holden (left), who teaches two intro classes at the university and, notably in Kim’s case, media law. “If there was one steak, and we were both starving, I wouldn’t want to be in that fight with him.”
Kim said he was fascinated by what he learned in Holden’s class.
“Learning the intricacies of the Constitution was very fascinating,” he said. “Growing up, I thought it was black and white. I realized there’s so much gray area left for interpretation and critical thinking.”
He’s considering getting his law degree after he finishes his undergraduate work in journalism.
Kim admires the career Holden has carved out. In addition to a heralded career in law, he served as editor-in-chief at the Columbus Ledger-Enquirer in Columbus, Georgia, and was a reporter at The Wall Street Journal.
“I can have the best of both worlds,” Kim said. “I can get a law degree and then come back and be a kickass reporter.”
Holden recalls going over an exam in media law. His students were groaning over their grades and jockeying for credit on questions they’d gotten wrong, claiming the questions weren’t clear.
Holden calls himself a “creampuff” when it comes to grading, and he’s sympathetic when it comes to grading on a curve.
“These are kids who are getting a 3.8 or a 3.9, who thought they were going to get an A, and then they get a C or an F,” Holden said.
The griping went on for about half an hour, Holden said. Kim aced the exam – the same way he aced the two intro courses he’d taken through Holden – and approached him after class. To paraphrase, he said the students needed to suck it up and do the work.
“I thought it was funny as hell,” Holden said. “There’s a line between arrogance and confidence. If you can do it, it isn’t bragging.”
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Aug. 26, 2026 Media Contact Information: Cartwheel Emily Paisner (888) 500-2067 emily.paisner@cartwheelcare.org
$1 million grant from Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Illinois will help Cartwheel scale access to care in rural and underserved communities through 2028
CHICAGO — August 26, 2026 — Cartwheel Care, a telehealth mental health provider for K-12 schools, today announced plans to expand access to care for up to 100,000 students across Illinois, supported by a $1 million grant from Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Illinois (BCBSIL). The additional funding builds on an existing partnership between Cartwheel and BCBSIL, following a year of strong engagement and clinical outcomes. Cartwheel currently serves 40 Illinois school districts, and the grant will help expand services further into rural and underserved communities across the state through 2028. Mental health needs among Illinois students remain high. According to data from Lurie Children’s Hospital, approximately 50% of Illinois youth (ages 2–17) have experienced worsening mental health symptoms in recent years. At the same time, access to care has not kept pace: more than 80 of Illinois’ 102 counties have no practicing child psychiatrist, and the shortage is most acute in rural areas, where families often wait months for an appointment or travel significant distances for care. Cartwheel’s telehealth model is designed to remove the access barriers rural families face, like long waitlists and the need to travel to see a provider. By partnering with schools, Cartwheel provides licensed, Illinois-based clinicians with no waitlist, accepts all major insurance plans including Medicaid, and reaches kids and families where they already are, without requiring them to find or travel to an outside provider. “Every student experiences mental health challenges differently, and there’s no one-size-fits-all approach to supporting them,” said Dr. Juliana Chen, chief medical officer at Cartwheel. “Our goal is to meet students and families where they are, with practical support that helps them build skills, strengthen relationships, and feel more confident navigating challenges at school and at home. BCBSIL’s support is what allows us to bring that care to more Illinois communities.” “Supporting the health and well-being of Illinois youth is critical to building stronger communities,” said Brian Snell, president of Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Illinois. “The results we’ve seen through our partnership with Cartwheel demonstrate the impact that timely, accessible mental health services can have for students and families. This investment will help bring those services to even more communities across our state.” To date, four Illinois districts have received Cartwheel’s services through this grant: Steger SD 194 in Cook County and Will County, Troy CCSD 30-C in Will County, Mattoon CUSD 2 in Coles County, and Wolf Branch SD #113 in St. Clair County. In the first year of the program, more than 200 students were referred for care and completed more than 1,000 telehealth sessions. Appointments were scheduled in the same week with no waitlist. Sixty-eight percent of students served were covered by Medicaid or uninsured. Overall, 73% of students showed meaningful improvement in anxiety and depression symptoms on standard clinical screeners (GAD-7/PHQ-9). Additional districts where Cartwheel services are launching this fall include Litchfield CUSD #12, Panhandle CUSD #2, Leyden High School District #212, and Regional Office of Education #40. With the support of this grant, Cartwheel expects to expand into another 30 to 50 school districts, bringing access to care to a total of 100,000 students across Illinois. “Before this partnership, getting a student connected to care could take months,” said Jeffrey Peterson, director of student services & records at Troy CCSD 30-C. “Now our counselors can refer a student, know they’ll be seen within days, and are seeing real improvements as a result.” Through the grant, Cartwheel provides individual and family therapy, parent guidance, psychiatric evaluation and medication management, and specialized care programs for challenges like school avoidance, social media use, and intense emotions and behavior challenges. As reported in Illinois Policy, in 2025 about 25% of Illinois students missed at least 10% of the school year and this was more severe among low-income students, with 35.1% in that group chronically absent. Cartwheel’s school avoidance program delivers evidence-based care designed specifically for students struggling with school avoidance. In partnership with Cartwheel, Peoria Public Schools saw a 62% reduction in absences per student, along with decreases in suspensions and symptoms of depression and anxiety. Illinois school districts that want to learn more about this opportunity for the upcoming school year should visit: www.cartwheel.org/illinois. About Cartwheel Cartwheel is the nation’s largest and most trusted telehealth provider for K-12 schools, students, and families. Cartwheel partners with 350 school districts across 15 states to deliver comprehensive mental health services to students, families, and school staff. Founded in 2022 by educators and clinicians, Cartwheel combines evidence-based clinical care with technology to ensure every child has access to high-quality mental health support. Cartwheel accepts all major insurance plans including Medicaid and provides care at no cost to uninsured families. For more information visit: www.cartwheel.org. About Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Illinois Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Illinois is the largest health insurer in Illinois, serving nine million members and operating in all 102 Illinois counties. BCBSIL is a division of Health Care Service Corporation, a Mutual Legal Reserve Company and an Independent Licensee of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association. Learn more at bcbsil.com and follow us on Facebook and LinkedIn.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Aug. 24, 2026 Media Contact Information: Mather Institute Cindy Droog, president, Sabo PR (616) 717-8654 cindy@sabo-pr.com
Free online tool by Mather Institute supports local planning, partnership and investments
EVANSTON, Illinois – Chicago has a new tool to help understand where neighborhood conditions support social wellness among older adults – and where thoughtful investment and partnership may expand opportunities. Mather Institute launched a first-of-its-kind free Social Wellness Map, which scores the 77 community areas in Chicago on social wellness – a measure of feeling connected with others and with a community – for adults 55 and better. Previous research shows strong social ties are one of the most important predictors of a happy and long life, and that neighborhoods and communities shape how people interact, support one another and build shared identity. Mather Institute developed the map in partnership with NORC at the University of Chicago. Designed as a planning and advocacy resource, the interactive map can help policymakers, community organizations, funders, planners and service providers explore local patterns, identify assets and consider where new investments may have the greatest benefit for older adults. “Social wellness is a crucial, yet often overlooked, part of healthy aging,” said Cate O’Brien, MPH, Ph.D., chief transformation officer at Mather Institute. “Because every community contains diverse histories, people and experiences, the map is intended to inform – not replace – local knowledge. The most useful next step is conversation. When organizations bring this data together with resident voices, they can better understand what is already working and what could be most beneficial to older adults and their communities.” The map is based on a new survey of more than 4,000 Chicago residents age 55 and better, combined with public data on community conditions, including walkability, economic factors and access to gathering places such as libraries, churches and community centers. Factors such as crime, lack of local businesses and poverty can hinder social wellness, but don’t tell the whole story. Users can view a side-by-side comparison of communities to explore how social wellness relates to health, happiness, income and other factors. Key findings include:
“Community leaders often have deep local knowledge, but need data to support the case for programs, funding and partnerships,” said Jennifer L. Smith, Ph.D., vice president of Mather Institute. “The Social Wellness Map offers another lens for understanding older adults’ experiences and for turning local insight into action.” High social wellness scores were not confined to one part of Chicago or to its wealthiest areas, suggesting that other factors such as neighborhood identity, belonging and longstanding social ties are also important to connection. Chatham emerged as a notable example, with a social wellness score of 8.14 out of 10, illustrating social wellness reflects aspects of community life beyond economic and safety indicators alone. Beverly received the highest community connectability score: 100 out of 100. Beverly is notable for its low crime rates, a strong family culture and several longstanding community gathering places. Jefferson Park stood out for having community conditions that support connection such as accessible transit, retail activity and established cultural gathering places. The map is free to use and does not require user registration. It can be explored at: https://www.matherinstitute.com/social-wellness-map/
About Mather and Mather Institute
Based in Evanston, Illinois, Mather is a not-for-profit organization founded in 1941 that is dedicated to a vision of changing the way society views aging. Mather creates Ways to Age Well℠ through programs, places and residences for today’s older adults. These include developing and operating communities that support older adults in pursuing wellness and fulfillment; sparking creativity and connections for older adults in Chicagoland and beyond; and through Mather Institute, conducting research and incubating innovation to help all live and age well.
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