LeAlan Jones has been on the scene a long time, it all culminated in January of 1993,when he was given the opportunity to be a rookie reporter; covering the in and outs of growing up on the Southside of Chicago. He along with freelance-independent radio documentarian Dave Isay produced several award winning radio classics which aired on National Public Radios All Things Considered. As a 14 year-old he and best friend Lloyd Newman documented the struggles, successes and hopes from a lumbering community and inspiring families. Jones and Newman’s documentary, entitled “Ghetto Life 101” was a critical story detailing the resilience and hope of two African-American young men finding their way through urban injustice and succeeding with optimism amongst failure….Along with a second more tragic story, “Remorse: The 14 Stories of Eric Morse,” a piece detailing the death of a 5 year-old who was thrown from the 14th floor of a public housing development, LeAlan Jones has been a continued voice being heard to address and make change for the upliftment of people.

	With all his successes, Jones believes there is still much more to do in creating people capacity in all communities, especially the one he grew up in. He so much believes in helping, that he his preparing too embark on a journey that will place him in pursuit of public office, for the State of Illinois General Assembly in 2006. This move is consistent with his entry into public view more than a decade ago, to create and sustain the ability to change people lives seriously. Co-Author of Our America: Life and Death on the Southside of Chicago, 1996 winner of the coveted George Foster Peabody Award, 1997 Robert F. Kennedy Grandprize Award winner and the Prix Italia for excellence in social justice reporting. Jones is also an achieving member of Kappa Alpha Psi fraternity. In addition, LeAlan is a legal guardian to a 13 year old nephew and an 11 year old cousin, whom he is raising.