ABC 7 Chicago’s Chuck Goudie and the ABC 7 I-Team won the National Emmy for Outstanding Regional News Story:  Investigative Reporting on Monday, Sept. 13th at the National News and Documentary Emmy Awards in New York.  They were honored for “Worst Case Scenario,” their investigation into security risks at some of Illinois’ chemical facilities.

This piece won a Regional Chicago/Midwest Emmy in December 2003 under the Investigative News category and was eligible to enter the National News and Documentary Emmy competition.  The National Television Academy only awards two regional awards each year for the National News and Documentary Awards:   Investigative Reporting and Spot News. 

Goudie, Chief Investigative Reporter, ABC 7 News, was in New York to accept the National Emmy on behalf of ABC 7 I-Team’s, Ann Pistone, Investigative Producer; Rodney Correll, Editor; and Mark Scodro and Stephen Erwin, Electronic Camerapersons.

In 2002, Homeland Security Director Tom Ridge warned the chemical industry that terrorists could turn a chemical facility “into a weapon,” and advised companies to take security precautions.  The ABC 7 I-Team found this warning not having much of an impact in Illinois, home to more chemical plants containing large amounts of hazardous chemicals than any other state.  During their investigation, they found several obvious security risks and questioned owners and managers about their weak security practices.  The ABC 7 I-Team tells the story in “Worst Case Scenario.”

For more information, please visit ABC7's website, www.abc7chicago.com.