Hall of Fame
Joe has covered sports in the Chicago area for more than 35 years, establishing himself as a trusted presence in both print and electronic media. He has covered both professional and high school sports, with his favorite experiences including being a part of the Daily Herald’s coverage team of his beloved Blackhawks during their Stanley Cup championship run from 2010 to 2016; several golf majors, including Tiger Woods’ PGA title in 1999 at Medinah and Jim Furyk’s U.S. Open championship at Olympia Fields in 2003; and too-many-to-count great high school football teams in Lake County, including the state-championship teams of Carmel Catholic in 2003, Libertyville in 2004, Lake Zurich in 2007 and Stevenson in 2014.
Starting his print media career as freelance writer and sports desk assistant for the Waukegan New-Suns under the late Dan O’Shea in 1987, Joe earned his first full-time job in the industry with Pioneer Press Newspapers two years later. He spent 11 years with the weekly, learning under Kevin Reiterman and Rich Martin, both of whom he considers mentors, before being hired by the Daily Herald in 2001 as its first Lake County sports editor. In his new role, working under the legendary Bob Frisk and Aaron Gabriel, Joe spearheaded an effort that enabled the Daily Herald to broaden its coverage in the county and establish itself as a dominant voice both in print and electronic media as the internet emerged as a new and powerful tool to deliver content. Joe became the top voice for the website’s prep football videos, while at the same time becoming a pro sports expert for Daily Herald news partner ABC7 TV in Chicago, making more than 100 guest appearances on its morning news show.
Joe left the Daily Herald in 2020 after an almost 20-year run, which also included being named the Illinois Softball Coaches Association sportswriter of the year in 2019, but remains a part of the sports media industry. He contributes as a freelance writer for Golf Chicago magazine, works as an on-camera host for a sports memorabilia company and works full-time for Shaw Media as a copy editor and page designer.
Joe is a graduate of Mundelein High School and Northern Illinois University. He lives in McHenry with his wife, Jeannie, and their daughter, Isabella.
