Rachel Otwell’s reports regularly air on public radio stations throughout Illinois and have also been featured nationally on NPR’s Morning Edition. In 2012 she received a Master's Degree in Public Affairs Reporting from the University of Illinois Springfield and has since covered state government with a focus on issues of social justice and equity for NPR Illinois. She spent much of 2017 covering the state's renewed battle over the Equal Rights Amendment, up through its ratification in May of '18. She's also explored cultural topics like identity, art, and spirituality through a variety of media including podcast and print. She's spending 2019 working on an investigative series as a member of ProPublica's Local Reporting Network.