Ida B Wells in the Chicago Women's Journalism Hall of Fame

The new Chicago Women’s Journalism Hall of Fame, presented by Association for Women Journalists Chicago (AWJ), has honored its first five inductees.

These too-brief bios don’t do justice to all of their achievements, so please click through to learn more about these first five:

Tracy Baim, co-founder, publisher and executive editor at Windy City Times (Eds. Note: I worked for Tracy at Windy City Times nearly 20 years ago and continue to be inspired by the gazillion amazing things that she does)

Joy Darrow, editor, author, photojournalist, professor & Tracy Baim’s mother

Ellen Warren, Chicago Tribune features columnist

Laura Washington, Chicago Sun-Times columnist and political analyst for ABC 7

Ida B. Wells, investigative journalist, educator, Civil Rights activist

AWJ says the purpose of the Hall of Fame, an online museum and monument, is “to honor individuals who have made outstanding contributions to further women’s recognition in Chicago journalism.”

In addition to the Chicago Women’s Journalism Hall of Fame Induction, AWJ also plans to give a Distinguished Achievement Award every year. Inductees and honorees for both are nominated by the AWJ Chicago Hall of Fame Committee board members or any AWJ members in good standing. Nominations are accepted any time of year, and all nominations will be kept for five years for future consideration.

Karen Hawkins is the Founder and Rebelle in Chief of Rebellious Magazine. She is a recovering mainstream media reporter and editor who wants to thank her former boss for naming the online magazine she's...