Ariel Cheung is a reporter/producer covering the West Loop, Near West Side and Pilsen for DNAinfo Chicago. She previously covered Lakeview, Wrigleyville and Avondale.

Prior to joining DNAinfo Chicago in February 2015, Ariel was the crime enterprise reporter for The Post-Crescent in Appleton, Wis., where she wrote about crime trends, breaking news and criminal court around the Fox Valley. She has also worked for The Register-Mail in Galesburg, Ill., The Chicago Sun-Times and Dayton Daily News.

Ariel is from Toledo, Ohio and graduated from the University of Cincinnati, where she developed a love for community-focused journalism as editor-in-chief of the student newspaper.

She lives in Uptown and enjoys theater, reading and all the typical vices of a 20-something (i.e. food, coffee and a great neighborhood bar). She is also a colossal nerd. 

Fun Fact: As a child, Ariel was in a three-episode television pilot involving a magician and his puppet pals. Her path to child stardom came to a crashing end soon after.