Joe Ward covers Bridgeport, Chinatown, McKinley Park, Back of the Yards and the Midway area for DNAinfo Chicago.

A lifelong Chicagoan, Joe was born and grew up in the Far Southwest Side Mt. Greenwood neighborhood.

Joe discovered his love of journalism while a student at Marist High School after receiving a Rolling Stone subscription as a present for helping to clean out a relative's home. He later enrolled at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign where he studied journalism and worked as the managing editor of the student newspaper, The Daily Illini. 

Prior to joining the staff at DNAinfo, Joe worked as a government and politics reporter in Galesburg, Ill., and later Kenosha, Wis., where he won multiple awards, including first-place finishes in investigative, watchdog and daily news reporting. He briefly worked as an editor of Nokia's "Here" smartphone app in Chicago before joining the DNAinfo staff. 

Fun fact: Ever since receiving that Rolling Stone subscription, Joe has been an avid and dedicated music fan. He worked as an intern for WXRT, where he got to carry equipment for and meet David Byrne, and also worked as an apprentice to Greg Kot, Chicago Tribune music critic and NPR host.