E. Jason Wambsgans

E. Jason Wambsgans has been a staff photojournalist at the Chicago Tribune since 2002. He was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for feature photography in 2017 for his tender photos of a child shooting victim, illuminating the city's brutal street violence. The Detroit-area native is a graduate of Central Michigan University.

Friends from a local car club along with tourists passing through town mingle outside the Hackberry General Store on Route 66 in Arizona on June 6, 2025. (E. Jason Wambsgans/Chicago Tribune)

Route 66 road trip: A rainy day at the General Store in Hackberry, Arizona

June 20, 2025 at 11:31 a.m.

Two Illinois natives helped preserve an old general store in Hackberry, Arizona. We spent a rainy day there — and tried not to wake the mayor as he slept on...

Wild burros on Route 66 near Oatman, Arizona, on June 4, 2025. (E. Jason Wambsgans/Chicago Tribune)

Route 66 road trip: The Sidewinder, wild burros and a living statue in Kingman, Arizona

June 13, 2025 at 3:22 p.m.

In Kingman, Arizona, an 8-mile section of Route 66 at the western edge of this state may be one of the most scenic — and white-knuckled —drives this country has...

Roy's Motel and Café is a motel, cafe, and gas station, currently being restored in the ghost town of Amboy, California, on Route 66, June 3, 2025. (E. Jason Wambsgans/Chicago Tribune)

Route 66 road trip: Visiting a desert ghost town in Amboy, California

June 13, 2025 at 3:22 p.m.

Situated along Route 66, Amboy, Calif. once boasted 200 residents, three gas stations, three motels, two cafes, a post office, a school and a church. Now it's a ghost town.

Visitors pose for pictures at the Santa Monica Pier, where Route 66 ends, on June 1, 2025. (E. Jason Wambsgans/Chicago Tribune)

Route 66 road trip: The end of the road at a pier in Santa Monica, California

June 13, 2025 at 3:18 p.m.

A Route 66 sign, perched on a pole at the famed Santa Monica pier, advertises the spot as the “end of the trail.” But for these road trippers, it's just...

Luis Maciel waits for the start of the May Day march in Union Park, May 1, 2025. (E. Jason Wambsgans/Chicago Tribune)

Photos: Thousands march through downtown Chicago for May Day

May 1, 2025 at 4:43 p.m.

Thousands of people march to Grant Park in Chicago to rally for May Day on May 1, 2025 with organized labor and activist groups calling for protection of immigrants and...

Sofia Lemus, 13, carries a sign on 18th Street during the annual Good Friday Via Crucis procession in Chicago’s Pilsen neighborhood on April 18, 2025. (E. Jason Wambsgans/Chicago Tribune)

Photos: Pilsen’s Good Friday Via Crucis procession

April 18, 2025 at 8:13 p.m.

Jimmy Rodgers, fourth from right, with the group AFRO, African Freedom and Reparations Operative, pose for a portrait during the Day of Action for Higher Ed at the UIC University Hall lawn on April 17, 2025. (E. Jason Wambsgans/Chicago Tribune)

Photos: Day of Action protests at Northwestern and UIC

April 17, 2025 at 8:12 p.m.

Students and professors at Northwestern University and the University of Illinois Chicago held events Thursday as part of the National Day of Action for Higher Ed, a nationwide effort to...

Nafisa Cassim, left, of California, and Amatullah Dahodwala of Chicago photograph cherry blossoms near Columbia Basin in Jackson Park on Tuesday, April 15, 2025. According to the Chicago Park District, 20 new cherry blossom trees have been planted at Jackson Park since the last full bloom in 2020. This year's full bloom is expected to happen by the end of April. Cherry blossom full bloom is short-lived, lasting only three to five days, depending on the weather. (E. Jason Wambsgans/Chicago Tribune)

Photos: Cherry blossoms bloom at Chicago’s Jackson Park

April 20, 2025 at 6:11 p.m.

After a few years of underwhelming results due to inconsistent weather conditions, cherry blossom trees at Jackson Park come back at full swing.

Svengoolie films his long running classic horror movie show on Oct. 18, 2024. (E. Jason Wambsgans/Chicago Tribune)

Photos: Rich Koz, the man behind Svengoolie

November 1, 2024 at 6:14 p.m.

Rich Koz celebrates 45 years as beloved horror host Svengoolie

A person gets hits by the crashing waves from Lake Michigan on the bike and pedestrian path at 1100 N. Lake Shore Drive on Friday, Sept. 27, 2024. Hurricane Helene, the powerful storm that crashed into Florida late Thursday as a Category 4 hurricane, delivered strong winds to the Chicago area. Rain from the storm is also forecast for the weekend. (Antonio Perez/Chicago Tribune)

Photos: Hurricane Helene brings strong winds to Lake Michigan

September 27, 2024 at 9:16 p.m.

Hurricane Helene delivers a gloomy weekend of weather to Chicagoland, starting with string winds on Friday.

All Stories