Stacey Wescott

Stacey Wescott is a visual journalist with the Chicago Tribune. She covers a wide-array of subjects from breaking news to sports to long-term investigative projects. Wescott was part of the Tribune team that won the Pulitzer Prize in Explanatory Reporting for “Gateway to Gridlock,” a series about the chaotic American air traffic system.

Debris on the ground, March 11, 2026, from homes along South Sandbar Road following last night's storms in Aroma Park. The homes border the Kankakee River. (Stacey Wescott/Chicago Tribune)

Photos: Tornadoes rip across northern Illinois and northwest Indiana

March 11, 2026 at 7:52 p.m.

Photos: Tornadoes rip across northern Illinois and northwest Indiana

A homemade blue cross with the words “Forever” at the memorial for 8-year-old Markell Pierce along the 1900 block of Cedar Lake Road in Round Lake Beach on Feb. 9, 2026. (Stacey Wescott/Chicago Tribune)

Round Lake Beach couple jailed until trial in death of boy: ‘A slow-motion murder’

February 10, 2026 at 1:05 p.m.

Judge Michael Nerheim ordered Domnique Servant, 33, and Joey Ruffin, 38, held in the alleged first-degree murder of Servant’s 8-year-old son, Markell Pierce.

Illinois Fighting Illini line up for the national anthem before the start of a game against the UCLA Bruins at State Farm Center on Jan. 28, 2026, in Champaign. (Stacey Wescott/Chicago Tribune)

Photos: No. 2 UCLA 80, Illinois 67

January 28, 2026 at 10:39 p.m.

Photos from the game as the No. 2 UCLA Bruins defeated the Illinois Fighting Illini 80-67 in Champaign, Ill.

Cole Kmet raises his arm and acknowledges the cheerswhile serving meals with fellow Bears players Kyle Monangai and defensive end Daniel Hardy, right, at the Salvation Army Chicago Temple Corps Community Center on Dec. 9, 2025, in Chicago. (Stacey Wescott/Chicago Tribune)

Photos: Chicago Bears players serve meals at the Salvation Army

December 9, 2025 at 3:06 p.m.

Chicago Bears tight end Cole Kmet, running back Kyle Monangai and defensive end Daniel Hardy served around 130 meals at the Salvation Army Chicago Temple Corps Community Center on Dec....

People take cover after federal agents disperse chemical sprays outside of an apartment building along Maple Lane on Dec. 6, 2025, in Elgin. (Stacey Wescott/Chicago Tribune)

Photos: Federal agents are confronted by residents in Elgin

December 6, 2025 at 7:32 p.m.

Federal immigration agents deployed tear gas and pepper spray Saturday on a crowd that gathered to protest a prolonged arrest in a northwest Chicago suburb.

Federal agents tackle a protester after a faceoff outside an apartment building along Maple Lane on Dec. 6, 2025, in Elgin. Community members and federal agents faced off for several hours after the agents chased a man and he barricaded himself on a second-floor balcony. (Stacey Wescott/Chicago Tribune)

Federal immigration agents use tear gas on Elgin crowd on day of Kristi Noem’s visit to Chicago

December 7, 2025 at 1:46 p.m.

Federal immigration agents deployed tear gas and pepper spray Saturday on a crowd that gathered to protest a prolonged arrest in a northwest Chicago suburb, angering neighbors who said it’s...

Photos: Thanksgiving meals for those in need

November 26, 2025 at 12:53 p.m.

Chicago Bears kicker Cairo Santos and quarterback Caleb Williams (18) embrace on the field after Santos kicked a game-winning field goal in the fourth quarter of a game against the Minnesota Vikings at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis on Nov. 16, 2025. (Chris Sweda/Chicago Tribune)

Week 11 photos: Chicago Bears 19, Minnesota Vikings 17

November 17, 2025 at 8:44 a.m.

Photos from the Chicago Bears' Week 11 game against the Minnesota Vikings at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis.

Trick-or-treaters walk on West 26th Street in the Little Village neighborhood on Halloween, Oct. 31, 2025, in Chicago. (John J. Kim/Chicago Tribune)

Photos: The Chicago area celebrates Halloween

October 31, 2025 at 9:06 p.m.

From Little Village, to Evanston and West Chicago, trick-or-treaters were out gathering candy on a mild-weathered Halloween evening on Oct. 31, 2025.

Ruben Torres Maldonado is reunited with his children, Nathan, 4, and Ofelia, 16, and wife Sandibell Hidalgo at the family's home in Chicago’s Portage Park neighborhood on Oct. 30, 2025. An immigration judge granted bond to Torres after he was arrested by federal immigration agents at a Home Depot in Niles while his daughter Ofelia was on a temporary break from treatment for Stage 4 cancer. (Chris Sweda/Chicago Tribune)

Photos: ICE detainee released and reunited with family and 16-year-old daughter fighting cancer

October 31, 2025 at 1:00 p.m.

Ruben Torres Maldonado returned home to his wife, sick daughter and 4-year old son after nearly two weeks in ICE custody.

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