David Schaper
David Schaper is a correspondent on NPR's National Desk, based in Chicago, primarily covering transportation and infrastructure, as well as breaking news in Chicago and the Midwest.
In this role, Schaper covers aviation and airlines, railroads, the trucking and freight industries, highways, transit, and new means of mobility such as ride hailing apps, car sharing, and shared bikes and scooters. In addition, he reports on important transportation safety issues, as well as the politics behind transportation and infrastructure policy and funding.
Since joining NPR in 2002, Schaper has covered some of the nation's most important news stories, including the Sandy Hook school shooting and other mass shootings, Hurricane Katrina and its aftermath, the 2010 earthquake in Haiti, California wildfires, the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, and numerous other disasters. David has also reported on presidential campaigns in Iowa and elsewhere, on key races for U.S. Senate and House, governorships, and other offices in the Midwest, and he reported on the rise of Barack Obama from relative political obscurity in Chicago to the White House. Along the way, he's brought listeners and online readers many colorful stories about Chicago politics, including the corruption trials and convictions of two former Illinois governors.
But none of that compares to the joy of covering his beloved Chicago Cubs winning the World Series in 2016, and three Stanley Cup Championships for the Chicago Blackhawks in 2010, 2013, and 2015.
Prior to joining NPR, Schaper spent almost a decade working as an award-winning reporter and editor for WBEZ/Chicago Public Media, NPR's Member station in Chicago. For three years he covered education issues, reporting in-depth on the problems and progress — financial, educational and otherwise — in Chicago's public schools.
Schaper also served as WBEZ's Assistant Managing Editor of News, managing the station's daily news coverage and editing the reporting staff while often still reporting himself. He later served as WBEZ's political editor and reporter; he was a frequent fill-in news anchor and talk show host. Additionally, he has been an occasional contributor guest panelist on Chicago public television station WTTW's news program, Chicago Tonight.
Schaper began his journalism career in La Crosse, Wisconsin, as a reporter and anchor at Wisconsin Public Radio's WLSU-FM. He has since worked in both public and commercial radio news, including stints at WBBM NewsRadio in Chicago, WXRT-FM in Chicago, WDCB-FM in suburban Chicago, WUIS-FM in Springfield, Illinois, WMAY-AM in Springfield, Illinois, and WIZM-AM and FM in La Crosse, Wisconsin.
Schaper earned a bachelor's degree in mass communications and history at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse and a master's degree in public affairs reporting at the University of Illinois-Springfield. He lives in Chicago with his wife, a Chicago Public School teacher, and they have three adult children.
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Pieces of Chicago's history and cultural experiences go on sale Thursday to raise money for city cultural programs. The eBay offerings include an authentic Playboy Bunny costume from the 1960s. NPR's David Schaper reports. -
Boeing's former chief financial officer pleads guilty in the growing scandal over the firm's defense contracts with the federal government. A top Air Force officer has also pled guilty in the investigation into favoritism in military acquisitions. NPR's David Schaper reports.
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As Florida residents continue the post-hurricane clean up, economists are tabulating the overall cost of Frances. Government and insurance industry officials estimate the insured losses from the storm will fall somewhere between $3 billion and $6 billion. NPR's David Schaper reports.
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Engineers and biologists are testing a new electric barrier underwater near Chicago, hoping to prevent Asian carp from entering the Great Lakes. Two breeds of Asian carp are rapidly moving up the Mississippi River basin, and have been found just 50 miles from Lake Michigan. NPR's David Schaper reports. -
NPR's David Schaper reports on state-of-the-art bike storage that's just opened in a downtown Chicago park. It's getting many commuters onto bicycles now that they have a secure place to store their wheels as well as a club atmosphere in which to shower and change into work clothes. -
In the wake of high-profile cases of excessive force and other misconduct, police officers in the nation's largest cities are under increasing scrutiny. We go out on the beat with two Chicago police officers: a 38-year veteran and a rookie. NPR's David Schaper reports. -
The Illinois Department of Natural Resources is undertaking a project that could be called the ultimate in land recycling. Crews are dredging up mud that has clogged the bottom of the Illinois River near Peoria and shipping it up to Chicago, where it will become topsoil for a new park being built on the site of an old steel mill. NPR's David Schaper reports.
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NPR's David Schaper reports from Ellsworth, Wis., on the return of the U.S. Army's 652nd Engineer Company from duty in Iraq. The relatively small bridge-building unit suffered more casualties than any other Army reserve unit.
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Political observers are closely watching the race to win the Illinois Senate seat being vacated by retiring Republican Sen. Peter Fitzgerald. Many see Democratic candidate Barack Obama as his party's best chance to overturn the Republican majority in the Senate. If elected, Obama would become the third African-American senator since Reconstruction. Hear NPR's David Schaper.
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NPR's David Schaper reports on Senate primaries in Illinois, in which seven millionaires are among the candidates seeking to replace retiring Republican Peter Fitzgerald. Many observers see the seat as one that Democrats are likely to pick up in November, but first there are the primaries to deal with. The leading Democratic contender is state Sen. Barack Obama, who if he wins would become the first black male Democrat to win a seat in the Senate.
