Our hearts broke this week upon reading that Yvette Shields’ had died after a brief illness. She was 57.
Her reporting on public finance in Illinois and its cities has been nothing short of superb, which is why we’ve long been linking to everything she wrote.
Some readers here may have only glanced over her work because it was on the technical side, being written in the Bond Buyer mainly for financial professionals. But you should know that she reported with astonishing accuracy, speed and objectivity on complex topics. Never once have we gleaned a hint of the political bias so common in journalism today, and never once have we seen an error (except for that time on Twitter when she identified a female cardinal as a male, which I called her out on). Our commentary has often been on the same matters on which she reported. Her speed and accuracy frequently blessed us with an additional way to fact check the basis of our columns.
“More importantly,” her editor in chief wrote, “she was a wonderful person, both personally and professionally, beloved by colleagues and industry sources alike.”
We can attest to that, as well. We occasionally reached out to her for elaboration on things she wrote or to get materials she had that we were unable to get. She always came through. Generosity seemed to be instinctive and ingrained in her fiber.
The Bond Buyer noted that her family has set up the Yvette Shields Memorial Fund to primarily support the education of her 16-year-old son, Wesley. The fund can be accessed through this link.
-Mark Glennon
Expect no retraction or apology. This what they do.
The state’s existing buyout program for its own pensions is the precedent for Chicago, which should be a warning: Look out for similar exaggerated claims and shoddy analysis.
May God bless her family and comfort her son.
I read many of Yvette’s articles linked here, and learned something from every one of them.
She wrote well about often complex topics in a real Joe Friday ‘just the facts, Ma am’ sort of way. Never regretted the time it took to put my brain in gear, and think through what she’d written.
Not surprised to learn that she was a truly nice person too.
We need a lot more of Yvette’s ‘how things actually work’ mindset in journalism.
Particularly in Illinois.
If the worst thing she ever did was misgender a cardinal ( it might have been a they/ it) , she was miles above the bar that the administration water carriers that call themselves journalists slither under for a paycheck