Andrew Adams

Inside Illinois’ efforts to court the emerging quantum technology industry Illinois ramps up investment in quantum tech with global partnerships, a $700M commitment, and a new research park.

Illinois bet big on quantum technology in last year’s state budget. Now, what are the latest developments for the industry and the region? @drewjayadams.bsky.social has the story. https://loom.ly/syTO2Os

State official: renewable investments ‘best thing’ to lower energy costs Illinois lawmakers discuss renewable energy, grid reliability, and policies addressing rising demand from data centers.

Great reporting from @drewjayadams.bsky.social on the IL energy legislative horizons. capitolnewsillinois.com/news/state-o...

Michael Madigan: The Rise and Fall Learn more about the man at the center of one of the most high-profile corruption cases in Illinois history.

Mike Madigan was the most powerful man in Illinois politics for decades. Now he's waiting for a jury to decide his fate. I took a deep dive with @hannahmeisel.bsky.social into his career to learn more about how he built his empire -- and how it fell.

capitolnewsillinois.com/madigan-time...

State lawmakers weigh TikTok’s value Illinois lawmakers debate TikTok’s value, security risks, and potential sale amid a national ban on the China-owned platform.

"Of the 118 members of the Illinois House, 20 had verifiable, nonprivate TikTok accounts they used personally or as representatives as of Jan. 22. There were nine verifiable accounts found for state Senators."
capitolnewsillinois.com/news/state-l...

Supreme Court considers legality of law banning ‘venue shopping’ in constitutional challenges The Illinois Supreme Court reviews the legality of a 2023 law restricting constitutional challenges to two counties.

Good story earlier this week by @drewjayadams.bsky.social on "venue shopping" and how it can impact Madison County #illinois status as the North American epicenter of Tort claims and civil litigation >> capitolnewsillinois.com/news/supreme...

How Argyle’s second generation hopes to spark a revival on the block: https://buff.ly/4j9kweo

Wildfires are breaking out in Southern California as the ‘most destructive windstorm’ in over a decade hits | CNN Wildfires began breaking out in Southern California Tuesday morning as a life-threatening, widespread windstorm that could be one of the most destructive to hit the region in over a decade roars to li...

www.cnn.com/2025/01/07/w...

And that's my 2024 in a nutshell. I expect to have a lot of photos for both work and personal projects in 2025 as well. I expect mostly to post news stuff on here. Personal projects usually go to Instagram. Once or twice a year I do a big mega thread with all of it. See y'all around ✌️

And last, but certainly not least, I've got to post this beauty. It took months of planning, hundreds of miles of travel, several spreadsheets and thousands of shots. I almost cried when I exported this. Truly a once-in-a-lifetime image.

Of course, I have to mention the self portraits. I'm still the subject of nearly all my studio work. (Who doesn't love a cheap model?) I started exploring this style in 2023 but got much better in 2024. My lighting skills have improved a lot.

Switching gears a little, I started experimenting more with architectural + cityscape photos, sometimes for work and sometimes because I live in a beautiful city.

Of course people aren't always available. For those moments, I'm grateful I live in a city with great animal life.

Outside of work, people are my favorite subject to shoot. Sometimes a friend needs a portrait, sometimes I wander street fairs. There's something fantastic about the little moments that show how people express themselves.

Other times, I'm out on assignment and I get a shot that isn't relevant to the story. These shots are often my favorite things that are left on the cutting room floor.

One of the quirks of my work portfolio is that sometimes I'll get a shot and it's not quite useful for a news story. Sometimes it's technique or editing that I experiment with, but it doesn't turn out "journalistic" enough.

(I published two full photo galleries from the conventions at capitolnewsillinois.com, so if you want more of my work there, it's available!)

And just for good measure, a few more convention shots:

But there were plenty of other shots that I really liked, from inside and outside the conventions halls.

Of course the headline news shots this year were from the DNC and RNC. I know you probably saw a million shots of the prime time speakers, but I'm particularly proud of what I was able to do, having never done something like this before.

Because of the nature of my job, I take a lot of photos of politicians, but I've enjoyed capturing the moments with these folks that help make a story feel more real.

Most of the photos I took this year (about two thirds) were for work. I cover politics and had the chance to witness some incredible moments and help tell some incredible stories.

First up, the series I'm most proud of from this year. They're intimate and anonymous. They're personal and distant. I got them while killing time in a city I'd never been to.

(Fair warning: this is a lightly edited cross post from Twitter, so if you follow me there, you may have seen this already.)

Happy new year! I don't post much, but I'm trying to be more active here, so let me catch you up on what me and my camera have been up to the past 12 months, featuring news/work stuff and personal projects.📷🧵

Worried about grid reliability, state officials seek to boost renewables, energy storage Illinois grapples with energy grid reliability as demand surges and renewable energy goals lag, raising fears of future blackouts.

Illinois is generally very ambitious about how it's been handling decarbonization. But while I was sniffing around about a potential bill that might come up in January, I noticed a distinct mood shift. My latest for Capitol News Illinois:

capitolnewsillinois.com/news/worried...

I have a Chicago labor story and a Chicago housing story out today and if you’re a newsroom, you can literally hire me right now to do more stuff like that

Smell of raw cannabis allows police to search a vehicle, Illinois Supreme Court rules Illinois Supreme Court rules that the smell of raw cannabis provides police probable cause to search vehicles.

Police can search a car if they smell raw cannabis, but not burnt cannabis, according to the Illinois Supreme Court. That's because Illinois law requires cannabis be in an odor-proof container when it's in a vehicle, according to the court
capitolnewsillinois.com/news/smell-o...

Turnout was down in Illinois, but voters are changing their habits. 53.3% of voters cast a ballot before Election Day, either by mail or early in person. Voters are showing they like convenience.
Chart by @drewjayadams.bsky.social
capitolnewsillinois.com/news/state-b...

Illinois Rolls Out First Phase of Plan to Modernize Professional Licensing The first professions to be licensed under the new system are clinical psychologists, music therapists and nail technicians.

The Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation launched a new online licensing system this fall, the first phase in a plan to modernize the management and licensing process for service providers across the state.

to.wttw.com/4igx6YM