ONE YEAR OF ONE ILLINOIS

A look back on some of the videos we produced over the first year of One Illinois.

Featured content includes my political coverage of rallies for Donald Trump and Barack Obama, behind the scenes videos about or FOIA fight against the governor, and clips from interviews with politicians and short docs about the everyday people in our state.

BATTLE FLAG: GOAD GATSBY

Goad has 13 ancestors who fought for the Confederacy in the Civil War, but he doesn’t believe the Confederate flag represents his heritage. He feels a stronger connection to something very different: hip hop.

This video was produced as part of a series with journalist and co-producer Logan Jaffe. It was featured as a staff pick on The Atlantic, was covered in The Washington Post, and was a recipient of the Chicago Filmmakers Digital Production Fund.

NACHUSA

The Nachusa Grasslands park is an under-appreciated gem in the heart of Illinois with an inspiring vision: to return wild buffalo to the lands where they once roamed free. I produced this video to accompany reporting by Ted Cox.

ADRIAN CHOY: ROBOT RIOTER

Adrian spends his days running a robot exhibit in Chicago’s largest science museum, but at night he dons his studded jacket and pits terribly designed robots against each other in a thrilling death math. But it’s all for a noble cause. I produced this video entirely on my own.

CHRIS LAIN

Chris moved to Savannah to escape the stress of city living and found something he didn’t expect: a community that loved him as much as he loved them. Now he has a chance to give back in a way few can, as the unique mayor of a unique town.

TABITHA TRIPP

Tabitha grew up in Union County, and now she’s fighting to protect it from exploitation. When the Illinois EPA couldn’t step up to enforce its rules, she did.

VISIT CAIRO

Cairo IL has a long and troubled history that reflects the civil rights struggles of the country. These days, most people stay away. You shouldn’t.

This video was produced as a one-man-band in one week, aimed at a facebook audience where it garnered several hundred-thousand views (and a whole lot of controversy).

THE IPI IS LYING TO YOU

The Illinois Policy Institute has a long history of stretching the truth to fit their goals. At one point, they released an intentionally misleading article every day for two weeks straight. Here’s what you need to know about why they’re fighting the proposal for Illinois’ Fair Tax.

WHY WE’RE TALKING ABOUT CHANGING THE CONSTITUTION

Illinois is one of only 8 states that still uses a flat income tax, and is clearly worse off for it. Here’s why changing that is harder than it sounds.

THINGS YOU UNDERSTAND IF YOU’RE FROM CHICAGO

I produced and directed photography on this video, which was made by a large crew of proud Chicagoans on behalf of Jewel Osco.

HOW TO ROGAINE

This video was part of a series I produced, wrote, and directed to help Rogaine develop a more positive and encouraging rapport with their customers. It ran for four years on their website.

HOW TO PLAY SECRET HITLER, EXPLAINED BY WIL WHEATON

I produced, directed, and shot this video explaining the explaining how to play the viral hit game Secret Hitler, which was used in the partner app for the game, on their online store, and was picked up by gaming sites like Polygon.

DANIEL EPSTEIN - CORRUPTION

This 30 second TV spot ran throughout Cook County. I made everything, including the graphics.

AMEYA PAWAR - PRIDE

I was the staff video producer for Ameya Pawar’s campaign for Illinois Governor. This is where I learned how to film while running backwards.

Ameya continues to be one of the most respected advocates of my work, and I’m incredibly proud of (and grateful for) what we’ve made together.

TYRONE COLEMAN ON CAIRO

I’ve done a lot of work in the struggling historic town at the southernmost tip of Illinois. This video, from my first trip down, is still one of my favorites.

YONI FOR 12 - STATE REPRESENTATIVE

Yoni is running for State Representative in the 12th District. We made this introductory video to introduce voters to Yoni and his history of community service in the district.

SUPPORTING THE ARTS AT DEPAUL

In the past ten years, DePaul university has invested in their arts programs like no other university in the country. With new buildings, programs, and ample scholarships, DePaul is having an incredible impact on the coming generation of working artists, and corporate sponsorships are a critical part of that effort. I was thrilled to produce this video for them as a one-man-band.

ASTRID’S STORY - THE NATIONAL IMMIGRANT JUSTICE CENTER

The National Immigrant Justice Center came to ADPT for help telling the stories of the people we helped, and we were thrilled to be a part of their important work.

KILL ME: EPISODE 2 - THE BACHELOR ICU

This video is episode 2 of “Kill Me,” a 5 part webseries written by Jeremy Sender and Liliana Winkworth and produced on a micro-budget. I produced and directed photography on this episode.

I’M SORRY: EPISODE 1

I’m Sorry was a 10 episode web series for Gilded Cinema with a simple premise: one person is apologizing to a man whose face we never see, the camera pushes in slowly, and we never cut away. The real joy was the talent we got to bring in for our apologizers, who were all spectacular improvisers and comedians from across the country.

Fun Fact: Eli recently went on to write for SNL.