The Unit 5 investigative team has covered - and uncovered - stories ranging from government waste to civil rights issues to corruption. Unit 5's first story in 1979, Strip & Search, gained national attention for exposing how women were being strip-searched for minor traffic violations. Twenty-five years later, the team of experienced reporters and producers that make up Unit 5 continues the station's rich tradition of doing investigations that affect our audience. Often, our stories lead to criminal investigations, indictments and changes in laws.
Unit 5 has been recognized for its work with three Alfred I. duPont-Columbia silver batons, two Peabodys, a National Emmy for Community Service, the Robert F. Kennedy Award for reporting on the disadvantaged, the Edward R. Murrow Award for investigative reporting and more than a dozen Chicago Emmys.