Joel Ebert

Joel Ebert joined the University of Chicago's Institute of Politics in 2021 after nearly a decade of reporting on state legislatures and government, including for the Capital Journal in Pierre, South Dakota, the Charleston Daily Mail and the Charleston Gazette-Mail in West Virginia, and The Daily Line in Illinois. After joining the Tennessean in 2016, Ebert reported on serial sexual harassment allegations against then-Rep. Jeremy Durham that ultimately resulted in his ouster from the House, broke several developments in the scandal leading to Rep. Glen Casada becoming the first House speaker to fail to complete his full term in 126 years, and launched a political podcast, Grand Divisions. Ebert earned a bachelor’s degree in English from the University of Illinois at Chicago.