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David Schaper

Credit Doby Photography / NPR

David Schaper is a NPR National Desk reporter based in Chicago.

In this role, he covers news in Chicago and around the Midwest. Additionally he reports on a broad range of important social, cultural, political, and business issues in the region.

The range of Schaper's reporting has included profiles of service members killed in Iraq, and members of a reserve unit returning home to Wisconsin. He produced reports on the important political issues in key Midwest battleground states, education issues related to "No Child Left Behind," the bankruptcy of United Airlines as well as other aviation and transportation issues, and the devastation left by tornadoes, storms, blizzards, and floods in the Midwest.

Prior to joining NPR, Schaper spent nine years working as an award-winning reporter and editor for Chicago Public Radio's WBEZ-FM. For three years he covered education issues, reporting in-depth on the problems, financial and otherwise, plaguing Chicago's public schools.

In 1996, Schaper was named assistant news editor, managing the station's daily news coverage and editing a staff of six. He continued general assignment reporting, covering breaking news, politics, transportation, housing, sports, and business.

When he left WBEZ, Schaper was the station's political reporter, editor, and a frequent fill-in news anchor and program host. Additionally, he served as a frequent guest panelist on public television's Chicago Tonight and Chicago Week in Review.

Since beginning his career at Wisconsin Public Radio's WLSU-FM, Schaper worked in Chicago as a writer and editor for WBBM-AM and as a reporter and anchor for WXRT-FM. He worked at commercial stations WMAY-AM in Springfield, IL; and WIZM-AM and FM in La Crosse, WI; and at public stations WSSU-FM (now WUIS) and WDCB-FM in in Illinois.

Schaper earned a Bachelor of Science at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse and an Master of Arts from the University of Illinois-Springfield.

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U.S.
2:32 am
Tue November 13, 2012

In Chicago, Violence Soars And Witnesses Go Silent

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Credit Devlin Brown, Chicago Tribune / MCT/Landov
Paramedics treat multiple gunshot victims in Chicago in August.
Credit David Schaper / NPR
Chicago resident Stanley Jackson says there is a code of silence when it comes to witnessing crime.
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Originally published on Tue November 13, 2012 7:22 pm

It's an old problem and an old code — "don't snitch." And it exists everywhere.

But in Chicago, where homicides and shootings are up significantly this year, that old code is leaving a rising number of violent crimes unsolved. Chicago Police Department statistics show arrests are being made in about 30 percent of shooting homicides, while close to 80 percent of nonfatal shootings are going unsolved.

When police can't find and arrest the perpetrators, they worry that the shooters will soon shoot again.

Witness Protection

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House & Senate Races
4:43 am
Sun November 11, 2012

Senate Win In Wis. A 'Turning Point' For Gay Rights

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Credit Scott Olson / Getty Images
Congresswoman Tammy Baldwin greets supporters at a campaign rally for President Obama on Nov. 3 in Milwaukee. Baldwin became the first openly gay candidate to win a U.S. Senate seat.
Credit Darren Hauck / Getty Images
U.S. Rep. Tammy Baldwin, D-Wis., celebrates her victory over Republican Tommy Thompson on election night in Madison, Wis. With that win, Baldwin became Wisconsin's first openly gay Senator.
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Originally published on Sun November 11, 2012 1:05 pm

Democratic Congresswoman Tammy Baldwin's sexual orientation was never really a factor in her victorious campaign against Republican former Gov. Tommy Thompson. Advocates for gay rights see that as a watershed moment for the movement.

Baldwin won a seat many thought she couldn't, defeating one of the state's most successful politicians in the process. The celebration Tuesday night in Madison was euphoric.

The enthusiastic crowd was never louder than when Baldwin acknowledged making history.

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Election 2012
4:43 am
Sun October 28, 2012

Democrats See Opportunity In Fiery Illinois House Race

Credit Charles Rex Arbogast / AP
Republican U.S. Rep. Joe Walsh and challenger Democrat Tammy Duckworth before a televised debate at the WTTW studios on Oct. 18, 2012, in Chicago.
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Originally published on Mon October 29, 2012 2:06 am

One of the most bitter congressional races is in the suburbs of Chicago, where controversial freshman Republican Joe Walsh is fighting to keep a seat he was actually drawn out of.

The Tea Party favorite's bombastic rants frequently get him into trouble, even with members of his own party, and Walsh is facing a tough Democratic opponent in Iraq war veteran Tammy Duckworth, who lost both of her legs in combat.

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All Tech Considered
6:15 pm
Mon October 8, 2012

Baseball Autographs Get A Digital Upgrade

Credit David Schaper / NPR
Sarah Wagner shows off an Egraph of Kerry Wood, her favorite Cubs player.
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Originally published on Tue October 9, 2012 10:39 am

On her 22nd birthday this summer, Sarah Wagner of suburban Wheaton, Ill., who describes herself as a huge fan of the Chicago Cubs, opened an email to find an incredible surprise — a recorded message from her favorite Cubs player:

"Hey, Sarah! Kerry Wood here! Thanks for your message and I hope you're having a great summer!"

"When I heard for the first time, I instantly smiled," says Wagner. "I think my hands probably went over like my mouth, like, 'Oh my gosh, Kerry Wood is talking to me, even though he has no idea who I am!' "

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Technology
3:41 pm
Mon October 8, 2012

Baseball Autographs Get A Digital Upgrade

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Originally published on Mon October 8, 2012 4:38 pm

Traditional baseball autographs are getting an upgrade thanks to a new startup. For around $50, fans can get an autographed digital picture, a handwritten note and a personalized audio message from major leaguers. The company has signed up about 130 players so far.

Election 2012
3:49 am
Fri September 28, 2012

Senate Seat Up For Grabs In Wisconsin

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Credit Andy Manis / AP
Former Gov. Tommy Thompson in Madison, Wis., ahead of the Aug. 14 Republican primary for Wisconsin's open Senate seat. He was one of four candidates.
Credit J. Scott Applewhite / AP
U.S. Rep. Tammy Baldwin addresses the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, N.C., earlier this month. Baldwin was once considered the underdog in the race for retiring Democrat Herb Kohl's Senate seat, but now polls show her leading Tommy Thompson.
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Originally published on Fri September 28, 2012 10:39 am

One of the most important seats in the battle for control of the U.S. Senate is in Wisconsin, where Democrat Herb Kohl is retiring. Early polls showed popular former Gov. Tommy Thompson might easily flip the seat to the GOP, but he's now trailing Democratic Rep. Tammy Baldwin. It's a race that's going down to the wire in this almost evenly divided state.

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Around the Nation
4:23 am
Thu August 23, 2012

Drought Extends Reach, Some Farmers Ready To Quit

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Transcript

DAVID GREENE, HOST:

This summer's drought is not helping the wildfire situation, and the drought is also deeply harming the nation's agricultural economy. Parched lands extend from California to Indiana, and from Texas to South Dakota, impacting everyone from farmers and ranchers to barge operators and commodity traders.

As NPR's David Schaper reports, some farmers are getting close to calling it quits.

DAVID SCHAPER, BYLINE: Looking over his small, 100-acre farm near South Union, Kentucky, Rich Vernon doesn't like what he sees.

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Around the Nation
4:51 am
Sat August 4, 2012

Soaked In Drought: Lessons From The Dust Bowl

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Credit Scott Olson / Getty Images
Scorched pastures are spreading across central Illinois and the rest of the Midwest. Technology and techniques developed from previous droughts like the Dust Bowl are helping to save some of today's crops, but there's no substitute for water.
Credit David Schaper / NPR
Charles Hildenbrand surveys the family's corn crop outside Thawville, Ill. He doesn't remember much from the Dust Bowl days, but says technology has saved what little corn the farm does have this year.
Credit AP
A gigantic dust cloud engulfs a ranch in Boise City, Okla., in 1935.
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Originally published on Sun August 5, 2012 10:43 am

This summer's drought continues to wilt and bake crops from Ohio to the Great Plains and beyond. Under a baking, late-afternoon sun just outside of the tiny east-central Illinois town of Thawville, John Hildenbrand walks down his dusty, gravel driveway toward one of his corn fields.

"You can see on the outer edge, these are a lot better-looking ears on the outside rows. Of course, it's not near as hot as it is inside the field," he says.

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Business
3:33 pm
Mon July 2, 2012

As Strikes Wane, Caterpillar Workers Hold the Line

Credit Joseph P. Meier / Sun-Times Media Photo
Striking workers picket outside a Caterpillar plant in Joliet, Ill. The work stoppage is now entering its third month.
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Originally published on Mon July 2, 2012 5:35 pm

Whenever a car or truck turns off busy Channahon Road onto the long drive to the Caterpillar plant in Joliet, Ill., a handful of union workers on a picket line scream, "Scab! Scab!!"

As strikers try shaming the few workers and managers who cross the line, even a clearly marked sandwich delivery car gets shouted down.

Approximately 800 workers at this plant, which makes hydraulic systems for Caterpillar's heavy construction and mining equipment, are about to enter their third month on strike.

Negotiations Fail

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Politics
6:46 am
Sat June 9, 2012

Conservative Confab Rallies Behind Wisconsin Victory

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Originally published on Sat June 9, 2012 9:58 am

Transcript

SCOTT SIMON, HOST:

This is WEEKEND EDITION from NPR News. I'm Scott Simon. It seems that every week, there's a new study out on political polarization in America. More and more, we talk to, vote with, and get our news from only those who think the way that we do. So, this week we sent reporters on a couple of polar expeditions to political gatherings on the left and the right. And in a moment, we'll hear from NPR's Scott Horsley at Netroots Nation in Rhode Island. First, now here's NPR's David Schaper at the Conservative Political Action Conference in Chicago.

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