July 20, 2010
Elizabeth Isham Cory, Aquin Class of 1976, has been named President of the Board of Directors of the National Ovarian Cancer Coalition, a not-for-profit organization based in Dallas, TX.  She is the daughter of the late Dr. William H. and Caroline F. Isham of Freeport.

Cory is an ovarian cancer survivor and member of the NOCC’s Illinois Chapter Advisory Board.  Her primary responsibility in this volunteer post will be national survivor spokesperson.  

Cory is employed as media spokesperson for the Federal Aviation Administration, based in Chicago.  She is a 1976 graduate of Aquin High School, earned her undergraduate degree from the University of Iowa, and her MBA from Northern Illinois University.

She is a former Anchor for WREX-TV, talk host for WROK-AM, and public relations representative for OSF Saint Anthony Medical Center.  She is a past President of the Illinois Society for Healthcare Marketing and Public Relations, Chair of the YWCA Leader Luncheon, and was public relations chair for Greenwich Village Art Fair and First Night Rockford.  She served on the Boards of the Comprehensive Health Planning of Northwestern Illinois (CHPNI), American Lung Association of Northern Illinois, Blackhawk Valley Riding for the Handicapped, and Greater Rockford Press Club.  She is currently Treasurer of Great Lakes Congress, Inc., and Executive Secretary of the Misty of Chincoteague Foundation, Inc.

The Mission of the National Ovarian Cancer Coalition is to raise awareness and promote education about ovarian cancer, as well as provide information and support to patients.  

Early detection is key to improving the survival rate and quality of life for women with this disease. There is no definitive test for ovarian cancer, and many women are diagnosed after the disease has spread.  Early warning signs include a feeling of fullness, pelvic or abdominal pain, trouble eating, the need to urinate frequently.  For more information, please visit www.ovarian.org or call the Illinois Chapter at 708-763-8477.

From the Journal Standard, Good Morning Column, November 2009
A former Freeport resident is now a political writer at the State Capitol in Springfield for the Associated Press.

John M. O'Connor is an Aquin graduate and former Journal Standard staffer. He received the Charles Rowe Award for Distinguished State Reporting at the October 29 convention of the Associated Press Managing Editors.

The award represents the best reporting by all statehouse reporters of the AP, in 2009.

His body of work included coverage of the misconduct of ousted former Governor Rod Blagojevich, as well as wasteful spending by bureaucrats, and details about the parole status of the man accused of killing singer Jennifer Hudson's family.

O'Connor's articles on Blagojevich uncovered documents on the governor's efforts to help a union at the same time he was allegedly trying to arrange a lucrative union job for himself. O'Connor also reported on fundraising efforts from construction firms which Blagojevich approved for a $1.8 billion road building initiative, and the administration’s contacts with the owners of the Chicago Cubs about possible state help in renovating Wrigley Field.

O'Connor also investigated and wrote articles revealing that the Illinois Department of Transportation gave raises up to $10,000 a year to a dozen top staffers just before Blagojevich was removed from office. The governor ultimately reversed the raises and an IDOT manager was fired.

After graduating from Aquin, O'Connor received his bachelor's degree from Loras College in Dubuque, Iowa; then went on for his master's degree in public affairs reporting from Sangamon State University (now the University of Illinois at Springfield).

He has previously won four awards from the Chicago Headline Club, an affiliate of the Society of Professional Journalists.