Richard Free Press was created in April 2020 after the COVID-19 pandemic led to the closure or cuts to several suburban news outlets. Since then, we have covered local governments, elections, the pandemic, important cultural moments in time, human interest stories, public policy pieces, and more. We even hosted a mayoral candidate debate. We do all this with these principles in mind: Honesty and transparency to the readers; a dedication to ethical investigation of the truth; a promise to share facts over opinion, and objectivity over slant.

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Meet the publisher

Richard Free Press (RFP) is published by Jon DePaolis, former editor of The Frankfort Station and Lockport Legend newspapers, as well as a former freelancer for The Orland Park Prairie, Mokena Messenger and Tinley Junction newspapers. He also has freelanced for several magazines and community newspapers in Illinois.

Jon’s vision for RFP is simple: To provide honest, substantive and valuable news coverage for communities that deserve not to be forgotten in the Chicagoland market.

It is RFP’s mission to inform the community, and it means the world to us that you are trusting us to tell you what is happening in your neck of the woods. We do not — and will not — take that trust lightly.

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Covering community news, local politics and more since April 2020.

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Publisher of Richard Free Press.