New Patch Editor Returns To Will County Roots

JOLIET, IL — Starting this week, John Ferak is headed home. A seasoned investigative reporter and true-crime author, Ferak will join Patch as the new editor for Joliet, Shorewood and Channahon-Minooka Patch.

Ferak honed his skills as a watchdog reporter all over the Midwest, working as a bureau chief for the South Bend Tribune in Indiana, a reporter for the Daily Herald in Arlington Heights and metro editor for the Green Bay Press-Gazette in Wisconsin. An Eastern Illinois grad, he also spent time as an intern at the Joliet Herald-News and Aurora Beacon-News.

Most recently, he’s been behind the USA TODAY network’s extensive coverage of the Steven Avery case. Avery, subject of the hit Netflix docu-series “Making A Murderer,” is seeking a new trial in the 2005 death of photographer Teresa Halbach in Manitowoc, Wisconsin.

Ferak has covered Downers Grove attorney Kathleen Zellner’s push to exonerate Avery. You can find Ferak’s exhaustive coverage of the case here.

Though he's spent recent years in Wisconsin, Ferak is no stranger to Will County. The son of two local teachers, Ferak lived in Joliet until the family moved to Plainfield when he was 13. Ferak’s first foray into journalism was a story he wrote for the Plainfield High School student newspaper in the wake of the 1990 tornado.

On that fateful August day — one day before the start of the school year — Ferak was at a cross-country track meet at Four Seasons Park. He spent the next year at a converted Joliet Catholic High School, which served as PHS’ new home after the devastating storm.

“It was interesting to convert that building in about two or three weeks into a co-ed high school for 1,000 kids,” he said.

Joliet Catholic gave Ferak more fodder for investigative journalism, prompting him to look into the lore behind the school’s famous ghost story. Ferak told the tale of Fr. Kellen Ryan, a popular young priest (and well-known prankster) who was killed in a 1972 car crash while returning to Joliet Catholic. Legend has it Fr. Ryan made his presence known to students and staff in the years after his death.

Ferak has also made a name for himself as a true-crime author, publishing four non-fiction accounts of high-profile cases in the Midwest. But while he’s a veteran cops and courts reporter, Ferak won’t just be covering Will County crime.

“I like to tell stories that really make an impact,” he said. “That can be anything from a political story to a human interest story,” Ferak added, saying he’s eager to cover local politics and school news.

“I like digging into stories,” he said. “The one thing I try to pride myself on is that I don’t give up that easily.”

Got a great story idea? Let John known at john.ferak@patch.com.

Photos courtesy of John Ferak