David Schaper
David Schaper is a correspondent on NPR's National Desk, based in Chicago, primarily covering transportation and infrastructure, as well as breaking news in Chicago and the Midwest.
In this role, Schaper covers aviation and airlines, railroads, the trucking and freight industries, highways, transit, and new means of mobility such as ride hailing apps, car sharing, and shared bikes and scooters. In addition, he reports on important transportation safety issues, as well as the politics behind transportation and infrastructure policy and funding.
Since joining NPR in 2002, Schaper has covered some of the nation's most important news stories, including the Sandy Hook school shooting and other mass shootings, Hurricane Katrina and its aftermath, the 2010 earthquake in Haiti, California wildfires, the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, and numerous other disasters. David has also reported on presidential campaigns in Iowa and elsewhere, on key races for U.S. Senate and House, governorships, and other offices in the Midwest, and he reported on the rise of Barack Obama from relative political obscurity in Chicago to the White House. Along the way, he's brought listeners and online readers many colorful stories about Chicago politics, including the corruption trials and convictions of two former Illinois governors.
But none of that compares to the joy of covering his beloved Chicago Cubs winning the World Series in 2016, and three Stanley Cup Championships for the Chicago Blackhawks in 2010, 2013, and 2015.
Prior to joining NPR, Schaper spent almost a decade working as an award-winning reporter and editor for WBEZ/Chicago Public Media, NPR's Member station in Chicago. For three years he covered education issues, reporting in-depth on the problems and progress — financial, educational and otherwise — in Chicago's public schools.
Schaper also served as WBEZ's Assistant Managing Editor of News, managing the station's daily news coverage and editing the reporting staff while often still reporting himself. He later served as WBEZ's political editor and reporter; he was a frequent fill-in news anchor and talk show host. Additionally, he has been an occasional contributor guest panelist on Chicago public television station WTTW's news program, Chicago Tonight.
Schaper began his journalism career in La Crosse, Wisconsin, as a reporter and anchor at Wisconsin Public Radio's WLSU-FM. He has since worked in both public and commercial radio news, including stints at WBBM NewsRadio in Chicago, WXRT-FM in Chicago, WDCB-FM in suburban Chicago, WUIS-FM in Springfield, Illinois, WMAY-AM in Springfield, Illinois, and WIZM-AM and FM in La Crosse, Wisconsin.
Schaper earned a bachelor's degree in mass communications and history at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse and a master's degree in public affairs reporting at the University of Illinois-Springfield. He lives in Chicago with his wife, a Chicago Public School teacher, and they have three adult children.
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The National Transportation Safety Board is calling for the swift enactment of tough new standards on trains carrying crude oil. With the huge increase in oil shipped by rail across North America, safety officials warn another major disaster could be looming. -
Papers documenting allegation of sexual abuse by priests in the Chicago Archdiocese were released to the public today by victims' attorneys. The documents cover only 30 of at least 65 priests for whom the Chicago church says it has substantiated claims of child abuse. The papers, put online, were made available through settlements between Church and victims' lawyers. Church officials said most of the abuse occurred before 1988, none after 1996, and that all were ultimately reported to authorities.
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North Dakota and western Canada are producing crude oil faster than rail cars and pipelines can take it to refineries. Now, one company wants to ship it by barge across the Great Lakes. That worries environmentalists, who say a 2010 tar sands oil spill near Lake Michigan has yet to be fully cleaned up. -
You think your commute is bad? How about a two-hour trek to go a mere 15 miles? That's what one Chicago resident faces as she catches trains and buses to get to her part-time job. Commuting can be especially difficult for people who can't afford a car but live far from their jobs. -
Is One World Trade Center now the tallest building in North America, or does that distinction belong to the Willis Tower in Chicago? The Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat is going to settle the debate. One thing everyone can be sure of: There's only one.
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In many places, the reverse commute from city homes to suburban jobs is as congested as or worse than traffic going into the city. "It's just exhausting," says one reverse commuter, whose 35-mile drive to Chicago's southwest suburbs can take up to two hours depending on traffic. In cities where reverse commutes are common, transit agencies are trying to help. -
An expert advisory committee recommended Monday that the Federal Aviation Administration allow the use of some personal electronic devices during takeoff and landing. But while many passengers are eager to use their tablets and music players all flight long, it may be months before any rules are changed. -
With the city's parking meter lease making voters leery of new privatization deals, Mayor Rahm Emanuel called for too many public interest protections in the Midway Airport lease, and too few investors saw it as worth the risk. Increasingly, though, governments turn to private investors to run public assets like roads and prisons.
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After a bitter lockout that shortened the season, the National Hockey League is finally gearing up for the Stanley Cup Final. The series features two of the league's six original franchises, the Boston Bruins and the Chicago Blackhawks, and both teams come into the series on a roll. -
The clock is ticking for those who hope Illinois becomes the 13th state to legalize same-sex marriage. After passing the Illinois Senate in February, a bill to legalize gay marriage has stalled in the House. Backers are trying to get it through before the Legislature adjourns Friday night.
