Paddock closes at least 13 Illinois newspapers, adding five new news deserts
With little advance notice or explanation, Paddock Publications has ceased publishing at least 13 of its 20 newspapers in Illinois this month.
In May, the company entered into an agreement to sell its Arlington Heights-based Daily Herald newspaper to Tribune Publishing, owned by the investment firm Alden Global Capital. The Daily Herald would be under new ownership after a scheduled closing on June 22.
The Paddock closures create an additional five news desert counties in Illinois — all of which are in the central and southern part of the state. The new news desert counties are Gallatin, Hamilton, Johnson, Pulaski and Saline.
Medill’s 2025 State of Local News Report identified nine news desert counties in Illinois.
With these closures, more than half of Illinois’ 102 counties would either be news deserts or have only one remaining news source. A county is considered a news desert if it has no locally based source of professional news and information meeting basic community news needs.
Neither Paddock Publications nor Tribune Publishing immediately responded to a request for comment.
The media advisory Dirks, Van Essen & April announced Paddock’s Daily Herald sale in May, and it noted that the company would concentrate “on its niche publishing division, Town Square Publications and its weekly newspapers in Downstate Illinois.”
Subscribers were notified of the closures with a notice in issues of the final editions of the print newspapers. The note cited declining staff and economic challenges.
“Our dedicated staff has enjoyed covering this incredible community and getting to know the remarkable residents of Nokomis. We will continue to do so under the broader publication to better serve our readers,” a note in the Nokomis Free Press-Progress said. “Unfortunately, economic factors and challenges in the evolving media landscape brought us to this difficult decision to consolidate. Like many small businesses, we have been affected by higher costs in recent years, including rising prices for gas, paper and other important raw materials. These are tough times for newspapers, and we did not come to this decision lightly.
“It is our privilege to cover Nokomis and other towns in central Illinois, and we value our loyal readers.”
The note added that subscribers would receive Paddock’s Pana News-Palladium moving forward.
The Heartland Newsfeed, an independent news outlet based in Nokomis, Illinois that serves 41 Illinois counties, broke the news about the closures.
The Strengthening Community Media Act, which took effect in Illinois on Jan. 1, 2025, requires news organizations in the state to notify the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity, local governments, company employees and potential buyers with 120 days’ notice ahead of a possible sale. But the law does not require the same notice in advance of closures or consolidations.
According to public notices reviewed by Medill’s Local News Initiative, the Golden Prairie News, the Ramsey News-Journal, the McLeansboro Gazette, the Vienna Times, the Blue Mound Leader, Northwestern News, the Girard Gazette, the Virden Recorder, the Nokomis Free Press-Progress, Monday’s Pub, The Harrisburg Daily Register, The Marion Republican and the Gallatin Democrat have all ceased operations.
Paddock’s notices say that subscribers will still receive existing Paddock newspapers from neighboring counties.
Paddock Publications’ other properties include the Daily Herald, Pana News-Palladium, Franklin County Gazette, Carbondale Times, the Moultrie County News Progress, The Shelbyville Eagle and the Gazette-Democrat.
John Volk contributed to this story.