The Blog of Death

Steve Neal

Steve Neal, a political columnist for the Chicago Sun-Times, committed suicide on Feb. 18 at the age of 54. According to the Hinsdale Police Department, Neal was found at the wheel of his car in the garage attached to his home. He left behind several notes.

Neal first became interested in politics as a teenage collector of campaign buttons. He earned a bachelor's degree from the University of Oregon and a master's in journalism from Columbia University. His first job in journalism was with the old Oregon Journal. He worked for the Philadelphia Inquirer from 1972 to 1979, then landed a general assignment reporter position at the Chicago Tribune.

Within six months, Neal was transferred to the newspaper's Washington bureau where he covered the White House during Ronald Reagan's first term. The Tribune brought him back to the Windy City in 1984 to cover politics. Three years later, he joined the rival Sun-Times. Neal was also a regular guest on the television show, "Chicago Tonight: The Week in Review," on WTTW-TV Channel 11.

Considered one of the city's most savvy political analysts, Neal's trademark one-line leads introduced opinion pieces that did more than pontificate -- they actually broke news. His encyclopedic knowledge of history and politics led him to write and/or edit 11 books, including the upcoming "Happy Days Are Here Again: The 1932 Democratic Convention, the Emergence of FDR -- and How America Was Changed Forever."

• Read Steve Neal's Final Columns