Becky Yerak is the banking, private equity, and property and casualty insurance reporter for the Chicago Tribune

Becky Yerak is a Chicago Tribune reporter who writes about banking, private equity, and property and casualty insurance, as well as movers and shakers in those industries. She’s also interested in trends related to borrowing, earning and spending.

The Cleveland-area native previously worked for the Detroit News, the (Cleveland) Plain Dealer, the Palm Beach Post and Orlando Business Journal. She has a bachelor’s in journalism from Ohio State University.

In February 2012, she was part of a team that was honored by the Associated Press Sports Editors for one of the 10 best explanatory stories in the country in 2011 for a piece about the final days of former Chicago Bears player Dave Duerson. She focused on his financial problems. http://tinyurl.com/a3bx528

In spring 2011, she was one of only two dozen journalists selected from about 600 applicants worldwide for the Kiplinger social media fellowship. http://tinyurl.com/bk4rxqf

During the financial crisis, she appeared two straight nights on nationally televised, primetime "On the Record" on Fox News with Greta Van Susteren to discuss a Northern Trust golf tournament. She also occasionally appears on other TV and radio shows. At the risk of jinxing her, she hasn't had an error in a story since 2008.

She can also be found on Google+ at www.gplus.to/beckyyerak and occasionally posts to http://chifinance.wordpress.com.

Her cell phone number is 1-312-823-7514, and her home phone number is 1-312-337-0519.

Yerak is a member of the Southport Cine-Club, a monthly film discussion group. Since 2007, she has volunteered at Blind Services Association of Chicago, where she records books, reads to the blind, and helps vision-impaired individuals shop online and go through their mail. Since December 2006, Yerak has been a lector and acolyte at St. Peter’s in the Loop. That includes wearing a long white robe, helping to serve communion during Mass, and doing the two readings before the priest declares the gospel. Yerak likes getting pampered in the spa at Nordstrom, where she’s also on a first-name basis with many members of the sales force in the accessories department.

She also likes to travel, explore Chicago and take Illinois road trips; eat premium ice cream and Italian food; and get eight hours of sleep a night.

Though she recently converted to online banking, she’s still fond of sending snail mail. Her pleasure-reading choices are often dictated by what books and magazines are discarded in the laundry room of her building. She regularly takes classes at Newberry Library.

Yerak isn't above admitting that she likes watching TV. Her default stations are Cspan, AMC, Animal Planet, Discovery, History Channel and Fearnet. Her favorite shows are the "Walking Dead" and "Dancing with the Stars."

With no parental help, she was the top M&Ms seller two consecutive years on high school student council. Alec Baldwin and Michelle Malkin have both retweeted her. She ran 1996 Columbus, Ohio, marathon in 3:40