134. Road to CBS News - Suzanne Le Mignot

Suzanne Le Mignot serves as CBS2 Chicago's weekend news morning anchor and weekday reporter. Le Mignot joined the station in 1995 as a freelance reporter and became a full-time reporter in 1999. She has covered a wide variety of stories, with a particular concentration on community related events, including serving as a news correspondent for CBS2′s Southside neighborhood newsroom from 1999-2000.

Prior to joining CBS2, Le Mignot was a news anchor and reporter for WBBM-AM Newsradio 780 (1994-99). She was a news anchor and reporter at WGN-AM (1996) and at WTMJ-AM in Milwaukee (1995-96), before returning to WBBM-AM in 1996. In 2007, LeMignot was honored by The Associated Press in the hard news feature category for her investigative report entitled "Tracking Your Security." Her investigation uncovered that bomb-sniffing dogs at Chicago's Metra train stations could not detect the passing scent of explosives. As a result of that story, Illinois passed a law that requires dog handlers to undergo 180 hours of rigorous training and to pass a new state exam. The report also earned LeMignot a Peter Lisagor Award in the in-depth reporting or series category and a Herman Kogan Award from the Chicago Bar Association.

Le Mignot has won several other industry awards: a local and national Emmy for her breaking news reports on the Blue Line derailment (2008); a local and national Emmy Award for her breaking news reports about the death of Pope John Paul II (2005); the Illinois Broadcasters Association Silver Dome Award (1997); two Peter Lisagor Awards (1994 and 1996) and the National Association of Black Journalists Leadership Award, while a student (1993). She is a member of the National Association of Black Journalists and a Board Member of the National Association of Black Journalists Chicago Chapter.

Le Mignot has served as a mentor and volunteer at Bunche Elementary School in Chicago's Englewood community. She regularly held workshops and planned field trips centered on building self-esteem for young girls. She has served on the Board of Directors of the Girl Scouts of Greater Chicago & Northwest Indiana. Additionally, she is on the Board of Directors of PAWS Chicago, the largest no-kill animal shelter in the Midwest. Le Mignot helped set up the first humane education program with PAWS in 2003. PAWS visits Chicago area schools, using the program to teach elementary school children about the importance of nurturing animals. The program is also used by the Girl Scouts of Greater Chicago.

Le Mignot has served on the Board of Directors of the Better Boys Foundation. The organization provides educational assistance to boys and girls in the North Lawndale community on Chicago's west side. Le Mignot is the recipient of the National Civil Rights Library 2016 Lifetime Achievement Award for her work in journalism. In 2017, she was inducted into the National Civil Rights Hall of Fame. In 2017, Le Mignot also received the "We Dream in Color" Michelle Obama Humanitarian Award for her reports that led to positive change in the lives of those who have endured challenging times.

In 2019, Le Mignot won first place in the Chicago Journalists Association Sarah Brown Boyden Award Competition in the Public Service category for her "Misidentified Man" series of reports. The day before Le Mignot received the award, Senate Bill SB2309 was introduced on November 14, 2019. The bill would make fingerprinting and DNA testing mandatory in John and Jane Doe cases in Illinois. In 2021 she received The Shantieya Smith "We Fight for Her Award" by MOVE and YOVE (Mothers Opposed to Violence Everywhere and Youth Opposed to Violence Everywhere) for her reports bringing attention to missing and murdered black girls and women in Chicago. She was also chosen by Better Magazine in 2021 as one of the top 10 Black Women of Impact in Chicago and chosen by the America Nation Multicultural World Foundation as the 2021 Multicultural Woman of the Year.

She has served as a Trustee of Ray Graham Association for People with Disabilities, an organization that supports children and adults with developmental disabilities in DuPage and Cook counties. Le Mignot is also on the Board of Trustees of Lifeline Humanitarian Organization. The group provides medical supplies and aid for war orphans throughout former Yugoslavia. She's on the Advisory Council for Smile Train, an organization that provides life-saving cleft-palate surgery for children in need around the world.