Anita Padilla

Anita Padilla is an American television journalist best known as an anchor and reporter, covering stories that impact the lives of Chicagoans. She is a recipient of two Emmys.

Early life Padilla was born in Waukegan, Il a far northeastern suburb of metropolitan Chicago. She later moved to the Quad Cities (Iowa/Illinois), Orlando, Florida and New York City, NY. She currently works for Fox Chicago.

Education Columbia College Chicago, B.A. Broadcast Journalism University of Wisconsin, Madison, General Studies Madison Area Technical College, General Studies

Career Padilla's first reporting work was as an intern for Bill Kurtis at WBBM-TV. She then worked in radio as an anchor and at Shadow traffic as a traffic editor. At WFTV in Orlando, Florida, she helped to run a news bureau. In 1995, she earned her first Emmy Awards for breaking news coverage of an armed robbery and carjacking in Orlando by a murderer. In 2000, she received a second Emmy for her role in a New Year's Eve Millennium celebration piece while at WMAQ Channel 5 in Chicago. She has reported on many high-profile stories in Chicago, including exclusive interviews with Betty Loren-Maltese on the day of her racketeering conviction and again when she was sentenced to eight years in federal prison. She also covered former Illinois Attorney General Jim Ryan's battle with cancer, the unexpected loss of his young daughter and his wife's heart attack.

In 2013, she was the commencement speaker at Northwestern College. "Anita Padilla will bring a flair of excitement as our 2013 commencement speaker," commented President Schumacher. "She's a local success story having grown up in the Chicago suburbs, and we have no doubt that she will inspire our graduates as they celebrate their own personal accomplishments."

On December 27, 2023, Anita announced her retirement from journalism on FOX 32's Good Day Chicago but continues to maintain a presence on social media.

Awards Emmy awards 1995 and 2000