Dave McKinney

Dave McKinney, the veteran political reporter who left the Sun-Times last year in a blaze of headlines, is back in print.

In addition to several freelance stories published recently by the New York Times and Chicago magazine, McKinney has just written a major analysis of the Illinois pension crisis for Crain’s Chicago Business.

“It’s a significant piece of work,” Steve Reiss, managing editor of Crain’s Chicago Business, said of McKinney’s 3,000-word special report, which will appear online Friday and in the weekly print edition Monday.

“It’s a pretty ambitious look at historically how the state pension situation got so royally screwed up,” he said. “It’s got sweep, it’s got great analysis, it’s got deep understanding. I’m very hopeful it will help people understand how this mess happened.”

McKinney resigned late last October after 19 years as Springfield bureau chief and political writer for the Sun-Times, citing interference from the campaign of Republican candidate for governor Bruce Rauner (who went on to defeat incumbent Pat Quinn).

“Readers of the Sun-Times need to be able to trust the paper,” McKinney wrote in an impassioned public letter of resignation. “They need to know a wall exists between owners and the newsroom to preserve the integrity of what is published. A breach in that wall exists at the Sun-Times. It’s had a chilling effect in the newsroom. . . . I’m convinced this newspaper no longer has the backs of reporters like me.”

Crain’s Chicago Business editors say they’re looking forward to more from McKinney.

“We don’t have a formal relationship; what we have is a warm relationship. We hope that we’ll be able to do more work with him,” said Reiss, adding: “He’s fabulous. He’s a pro’s pro.”