In the city-room pecking order at most big dailies, the real estate editor ranks somewhat below the writer who covers high school sports; his main function is to supply a few columns of editorial top-dressing for the real estate ads. Albert Jedlicka of the Chicago. Daily News is a glittering exception. With a yearlong, still-continuing series of stories in the tradition of the hard-digging reporter-detective, Jedlicka has played a major role in exposing a mortgage-financing scandal that has rocked the Chicago real estate and building industries (see U.S. BUSINESS).
For at least two...