Rob Elgas joins ABC 7 Eyewitness News

CHICAGO (WLS) -- Rob Elgas will join the ABC 7 Eyewitness News team as a reporter and fill-in anchor it was announced today by Jennifer Graves, Vice President and News Director ABC 7. The appointment is effective July 7.

According to Graves, "Rob Elgas is an experienced journalist who has established a strong connection with Chicago viewers during his 13 years covering this area. We welcome him to our newsroom with the knowledge he'll hit the ground running and do a great job on the street as well as filling in on the anchor desk."

A Crystal Lake native, Elgas brings more than two decades of news experience to ABC7.

Elgas joined ABC7 from NBC 5 in Chicago where he anchored the early afternoon news and reported for the late evening news.

A award-winning journalist, Rob most recently won an Associated Press and Peter Lisagor Award for his live breaking news coverage of protests in Chicago in 2014. He has also won several Emmy Awards, co-hosting various specials, including a Winter Olympic special titled "Hometown Hopefuls" featuring Chicago Olympians in 2006.

Prior to his return to Chicago in 2002, Elgas worked for ABC7 in El Paso, Texas. Hired in 1998, He was a weekend anchor before co-anchoring the morning show from 2000-2002.

Elgas started his broadcasting career behind the lens in Champaign-Urbana, working as a photographer for WICD-TV.

Elgas attended the University of Illinois, studying agricultural communications and journalism, before landing his first job in television.

Elgas is a member of NAHJ, the National Association of Hispanic Journalists. Most of his family now lives in south Texas, just a few hours north of the border with Mexico.

Born in Arlington Heights and raised in Crystal Lake, Elgas now lives in the southwest suburbs with his wife and 2 children.