Chris Hernandez - Political Reporter

Chris Hernandez is the political and City Hall reporter for 41 Action News. He has a special touch for putting political coverage in perspective.

Chris has covered political campaigns for two decades. He first interviewed President Barack Obama while working in Chicago when Obama was an Illinois state senator.

Chris also fills in on the anchor desk as needed, and often appears on KCPT's "Week In Review" program on public television.

Chris joined NBC Action News in 2004 and enjoys reporting the news in his hometown.

Chris last worked in the third largest TV market in the country, at the CBS station in Chicago, WBBM-TV. While there, he filed reports internationally after a nightclub stampede that killed more than 20 people.

Before Chicago, Chris worked in Cleveland at WEWS-TV, a sister station to 41 Action News.

Just before returning home, Chris took some time off and spent four months backpacking through Mexico and Central America. He found the church near Leon, Mexico where his grandparents were married, hiked up volcanoes in Guatemala, toured rainforests in Costa Rica and learned to scuba dive in Honduras.

Chris is actively supports many charitable and social service agencies. He serves as a board member of the Children's Center for the Visually Impaired and YouthFriends.

He has served as Honorary Chairman for the 2010 & 2011 DIFFA Holidays by Design, 2006 AIDS Bicycle Challenge and the "Faces of Diabetes" public awareness campaign. 

Chris sings with the Heartland Men's Chorus and has volunteered with the Mattie Rhodes Center, which provides social services in the Latino community.

He also serves as a mentor to a Kauffman Scholar through the Big Brothers/Big Sisters program.

Chris is happy to be reporting on issues that affect his family and friends, and to be able to watch Jayhawk basketball. He currently lives in the Brookside neighborhood in Kansas City with his partner. His extended family lives in Shawnee and Lee's Summit.

Email Chris at chris.hernandez@kshb.com.

Follow Chris on Twitter @NewserHernandez