Lori Rackl

Eleven months after she accepted a voluntary buyout from the Sun-Times and stepped down as TV critic, Lori Rackl is back in the daily newspaper business.

Rackl starts Wednesday as editor of the Chicago Tribune’s travel section, a position she previously held at the Sun-Times. She succeeds Ross Werland, who accepted a buyout at the end of last year. Rackl also will serve as editor of the Tribune’s health and family section.

“I'm thrilled to be on board at the Trib,” Rackl said Tuesday. “When I left the Sun-Times last year, I never imagined having the opportunity to be back at work at a daily newspaper. Truth is, I missed it. I missed being part of a newsroom, part of a team.

“I'm also really excited about the beats. Travel has always been a passion of mine. The health beat is near and dear to me, too. It's a topic I covered at both the Daily Herald and the Sun-Times. I can't wait to get started,” she said.

A graduate of Addison Trail High School and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Rackl spent 11 years as a reporter for the Daily Herald before joining the Sun-Times in 2004. She was named travel editor in 2007 and TV critic in 2011.

In addition to freelance work for various publications, Rackl spent the last year writing for her own blog, TVtrippin.com, which combined her interests in television and travel.

Rackl is married to Chris Fusco, an investigative reporter at the Sun-Times.