Just ask Essie: It pays to read the Sun-Times

Essie Pettis' love of reading paid off. The Far South Side native was a $25,000 winner in the Sun-Times' Scratch2Win contest earlier this year. A new round kicks off again Wednesday.

Her son and seven grandchildren "didn't believe it" when she told them she'd won the money. "I had to take a copy of the check and show it to them to prove it," she said.

Pettis plans to use the $25,000 to buy bonds for her grandchildren and take a pair of trips. She'll visit Atlanta this month to see friends and family and take a tour of New York City in September, where she hopes to catch a Broadway show.

Pettis, a retired nurse, said she has been a subscriber to the Sun-Times and its sister paper the SouthtownStar for more than 25 years.

"It could be longer," said Pettis. "My husband was a Sun-Times man. After he passed two years ago, I just continued getting the Sun-Times. I've just always loved reading."

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Photo: Keith Hale, Sun-Times / Essie Pettis won $25,000 from the Sun-Times. ;