Blog

Introduction

Keep up to date with the latest blog posts from our staff & GCI collaborators.

Promotional flyer commemorating the 30th anniversary of the First National People of Color Environmental Leadership Summit and environmental justice movement.

Women Who Ignited the Environmental Justice Movement

Posted on October 24, 2021

Environmental justice leaders commemorated thirty years of organizing, honoring women activists advancing Indigenous sovereignty, health, and community liberation.

Portrait of civil rights activist, educator, and historian Timuel Black smiling outdoors while wearing glasses and a baseball cap.

Positive Hopes and Dreams: Rest in Power Timuel Black

Posted on October 18, 2021

Timuel Black’s legacy of civil rights activism, education, oral history, and social justice continues inspiring future generations.

Cover of the 2022 Budget Community Engagement Report by the Great Cities Institute featuring a Chicago skyline background and UIC branding.

Report Release: 2022 Budget Community Engagement Report

Posted on September 27, 2021

Chicago’s 2022 Budget Engagement Report highlights community-driven priorities shaping investments in mental health, youth programs, and housing.

Promotional flyer for an online webinar titled Climate Justice Meets Global Health in the Time of COVID-19 hosted by the University of Illinois Chicago.

Report Release: Climate Justice Meets Global Health in the Time of COVID-19

Posted on May 11, 2021

Panel explores urgent connections between climate justice, global health, COVID-19, inequality, resilience, and collective interdependence for recovery.

Cover image for Participatory Budgeting in Schools: A Toolkit for Youth Democratic Action, featuring white text on a green-to-blue gradient background.

Toolkit Release: Participatory Budgeting in Schools: Toolkit for Youth Democratic Action

Posted on March 03, 2021

New toolkit helps schools implement participatory budgeting, giving students real decision-making power over school funds and civic learning.

Warehouse worker in a safety vest and hard hat pushing a pallet jack loaded with wrapped goods through a warehouse aisle.

Beth Gutelius to share her research with warehouse organizers amidst the COVID-19 pandemic

Posted on February 02, 2021

Beth Gutelius discusses pandemic-era warehouse work, highlighting worker safety, labor organizing, and research on essential workers’ conditions.

Snow-covered landscape at sunrise, with sunlight shining over a line of evergreen trees and mountains in the distance.

Shaping the Next Stage of Our History

Posted on December 22, 2020

Great Cities Institute reflects on 2020’s lessons, honoring essential workers and calling for a healthier, more equitable society.

Person holding a printed Participatory Budgeting Chapter for Schools toolkit booklet in front of a window.

People Powered – New Global Hub for Participatory Democracy

Posted on July 30, 2020

Great Cities Institute joins People Powered to expand participatory democracy and launch a global resource center for PB tools.

Black-and-white photo of people marching in a Juneteenth celebration while holding a large banner that reads “Juneteenth Celebration.”

Celebrating Juneteenth with our Elders

Posted on June 19, 2020

Great Cities Institute commemorates Juneteenth by sharing interviews on racial justice, inequality, redevelopment, and community leadership.

Black-and-white photo of a child in a stroller on a city street near an armed National Guard soldier. Detroit, July 1967. Source: Lee Balterman—Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images

Where do we go from here?

Posted on June 04, 2020

Great Cities Institute revisits the Kerner Commission’s legacy, connecting racial injustice, police brutality, inequality, and collective action today.