GCI News

Keep up to date with the latest news coming out of GCI.

A novel plan to recycle Chicago’s wastewater could prevent a future water crisis

July 19, 2023

The Freshwater Lab, in partnership with UIC’s Great Cities Institute, has a proposed solution: Supply industrial sites with treated wastewater, while reserving drinking water for the taps that really need it — those running into homes, health care facilities and other places that require potable water (Report titled, "From Waste to Water: A Framework for Sustainable Freshwater Supply in Northeastern Illinois"). This will help meet the area’s drinking water needs, will divert wastewater out of our rivers and will help support industrial economic growth in northern Illinois.

Read the Full Article Here.

Read the Research Report Here.

Powerful attorney and top academic both being pushed to lead city planning department

July 19, 2023

As Mayor Brandon Johnson looks to fill out his administration, two people with different backgrounds have emerged as candidates to lead the $203 million Department of Planning & Development.

Read the Full Article Here on Crain's Chicago Business.

The Cook County Department of Transportation and Highways invites you to their Lake Calumet Bike Network Study website and survey

May 23, 2023

Cook County wants to make biking, walking and using scooters safer and easier for those who live in parts of southern Cook County. Therefore, the Lake Calumet Bike Network Study will help bring improvements for those who use the aforementioned forms of “active transportation” in the area. Click Here to View Website for More Information and Upcoming Engagement Opportunities. Click Here to Take Survey.

2nd Chicago Latino Arts & Culture Summit Connects Latino Arts Leaders With Top Foundations

May 22, 2023

The annual event brought together leaders from the city's top foundations with their counterparts at more than 20 Chicago Latino nonprofit arts organizations, collectively discussing developing new strategies and solutions to address the funding gap in Latino arts. Carlos Tortolero, President and CEO, National Museum of Mexican Art, shared statistics provided by Dr. Teresa Córdova, Director of the Great Cities Institute at the University of Illinois-Chicago.

UIC Study Finds Youth Unemployment Spiked During Pandemic

May 22, 2023

Matthew Wilson, the associate director for economic and workforce development at UIC’s Great Cities Institute, discusses a new UIC study that reveals how crime goes up when youth unemployment spikes on WTTW News.

Unemployment rates for Chicago’s young Black women doubled during pandemic, new study finds

May 11, 2023

Chalkbeat Chicago reporter Mila Koumpilova wrote on the GCI report titled Data Brief: Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic on Youth and Young Adult Employment in Chicago, Illinois, and the U.S. The article noted: Matthew Wilson, an associate director at the Great Cities Institute at the University of Illinois and one of the […]

Mayor-elect Brandon Johnson’s plans to double the number of jobs for Chicago’s teens faces many hurdles

April 24, 2023

WBEZ Chicago discusses the need for job availability among teens and references an upcoming study from the Great Cities Institute. “The need is high. The jobless rate for 16- to 19-year-olds in Chicago outpaced the national rate in 2021 by nearly 15%, and is higher for Black teens in that […]

Advisory Committee for Reconnecting Communities

February 17, 2023

Great Cities Institute participated in the advisory committee for Metropolitan Planning Council's Reconnecting Communities: Mitigating Community Harms of Transportation Infrastructure Report. The goal of the committee was to identify the historic impact that expressways have had on Chicago, and to begin conversations on how to reconnect fractured communities.

Chicago’s woes are over-hyped

January 9, 2023

Rob Paral, senior research specialist at the Great Cities Institute, commented in the Economist in its story, "Chicago's Woes Are Over-Hyped."

A 10-year fight to raise the minimum wage has slashed the Black-White wealth gap in half in some states. The South still has a long way to go.

November 29, 2022

Associate Director, Matthew Wilson, assisted with a research report on the fight to raise minimum wage. Authors Juliana Kaplan and Madison Hoff write about the report in their Business Insider article: “The biggest finding is the equity impact of the fight for 15 raises,” Yannet Lathrop, a senior researcher and policy analyst […]