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 age group, according to a forthcoming study from the University of Illinois at Chicago’s (UIC) Great Cities Institute viewed by WBEZ.”
The Immigrant Impact Task Force (IITF) is a statewide effort to review, assess, and recommend a vision for the future of immigrant, refugee, and LEP communities in Illinois, created via SB 2665 the Immigrant Impact Task Force Act. The Immigrant Impact Task Force consists of 27 members representing a wide and diverse group of agencies, organizations, and residents from across the state. The Task Force members will share their perspectives, knowledge, and expertise to link to and leverage existing efforts already underway for immigrants in Illinois. The Task Force will engage and raise the voices of all Illinoisans to understand the realities, needs, and hopes within immigrant, refugee, and LEP communities both now and in the future.
The IITF, along with the support from Governor JB Pritzker, released a report examining various issues affecting immigrant, refugee, and limited English proficiency communities, sharing recommendations the state can take to improve services to immigrant communities. The Task Force identified thirteen issues in the legislation ranging from citizenship assistance, business development, education access, discrimination prevention, immigration detention, COVID-19 relief, language access programs, and more.
The Great Cities Institute of the University of Illinois Chicago conducted research for this report and developed report drafts in consultation with Illinois Department of Human Services (IDHS). Rob Paral is principal author of the report. Other Great Cities staff involved with the report include Teresa Córdova, Professor and Great Cities Institute Director.
Pritzker Administration Announces Illinois’ Immigrant Task Force Report – Illinois.Gov
Please join Great Cities Institute for a lecture with Simon Park on Tuesday April 11, 2023 from 12:00 PM – 1:00 PM.
In this lecture, Parker explores the struggle for housing and basic income in the Global South, and argues that the re-discovery and re-assertion of the urban commonwealth as a space and vehicle for social justice is the best guarantee our highly urbanized world has to meet the multiple challenges of the climate catastrophe, structural inequality, racism, misogyny and forced migration and displacement in order to generate more equitable, tolerant and sustainable societies.
Simon Parker is a Professor in the Department of Politics at the University of York and a Visiting Scholar in the Department of City and Regional Planning and Institute for European Studies at Cornell University.
For disability accommodations please contact Christiana Kinder at (312) 996-8700 christia@uic.edu.
Please join Great Cities Institute for an event titled Chicago and Paris on the importance of Mobility and Logistics. The event will be moderated by Great Cities Institute Director Teresa Córdova and include the following guests:
Jeffrey Sriver (City of Chicago)
Transportation / Logistics Projects and Metropolitan Strategies
Marion Albertelli (Université Paris 1 / Sorbonne Université)
Variations in the Urban Integration of Parisian Railway Stations: from Services to Urban Logistics
Thorsten Johann (Studio Gang)
O’Hare Global Terminal
Dr. Matthieu Schorung (Université Gustave Eiffel / Sorbonne Université)
Urban Logistics Real Estate: How to Bring Back Logistics Function in Dense Areas?
Dr. Amanda Stathopoulos (Northwestern University)
Urban Logistics and Delivery Platforms
José Acosta-Córdova (Little Village Environmental Justice Organization)
Freight and Environmental Justice in Chicago
For more information and registration, please visit the website here.
On Monday, March 27, 2023, Great Cities Institute hosted a virtual event entitled Chicago’s 2023 Mayoral Race: Reclaiming Harold Washington’s Multiracial Coalition.
This event began with a welcome from Teresa Córdova, Director of Great Cities Institute, and included a panel moderated by Juan González, cohost of Democracy Now, and senior fellow at Great Cities Institute. Panelists in the event are:
Gordon Mantler, author of The Multiracial Promise: Harold Washington’s Chicago and the Democratic Struggle in Reagan’s America, and executive director of the University Writing Program; associate professor of History at George Washington University.
Jakobi Williams, author of From the Bullet to the Ballot: The Illinois Chapter of the Black Panther Party and Racial Coalition Politics in Chicago, and Ruth N. Halls associate professor, Department of History; Chair, Department of African American and African Diaspora Studies at Indiana University.
Lilia Fernández, author of Brown in the Windy City: Mexicans and Puerto Ricans in Postwar Chicago, and professor of history at University of Illinois Chicago.
More information on this event can be found on the event page here.
In 1983, Harold Washington forged a multiracial, progressive coalition that propelled him to victory as Chicago’s first Black mayor. Washington’s triumph marked a turning point in U.S. urban politics, one cut short by his tragic death in 1987. Forty years after his stunning victory, a new Chicago mayoral contest raises the question: what can we learn from the Washington era?
Monday, March 27, 2023 – 5:30pm to 7:00pm RSVP for Virtual event:
Juan González, cohost of Democracy Now, and senior fellow at Great Cities Institute
Gordon Mantler, author of The Multiracial Promise: Harold Washington’s Chicago and the Democratic Struggle in Reagan’s America, and executive director of the University Writing Program; associate professor of History at George Washington University.
Jakobi Williams, author of From the Bullet to the Ballot: The Illinois Chapter of the Black Panther Party and Racial Coalition Politics in Chicago, and Ruth N. Halls associate professor, Department of History; Chair, Department of African American and African Diaspora Studies at Indiana University.
Lilia Fernández, author of Brown in the Windy City: Mexicans and Puerto Ricans in Postwar Chicago, and professor of history at University of Illinois Chicago.
It’s been a while since you have heard from us, but we think of you often as we busily work with partners on an array of projects. In the coming weeks, we will catch you up on some of what we have been doing over the last few months.
In December, we celebrated the ten-year mark of Teresa Córdova’s directorship of Great Cities with a small event with several of our partners. Juan González was our featured speaker followed by a panel discussion on democracy. Interim Chancellor Javier Reyes and special guest Lieutenant Governor Juliana Stratton provided closing remarks. You can view the program on our media link.
Matt Wilson has rejoined Great Cities full time after he completed his Ph.D. at the University of North Carolina. He is now Associate Director of Economic and Workforce Development.
We also have the exciting addition of Juan González, co-host of Democracy Now and author of Harvest of Empire. Juan joins us a Senior Fellow.
We will soon provide you more details on the work of both Matt and Juan and invite you to events featuring their work.
In the meantime, we want you to know about a couple of upcoming activities next week.
On Monday, March 27th, 2023, 5:30 pm (Central Time), we will host a virtual panel titled, “Chicago’s 2023 Mayoral Race: Reclaiming Harold Washington’s Multiracial Coalition.” UIC’s Department of History is a co-host.
Juan González, cohost of Democracy Now, and senior fellow at Great Cities Institute, will be the moderator of the panel, which includes three guests:
Gordon Mantler, author of The Multiracial Promise: Harold Washington’s Chicago and the Democratic Struggle in Reagan’s America, and Executive Director of the University Writing Program; Associate Professor of History at George Washington University
Jakobi Williams, author of From the Bullet to the Ballot: The Illinois Chapter of the Black Panther Party and Racial Coalition Politics in Chicago, and Ruth N. Halls Associate Professor, Department of History; Chair, Department of African American and African Diaspora Studies at Indiana University
Lilia Fernández, author of Brown in the Windy City: Mexicans and Puerto Ricans in Postwar Chicago, and Professor of History at University of Illinois Chicago
On Wednesday, we continue the wonderful partnership with our friends from France to co-host another event in our City/Cité Series. You are welcome to join us at Studio Gang for panel discussion on Chicago and Paris on the Importance of Mobility and Logistics on Wednesday, March 29, from 3:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m. at Studio Gang, 1520 West Division St.
The event will be moderated by Great Cities Institute Director Teresa Córdova and includes the following guests:
Jeffrey Sriver (City of Chicago)
Transportation / Logistics Projects and Metropolitan Strategies
Marion Albertelli (Université Paris 1 / Sorbonne Université)
Variations in the Urban Integration of Parisian Railway Stations: from Services to Urban Logistics
Thorsten Johann (Studio Gang)
O’Hare Global Terminal
Dr. Matthieu Schorung (Université Gustave Eiffel / Sorbonne Université)
Urban Logistics Real Estate: How to Bring Back Logistics Function in Dense Areas?
Dr. Amanda Stathopoulos (Northwestern University)
Urban Logistics and Delivery Platforms
José Acosta-Córdova (Little Village Environmental Justice Organization)
Freight and Environmental Justice in Chicago
For more information and registration, please visit the website here.
Hopefully we will see you next week.
We are happy to be back in touch with you. Be on the lookout for more updates and invitations.
Join us and Dis/Placements Project for a book talk and celebration of Former 46th Ward Alderperson Helen Schiller! We look forward to seeing you at the event on March 14, 2023 from 5-6:30 pm, Student Center East, Room 302, at the University of Illinois Chicago.
The event is free to the public and you can RSVP here.
The event is cosponsored by Dis/Placements Project, UIC University Library, and Global Asian Studies Program.
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.
Through the concerted focus of the Puerto Rican Agenda, on August 27, 2021, Senate Bill 1833 was signed into law by Governor J.B. Pritzker. The bill, introduced by Senator Cristina Pacione-Zayas, not only made such a cultural district possible for Puerto Rican Town, but also for other communities in Illinois to preserve their cultural heritage. The Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity now has the authority and the mandate to establish the criteria and guidelines for establishing these cultural districts.
As a result of this long-term effort to protect their presence in and cultural identity of their community, members of the Puerto Rican Agenda will pursue this cultural designation from the State of Illinois for Puerto Rico Town. The purpose of this Databook is to be a source of information for that effort.
This Databook provides information on demographic trends and socio-economic indicators in Puerto Rico Town. The data illustrates recent changes and identifies challenges that must be tackled to strengthen the cultural, housing, and economic opportunities for Puerto Rican residents of Puerto Rico Town. Each section of the report is accompanied by additional notes on community members’ visions for the area collected from a meeting of the Puerto Rican Agenda on March 5, 2022. This Databook aims to serve as a resource for those community organizations working to protect Puerto Rico Town from further gentrification, shield residents from displacement, provide economic opportunity, and preserve the community’s Puerto Rican culture.