News Briefs from the Holidays

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  • An article from Financial Times on the economic and opportunity gap between different areas of Chicago features comments on gang violence from John Hagedorn, UIC professor of criminology, law and justice, and unemployment data from an earlier report produced by UIC’s Great Cities Institute.  Full Story »
  • Findings from an earlier UIC Great Cities Institute report on joblessness in Chicago were cited during “The View From My Block,” a call-in special from WBEZ-FM and WVON-AM that examined causes and solutions to Chicago’s gun violence. Full Story »
  • DNAinfo Chicago quotes Jack Rocha, a research specialist at UIC’s Great Cities Institute, in an article about a beautification plan for the Calumet River that calls for more public green space.  The South Chicago Chamber of Commerce is currently working with the institute to develop a commercial corridor revitalization plan that incorporates citywide efforts to improve recreation offerings along Chicago’s rivers. Full Story »
  • Findings from an earlier UIC Great Cities Institute report on unemployment in Chicago are cited in a USA TODAY article about the city’s crime levels and policing strategies. Full Story »

Explaining School Closures: A Report by Rachel Weber, Stephanie Farmer, and Mary Donoghue

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We hope that you had a blessed holiday season.  We know that this new year brings with it many challenges and responsibilities.  Simultaneously, we embrace opportunities to harness the power of research to suggest solutions to today’s urban challenges.  Often, we must first analyze policies that create or exacerbate those challenges.  A much talked about policy in the City of Chicago, was the closure of public schools.  While some may have denied that there was any significant impact, there was much conjecture and anecdotal information that suggested that the decisions to close these schools was disproportionately felt in those neighborhoods that could least afford the loss of an anchor institution. Great Cities Institute Research Fellow and Professor of Urban Planning and Policy, Rachel Weber and fellow authors, Stephanie Farmer, Associate Professor, Sociology Department, Roosevelt University and Mary Donoghue, ULI-Trkla Scholar at the Great Cities Institute took on the task of assessing whether and how an array of multiple factors affected the decisions to close schools.

Here is a brief abstract of the report and below is a link to the report itself. We offer this, of course, to keep fresh, the importance of public schools in serving Chicago’s neighborhoods and their families.

Our study sheds light on the multiple, often conflicting interests that school districts must balance to plan for the capital needs of school-age populations. We investigate the factors that led to the closure of public schools in Chicago between 2000 and 2013. We reverse engineer the school closure decisions under two mayoral administrations by constructing a logit model that estimates the decision to close schools that were open as of 2000 as a function of physical, student, geographic, political, and neighborhood demographic factors.

Our findings reveal that building utilization and student performance were predictors of these closures, but so was the race of students in each school. Specifically schools with larger shares of African American students had a higher probability of closure than schools with comparable test scores, locations, and utilization rates.

Whether administrators explicitly considered the race of a school’s students in planning decisions or whether race in our model was a proxy for other unmeasured characteristics, the cumulative effect of technical decisions interacting with a racially differentiated education environment forced African American students and their families, to bear the burden of these administrative disruptions.

View the Full Report »

Why these schools? Explaining school closures in Chicago, 2000-2013

Authors

Rachel Weber, Ph.D.
Stephanie Farmer, Ph.D.
Mary Donoghue

Abstract

Our study sheds light on the multiple, often conflicting interests that school districts must balance to plan for the capital needs of school-age populations. We investigate the factors that led to the closure of public schools in Chicago between 2000 and 2013. We reverse engineer the school closure decisions under two mayoral administrations by constructing a logit model that estimates the decision to close schools that were open as of 2000 as a function of physical, student, geographic, political, and neighborhood demographic factors. Our findings reveal that building utilization and student performance were predictors of these closures, but so was the race of students in each school. Specifically schools with larger shares of African American students had a higher probability of closure than schools with comparable test scores, locations, and utilization rates. Whether administrators explicitly considered the race of a school’s students in planning decisions or whether race in our model was a proxy for other unmeasured characteristics, the cumulative effect of technical decisions interacting with a racially differentiated education environment forced African American students and their families to bear the burden of these administrative disruptions.

Full Text »

Why we love and hate rankings of Chicago’s tech ecosystem

Antonio Perez / Chicago Tribune

Antonio Perez / Chicago Tribune

Matt Wilson, an economic development planner at UIC Great Cities Institute, is quoted in a Chicago Tribune article on the pros and cons of various city rankings related to technology, business, startups, etc. and whether Chicago’s particular focus on its status in such lists is necessary.

“The mayor has an interest in displaying Chicago as the most wonderful place to start a business,” said Matthew Wilson, economic development planner at the Great Cities Institute at the University of Illinois at Chicago. “Whether it’s true or not, one thing is for sure: He’s trying to compete and display Chicago in a light that’s optimistic.”

Full Story from Chicago Tribune »

Director’s Blog: A great time was had by all…

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Dear Friends of GCI,

On Wednesday, November 16, 2016, nearly 200 people joined us for the anniversary celebration of the Great Cities Institute. Thank you to those of you who attended. We were especially thrilled to see so many of our community partners, UIC administrators and colleagues, elected officials, former staff, and long time friends of GCI. Thank you to Chancellor Michael Amiridis and Susan Poser, Provost and Vice Chancellor of Academic Affairs, for attending. Thank you also for the many warm congratulation notes that we received from others that were unable to be present. We appreciate all of the good wishes.

We gathered to celebrate 21 years of GCI and the Great Cities Concept by 1) honoring the visionaries who were responsible for the concept and the institute, 2) coming together to connect and in many cases, to reconnect; 3) affirming the great cities concept; and 4) sharing our four-year report.

Throughout the evening, we had a running slide show of around 500 photos spanning the history of GCI. We also have some photos from the event to share with you from our photo gallery.

Chancellor Michael Amiridis gave a warm welcome to everyone including our special guests: Dr. James J. Stukel, Dr. Wim Wiewel** and family members of Rob Mier.*** He also recognized the important role of David Perry, former director of GCI.

Chancellor Amiridis spoke about the urban mission of UIC and stated, “During the past 21 years, The Great Cities Institute has embodied our commitment of engagement in Chicago and in support of Great Cities around the world.” Wishing us congratulations, he went on to emphasize the importance of our continued work at Great Cities Institute.

After insightful remarks by James Stukel and Wim Wiewel on Great Cities, we paid tribute to a consummate engaged scholar, Robert Mier, who was Professor of Urban Planning and Policy, the founder of the Center for Urban Economic Development (CUED), and Commissioner of Economic Development under Mayors Harold Washington and Eugene Sawyer.

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The tribute included a letter from Bob Giloth and Kari Moe, both of whom worked with Rob for over twenty years and served in the Washington Administration as Deputy Commissioners of Economic Development. We appreciate the sentiments expressed in this letter through which they spoke of Rob’s enduring influence on their lives and careers, “shaping over and over our own practice and leadership in the public and nonprofit sectors.” Rob was committed to “developing young and new talent,” stating, “He was more than a great teacher; he promoted his students and colleagues and opened opportunities that made a significant difference for them.” Rob promoted “a principled sense of social and racial justice,” and taught us “how to be effective managers in the public sector in big and small ways.” Finally, as a “unique progressive,”

Rob was an entrepreneurial and principled progressive. He was not doctrinaire; nor did he subscribe to anyone’s progressive blueprint or playbook without critical engagement.  He focused our attention as planners on what we could do in our current context to advance practice and policy in a more equitable direction.  At the same time, he had powerful analytic skills that helped all of us understand the barriers facing progressive change in labor markets and urban economies.

Maria de los Angeles “Nena” Torres, Director of the Mayor’s Advisory Commission on Latino Affairs (under Mayor Washington) shared her analysis of what it was like to work with Rob in City Hall. The tribute to Rob also included a slide show with old newspaper clippings highlighting his emphasis on jobs and neighborhoods.

We then announced the James J. Stukel Presidential Fellowship, endowed by Stukel to honor a faculty member “whose work is consistent with the Great Cities Commitment.” We presented the award to Professor John Hagedorn, professor of Criminology, Law and Justice at UIC, who has published extensively on his research on gangs, much of which he wrote while a GCI Faculty Scholar. His most recent book is The In$ane Chicago Way: The Daring Plan by Chicago gangs to Create a Spanish Mafia (2015). John was not in attendance due to a bicycle accident but we showed a short video of him accepting the award.

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Finally, we ended by recognizing a new generation of young scholars named as James J. Stukel Fellows. These young people are pursuing their Master’s degree in Urban Planning and Policy and in accepting this award, join a prestigious cohort of James J. Stukel Fellows for the 2016-2017 academic year. The Fellows will be provided the opportunity to interface with the GCI team, receive academic and project support, attend training workshops and seminars, participate in client-based research and planning projects, and network with other James J. Stukel Fellows. The James J Stukel Fellowship includes a small Assistance Grant towards the purchase of books. The ten students include: José Abonce, José Acosta-Córdova, Anthony Farruggia, Jacqueline Guzman, Nivedha Jawahar, Colleen Ma, Alex Mistak, and Laura Pinzón, Shubhayan Ukil, and Ryan Wilson.

As Director of Great Cities Institute, I know that I have a responsibility – it is a responsibility to a vision, a set of principles and a commitment to a “scholarship of engagement.” The GCI team and myself have accepted that responsibility with diligence and dedication and look forward to our continued productivity. We appreciate the support and interest that we receive from you.

Sincerely,
Teresa Córdova
Director

* James J. Stukel was former Vice-Chancellor for Academic Affairs at UIC (1986-1990), acting Chancellor at UIC (1990-91), Chancellor (1991-1995) and U of Illinois President (1995-2005)

** Wim Wiewel as the first director of Great Cities Institute and the first Dean of the College of Urban Planning and Public Affairs. He is the current President of Portland State University

*** to whom we paid tribute: his sister, Nell Newton, Dean of the Law School at Notre Dame and his wife, Joan Fitzgerald, professor at Northeastern University in Boston.

Greenovation: Urban Leadership on Climate Change

Fitzgerald

Joan Fitzgerald is a Professor of Urban and Public Policy at Northeastern University.  She focuses on urban climate governance and the connections between urban sustainability and economic development and innovation. Her third book, Emerald Cities: Urban Sustainability and Economic Development (Oxford Univ. Press), examines how cities are creating economic development opportunities in several green sectors and discusses the state and national policy needed to support these efforts. Emerald Cities builds on her 2002 book, Economic Revitalization: Strategies and Cases for City and Suburb (Sage), which identifies strategies for incorporating sustainability and social justice goals into urban economic development planning. In 2012 she published a three-volume anthology, Cities and Sustainability. Fitzgerald has published in academic journals such as Environment and Planning C: Government and Policy, Local Environment: The International Journal of Justice and Sustainability, Economic Development Quarterly, Urban Affairs Quarterly, Urban Affairs, International Journal of Urban and Regional Research and the political quarterly, The American Prospect. She also blogs on the London School of Economics United States Policy and Politics site. Her academic and consulting work has been supported by the Funders Network for Smart Growth and Sustainable Communities, John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur, Annie E. Casey, Rockefeller Brothers, Rockefeller, Surdna, Century, and Robert Wood Johnson Foundations and the Urban Sustainability Directors’ Network. She has also conducted research for the U.S. Department of Labor, the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative, the Boston Housing Authority and other government agencies. She is currently working on her next book, Greenovation, which examines how cities advance green technologies. In addition, she is examining governance of green stormwater infrastructure. She teaches Cities, Sustainability and Climate Change and Urban Revitalization. Before coming to Northeastern University, Joan taught urban planning and policy at the New School University, the University of Illinois at Chicago, and Ohio State University.

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New Great Cities Institute report highlights Household Stressors Tied to Poverty

Life has treated comparatively well most of those who are healthy, employed, and well educated.  But even those of us who are doing pretty well often find ourselves part of families or households where a loved one faces one or more significant challenges even if we may not. A new study from UIC’s Great Cities Institute shows that significant stress on households is a common problem across the Chicago area, and not just because we’re worried about the economy. The “household stress index” counts the number of households experiencing various stressors such as unemployment, lack of education, recent divorce, a member with one or more disabilities, lack of insurance, seniors lacking younger helpers, or lack of ability to speak English. When it’s all added up, we find that only 22% of Chicago-area households lack at least one of these stressors.

Most households find a way to deal with a single problem when everything else is going pretty well, but when the problems start to accumulate, particularly when there isn’t a lot of money, life can get hard for everyone in the household. The study found a high correspondence of the presence of household stressors with low income. Almost every household with no stressors lives at least 300% above the poverty line and most at 4 or 5 times the poverty line. On the other hand, of those households that are 200% below the poverty line: 90% have 6 or 7 stressors; 94 % with 8 stressors lived; and 100% have 9 stressors.

Household stress can either cause or result from poverty. For instance, having people in the household who have a serious disability, who were never educated past elementary school or who lack ability to speak English, can lead to poverty. Low-income households are more likely to have children that attend poorer schools, to lack health insurance or have unattended seniors.

Higher-income households can afford nursing care for an elder relative, tutoring for a child behind in school, quality child care, or have strong health care plans through their employer(s). But low-income households depend upon state and federal governments to help with each of these services when they must have them.   Seniors and young people are more likely to live in households with more stressors, but households headed by middle-aged people also experience them.

Households with the highest numbers of stressors are more likely to be found in Chicago, but the Cook County suburbs and Collar Counties have about equal shares of households with two to four stressors.  Cuts over the last several decades to a wide variety of social services have consequently hit Chicago harder but, if they persist, will eventually affect people across the region.

A recent survey from the Paul Simon Public Policy Institute at Southern Illinois University found that approximately 20% of Illinois residents believed that they had been hurt by the recent budget stalemate in the areas of social services generally, public education, mental health or drug treatment, child care services, or housing or utility assistance, or real or threatened job loss. Many more may have been affected by program cutbacks resulting from the impasse but were unaware that the state provided the underlying support for a service valued by them.

Twenty percent may not sound like a lot at first glance, but consider that about 20% of Chicago area households suffer at least 4 or more stress indicators and that most of those households live in or near poverty. The 20% who reported feeling the impact of government cuts are likely the people who need the help the most.

About the Author:
James Lewis, GCI Senior Research Specialist