Chicago Urban League Unveils 10-Year Blueprint For Dismantling Structural Racism

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A recent UIC Great Cities Institute report on youth joblessness in Cook County is cited in a Progress Illinois article detailing the Chicago Urban League’s 10-year plan to create more equitable education, employment and economic development opportunities for Chicago’s African American residents.

The document also sets targets of increasing African-American employment rates by 30 percent for youths and 20 percent for adults.

Among Chicagoans aged 16 to 64, unemployment rates are now 30 percent for blacks and 14 percent for whites, the report states.

Chicago’s African-American teens face even higher unemployment rates, according to research from the University of Illinois at Chicago’s Great Cities Institute. A report issued by the institute earlier this year found that 88 percent of black Chicago teens were jobless in 2014.

Full Story from Progress Illinois »

Great Cities Institute has turned 21! Join us to celebrate

GCI staff (l to r) Matt Wilson, Teresa Cordova, Tim Imeokparia, Thea Crum, Yibing Li, and Jackson Morsey with James J. Stukel (third from left).

GCI staff (l to r) Matt Wilson, Teresa Cordova, Tim Imeokparia, Thea Crum, Yibing Li, and Jackson Morsey with Dr. James J. Stukel (third from left).

Please join us November 16, 2016, 4:30 – 7:30 p.m. at Student Center East (750 S. Halsted), East Terrace Room, for a celebration of GCI and the Great Cities Concept. We are very excited that former UIC Chancellor and University of Illinois President, James J. Stukel will be our featured guest.

In March 1993, then UIC Chancellor James J. Stukel convened a 28-member Great Cities Advisory Committee (GCAC) to develop and initiate his vision for a Great Cities Initiative at UIC. Over several months the committee and its 140 member subcommittees met to develop the details of the Great Cities Concept. In addition, the committee hosted a forum with over 400 attendees from UIC, government, corporate and community organizations. The forum, held in the fall of 1994, was entitled, “The Great Cities Initiative: UIC’s Metropolitan Commitment.” The report describes the entire process as the “largest interdepartmental planning process UIC has ever undertaken.”

Among the Great Cities Advisory Committee’s recommendations was the establishment of the Great Cities Institute (GCI) as a flagship interdisciplinary go-to research center. The Great Cities Institute was created in 1995 as the institutionalized expression of the University’s unique strategy to implement the vision of UIC as a university committed to active engagement with the various constituencies in the Chicago region. Support for Great Cities was widespread.

In late 1995, then State of Illinois Governor Jim Edgar declared December 1,1995 as Great Cities Day in Illinois, stating in the resolution,

WHEREAS, cities have been centers of creativity and influence, generating knowledge and wealth that made our nation an economic and political power; and

WHEREAS, cities also face major challenges such as unemployment, schooling, crime and inadequate health care; and

WHEREAS, improvement in the quality of life in urban areas requires a comprehensive approach that addresses interrelated problems at the same time; and

WHEREAS, this integrated approach is the philosophy behind the Great Cities initiative at the University of Illinois at Chicago; and

WHEREAS, Great Cities is an institutional commitment to address human needs in Chicago and in metropolitan areas worldwide by becoming a partner with government and public agencies, corporations, and philanthropic and civic organizations; and

WHEREAS, UIC, a leading public university in a major city, produces exciting breakthroughs in the physical and social sciences and the arts and this program extends UIC’s historic strengths in fields relevant to urban areas,

THEREFORE, I, Jim Edgar, Governor of the State of Illinois, proclaim December 1, 1995, as GREAT CITIES DAY in Illinois.

In 2000, then Chancellor Sylvia Manning converted the Great Cities initiative to UIC’s Great Cities Commitment, signaling the recognition of the importance in institutionalizing this effort.

Today, the Great Cities Institute works hard to maintain the legacy of the Great Cities concept. Please join us on November 16, from 4:30 – 7:30 to hear more about GCI’s history as well as its current activities.

Wim Wiewel, now President of Portland State University, was the chair of the original Great Cities Advisory Committee and may be able to join us in November. We will also present a Tribute to Rob Mier, a member of the original committee who was critical in setting the tone for UIC’s urban engagement and in the early formation of Great Cities at UIC. In addition, we will recognize our partners and the many Great Cities Scholars and Fellows.

We are a firm believer in the importance of legacy and we are honored to carry on the efforts of those visionaries that created Great Cities at UIC.

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How Shakespeare Is Helping South Chicago Transform Its Image

Bernard Shannon, owner of Bernard's Wear in South Chicago, is shown next to a poster in his shop advertising the "Shakespeare in the Parks" program. [Provided]

Bernard Shannon, owner of Bernard’s Wear in South Chicago, is shown next to a poster in his shop advertising the “Shakespeare in the Parks” program. [Provided]

A DNAinfo Chicago story on Chicago’s “Shakespeare in the Parks” program hosting a performance in the South Chicago neighborhood cites the local chamber of commerce’s work with the Great Cities Institute at UIC to develop a business district revitalization plan.

South Chicago, celebrating its 180th birthday this summer, is the former home of three steel mills and the blue-collar workers who staffed the sites. But the last of the plants closed in 1992, and the exodus of well-paying jobs has hurt residents as well as the mom and pop store owners who serve the neighborhood.

Lira and other community leaders have been working with the University of Illinois-Chicago to help draft a revitalization plan to help transform Commercial Avenue into a proper business district. They think cultural attractions like “Shakespeare in the Parks” can play a major role in helping the area.

The area has embraced the event unlike any other, Lira said. He said a local pizza place gives a flier for the event with every pizza it delivers, and the McDonald’s hands a flier out to every customer at the drive-thru window.

Full Story from DNAinfo »

Proposals for music venues in Chicago parks not music to everyone’s ears

A music pavilion has been proposed for this section of Jackson Park. (Terrence Antonio James / Chicago Tribune)

A music pavilion has been proposed for this section of Jackson Park. (Terrence Antonio James / Chicago Tribune)

Matt Wilson, GCI economic development planner, was quoted in an article on the use of public parks for private events such as music festivals. He cautions that using park spaces for private festivals makes them no longer accessible to the general public.

“Parks are gathering spaces, and when you add a physical element of an amphitheater and a stage, it’s an easy way to incorporate a tourist attraction,” said Matt Wilson, economic development planner at the Great Cities Institute at the University of Illinois at Chicago. Having the infrastructure to host concerts could give Chicago a competitive edge over other cities when it comes to drawing major events, he said.

On the other hand, the question becomes: Whose space is this, and who are these events for, he said. “Are they for Chicagoans? Probably sometimes. But you’re taking public space and an amenity for the people of Chicago and turning it into a tourism destination, turning public space into a space for others,” Wilson said.

He adds: “When you take a public park and fence it off and have people buy tickets to enter that space, it’s no longer public space.”

And sometimes those big events can do enough damage to green spaces that they’re closed for months at a time, something residents have complained about in the wake of such festivals as Riot Fest, particularly when the event was staged in Humboldt Park. In fact, the festival relocated last year after loud criticism.

Full Story from Chicago Tribune »

Great Cities Institute Fact Sheet Series

The Great Cities Institute is pleased to announce a new economic fact sheet series that will provide research and data to the public in the areas of economic restructuring, income inequality, employment disparities, and more. These fact sheets will contain information that can be utilized for advocacy, grant writing, and further research to improve the quality of live in our cities and regions.

True to GCI’s mission, this initiative embodies our commitment to harnessing the power of research and linking academic resources with partners to address urban issues.

The first fact sheet in the series was compiled for Crain’s Future of Chicago Conference on June 15th, 2016. The conference convened business, government, education, and civic leaders to have forward looking conversations in four panel discussions with audience interaction. The panel discussions were themed Criminal Justice, Education, Fiscal Crisis, and Economic Development. GCI’s Director Teresa Cordova moderated the Economic Development panel, utilizing the information on the fact sheet to set the stage for the panelists and audience and provide data points for some of the most crucial economic issues facing Chicago and Cook County.

It is our hope that the further dissemination of this information and further fact sheets will be a powerful tool to community and civic partners.

Research Fact Sheets Page »

Drafting a happy ending for this tale of two cities

The demolition of the Cabrini-Green housing complex. Photo by ThinkStock

The demolition of the Cabrini-Green housing complex. Photo by ThinkStock

GCI Director Teresa Córdova advocates utilizing new policies and innovation for ending economic inequalities in an op-ed for Crain’s. She moderated a panel on economic development at Crain’s Future of Chicago summit on June 15.

The Great Cities Institute reports tell us that Chicago is still experiencing the impacts of the rapid deindustrialization that hit the city hard, particularly since the mid-1970s. Inequalities have been exacerbated—especially those tied to segregation and concentrated joblessness. We know the range of social and economic ills that accompany high rates of joblessness, and we know that violence is one of them.

Neglect of this issue of job loss has consequences, and we can’t hide from it anymore.

Did we really think that there would not be severe long-term impacts of deindustrialization without replacing those jobs with similar high-paying jobs that provide a pathway to the middle class? The task now is to share the responsibility to reverse the damages of political and economic policies that allowed this to happen—and, at this very moment, to seek the economic policies that ensure all residents access to employment opportunities.

Full Story from Crain’s Chicago Business »

Steel Mills Gone, South Chicago Looks To Revitalize Its Downtown

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A DNAinfo Chicago story highlights efforts to revitalize the Commercial Avenue business district in South Chicago and cites the local chamber of commerce’s partnership with Great Cities Institute. Jack Rocha, GCI research specialist, is interviewed in the article.

Now, community leaders and the University of Illinois at Chicago are working on a plan to revitalize the business district along Commercial Avenue. Those involved in the plan hope not only to revitalize the district, but also to turn the lakefront neighborhood into a destination on the Far South Side.

“We had theaters, dining, entertainment,” said Dan Lira, president of the South Chicago Chamber of Commerce. “When the steel mills closed, we lost all that. Now, we’re asking, how do we create the incentives to bring people out to South Chicago?”

Full Story from DNAinfo »

Democratizing Tax Increment Financing through Participatory Budgeting – A Tool Kit

Authors:
Cecile Carroll, Thea Crum, Carolina Gaete, Maria Hadden, Rachel Weber

Abstract:
This PB – TIF Tool Kit provides valuable information for organizations and residents interested in maximizing the community benefits from TIF through more participatory decision making processes.

The Tool Kit includes the following:
1) Basic information on the mechanics of TIF and PB in Chicago and in other cities in the U.S.;
2) A case study of Blocks Together’s use of PB to decide on spending priorities for the Chicago/Central Park TIF District in West Humboldt Park;
3) Advice on how community residents can determine neighborhood spending priorities and research past TIF allocations in their neighborhoods.

Full Text »