"This Work Is Personal": A Q&A with Luis Roman on Identity, Advocacy and Community
Luis Roman didn’t plan to become a changemaker. But what began as a post-college internship focused on LGBTQ+ immigrant integration quickly evolved into…
Stories
Spotlights on community issues, the people, and the organizations who contribute to effective philanthropy as well as a stronger Chicago region and world.
Recent Stories
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Pre-Development Fund: Helping Communities Realize Their Visions for Thriving Neighborhoods
When I first arrived at The Chicago Community Trust, I was really focused on understanding the place-based factors driving the region’s wealth gap.…
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Dreaming Beyond the Boundaries: Jennifer Hodges Awarded Sixth Donald Stewart Fellowship
Jennifer Hodges is the co-founder and vice president of KIPP Chicago’s Whole Child Initiative, a program that supports students, teachers and families through…
“Experts & Opinions” Stories
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Land is the Truest Asset
A few years ago, I attended a peer city exchange with representatives from Chicago, New York City, and Los Angeles. In the spirit of mutual…
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Chicago Residents Transform Our Communities by Strengthening Connections
Social cohesion is defined as bonding, feelings of connectedness and solidarity, or a closeness and affection within groups. These are essential qualities to building trusted…
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Strengthening the Affordable Housing Ordinance to Address Chicago’s Affordable Housing Crisis
On April 21, the Chicago City Council voted to revise the Affordable Requirements Ordinance to encourage the production of more affordable family-sized housing units, expand…
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Covid Revealed Our Flaws. Do We Have the Resolve to Fix Them?
Like an overdue visit to the optometrist, Covid-19 has sharpened our vision and revealed some harsh truths that were long overlooked or hidden. The pandemic…
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Two-Part COVID Recovery Strategy: Vaccine + Equity
As COVID-19 vaccines continue to roll out across the country with increasing speed, there is reason to hope we may soon be rounding a corner…
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Why the Earned Income Tax Credit Might Be the Most Important Policy Right Now to Address Economic Inequities, Provide Financial Stability
What if a policy could dramatically reduce poverty, help families make ends meet, AND bolster local economic activity? That policy already exists: the Earned Income…
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We Will Chicago: An Instrument for Equity
Can a city plan be an instrument for equity? We think it can. That is why we believe that the Lightfoot administration’s We Will Chicago…
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It’s Time to Close the Racial and Ethnic Wealth Gap Through Policies that Seed Wealth
Generations of segregation and systemic discrimination have not only had longstanding social consequences, but they’ve also had significant economic ramifications. Over time, an intricate web…
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A Step Towards the Justice & Restoration Our Society Needs
The Chauvin trial has come to a close, and with its end, a small weight has been lifted. There were tears, there was celebration, and…
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Bridges to Brighter Futures
In the early 2000s, when I was in high school in north Mississippi, the message students heard constantly was that our focus should be on getting to college.…
