Artwork stating 'Education Destroys Barriers', 'We Demand Treatment', and 'I Need A Chance'

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  • ‘What difference would that make?'

    A participatory budgeting pilot in ten Chicago Public Schools empowers students to influence change by deciding how small grants, typically $1,000 to $2,000, should be spent for school improvement. Students brainstorm ideas, construct persuasive proposals, and vote on which to implement, providing valuable lessons in civic participation. The proposals revealed student needs that staff hadn’t previously considered. Ultimately, grants supported gender-neutral bathrooms, locker room shower curtains, a peer mentoring program, and spaces for students to reflect and decompress when feeling overwhelmed.

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  • Amid COVID-19, Urban Growers Collective distributes nearly one million pounds of produce

    For several years, the Urban Growers Collective in Illinois has been helping to bring and distribute healthy food to underresourced communities throughout Chicago by operating eight urban farms, but efforts have increased during the COVID-19 pandemic. In just over six months, the organization has "delivered nearly one million pounds of produce to more than 25 partner organizations across the city."

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  • Rebuild Foundation and Sunshine Enterprise team up to train city's creative entrepreneurs

    Artists in Chicago can benefit from entrepreneurial training programs which teach technical business skills, provide access to information about art grants and also build a network of like-minded creatives. Rebuild Foundation and Sunshine Enterprise are two initiatives that have provided creative entrepreneurs with the specific skills needed for creative ventures to succeed. The needs of this community of business owners is different from typical entrepreneurs.

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  • Abolish the police? Organizers say it's less crazy than it sounds. Audio icon

    Police abolitionism, an idea that strikes many as fanciful and dangerous, lies at the root of many community projects in Chicago that have demonstrated on a small scale the ways that problems can be solved without police involvement. Run by acolytes of Mariame Kaba, these projects provided dispute resolution services, mental health responses, and a bond fund that uses donated money to bail pretrial defendants out of jail. The key idea is to demonstrate ways to scale back police powers, rather than wait for institutions to reform themselves.

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  • Can Democracy Work in Chicago?

    A Chicago Alderman experimented with participatory budgeting, where residents decide how some of their tax money will be spent, by allowing 49th Ward residents to determine how to spend $1.3 million in the district. Residents selected 14 projects, including commissioning murals, creating a dog park and community gardens, purchasing solar-powered garbage compactors, and repaving streets. All projects are moving forward. Over 200 mural proposals were received, which the Alderman’s office narrowed down to 24 choices for community members to vote on. 12 will be funded by the city with stipends for the artists.

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