Journalism, civic engagement and public tools for the public good - follow us as we create a media lab built on people-power in Chicago. Head to CityBureau.org for the news.
Latest
What $1 Million Can Do for Community Journalism in Chicago
What $1 Million Can Do for Community Journalism in Chicago
Today’s grant from the MacArthur Foundation is a vote of confidence in our vision of equitable, inclusive local media—a vision shared by…
City Scrapers Helps the Code-Curious Get Involved in Civic Tech
City Scrapers Helps the Code-Curious Get Involved in Civic Tech
How City Bureau’s tech collective is building an inclusive community while helping to track local governance meetings in Chicago
Tilden HS Civics Class Helps Students Affected by Gun Violence Find Fellowship, a Way Forward
Tilden HS Civics Class Helps Students Affected by Gun Violence Find Fellowship, a Way Forward
Students joined the National School Walkout as a way to show solidarity for Stoneman Douglas while also remembering classmates and friends…
City Bureau Launches “Editor Office Hours” — Stop by to Ask Us Anything!
City Bureau Launches “Editor Office Hours” — Stop by to Ask Us Anything!
Need something proofread? Want to workshop story ideas? Or just curious about how newsrooms work? We’ll be here, waiting to help.
A Bill Stirs on Police Training in Schools, Breathing Life into Our Investigation
A Bill Stirs on Police Training in Schools, Breathing Life into Our Investigation
We happened to pick up a year-old City Bureau investigation that found there is no youth-based training for police in Chicago schools…
Why Did/Didn’t You Vote?: Scenes from Chicago’s Local School Council Elections
Why Did/Didn’t You Vote?: Scenes from Chicago’s Local School Council Elections
We stopped by two South Side high schools last week to see how voters feel about LSCs and their ability to make change in a school…
How Rental Affordability Can Be Addressed in Chicago
How Rental Affordability Can Be Addressed in Chicago
As part of our ongoing coverage of housing affordability in Englewood, our City Bureau fellowship group takes a look at strategies used in…
What Rules Are in Place When Chicago Police Interact with Youth?
What Rules Are in Place When Chicago Police Interact with Youth?
An overview of Chicago Police Department directives related to our ongoing project on school resource officers
Why We’re Looking into Housing Affordability and Rents in Englewood
Why We’re Looking into Housing Affordability and Rents in Englewood
Worried about rising rents? We’re looking into the issue this spring at City Bureau.
South Side Seniors Struggle to Access Health Care. Here’s One Group Trying to Fix That
South Side Seniors Struggle to Access Health Care. Here’s One Group Trying to Fix That
Dr. Katherine Thompson explains the particular barriers to health care for elderly people on the South Side and how SHARE Network is trying…
Why I’m Running for Local School Council in Chicago
Why I’m Running for Local School Council in Chicago
As election day approaches, candidates at two South Side schools speak out
The Basics of the Illinois Appellate Courts
The Basics of the Illinois Appellate Courts
This spring at City Bureau, one of our reporting teams is looking into how people can appeal their cases — in particular, how do…
The Lowdown on Local School Councils
The Lowdown on Local School Councils
What you need to know about the upcoming school elections and our spring reporting project
Redefining Civic Engagement: Why City Bureau’s Documenters Do This Work
Redefining Civic Engagement: Why City Bureau’s Documenters Do This Work
Part 2: Documenters don’t identify as do-gooders, they identify as citizens.
Meet Our Spring 2018 Reporting Fellows
Meet Our Spring 2018 Reporting Fellows
Our first cohort of 2018 is reporting on education, criminal justice and policing in Chicago.
How Did City Bureau’s Documenters Program Get Started?
How Did City Bureau’s Documenters Program Get Started?
One weird trick to get people to document and record public events for the greater good: Pay them! Here, we honor the origins of our…
Community-Building With a Purpose: Our First Documenters Summit
Community-Building With a Purpose: Our First Documenters Summit
Part 1: City Bureau‘s March 10 event allowed #ChiDocumenters to collaborate with each other and give input on our groundbreaking program…
Help City Bureau Grow with Integrity
Help City Bureau Grow with Integrity
We’re kicking off a blog series to showcase how we are developing critical organizational policies. Help us reimagine what a non-profit…
Where Are They Now? The First 2 Years of City Bureau Fellows in Chicago
Where Are They Now? The First 2 Years of City Bureau Fellows in Chicago
Two years in—We’re just getting started.
Oasis: A Poem for North Lawndale
Oasis: A Poem for North Lawndale
I was inspired to write this poem after spending more than 10 weeks reporting in North Lawndale on restorative justice efforts in the…
Demolition dust, contamination, sickness and our winding reporting road
Demolition dust, contamination, sickness and our winding reporting road
Here’s what didn’t make it into our City Bureau investigation, released this week as part of WBEZ’s Curious City, about the threats of…
The Profound History of Public Hearings and Why We’re Devoted to Documenting Them
The Profound History of Public Hearings and Why We’re Devoted to Documenting Them
A look back at the origins of civic participation in the U.S. and how City Bureau’s Documenters program is testing a new mode for civic…
What I Learned From My City Bureau Fellowship
What I Learned From My City Bureau Fellowship
I still haven’t finished my project. But what I gained from my 10 weeks with City Bureau will last much longer—and the final product will…
Our Top 7 in 2017
Our Top 7 in 2017
A look back at seven impactful, community-led City Bureau stories and civic projects from the last year.
Where You Live in Chicago Makes a Huge Difference in How You Perceive Media, Survey Shows
Where You Live in Chicago Makes a Huge Difference in How You Perceive Media, Survey Shows
This soon-to-be-released report, created by the Center for Media Engagement with input from City Bureau, shows the major gaps — and…