Our Top 7 in 2017
A look back at seven impactful, community-led City Bureau stories and civic projects from the last year.
We’re taking stock of a big year in Chicago journalism. As the local media landscape continues to evolve, our newsroom remains committed to connecting with Chicagoans where they live, training the next generation of diverse reporters and serving as a model for community-centered, civic journalism.
Whether it’s dispatches from South and West Side neighborhoods where our teams spend weeks or months speaking with residents, or long-form investigations with citywide impact, City Bureau reporting fellows have explored innovative approaches to civic engagement while tackling issues that matter to you. Below, we’ve rounded up some of our personal favorites to share with you.
Wishing you happy holidays and a beautiful new year,
The City Bureau Team
1. Our months-long investigation into the role of police in Chicago public schools published in the Chicago Reader in February. We pushed our reporting further by co-hosting a community-led event in April.
2.In February a tip from our readers led us “Inside Englewood’s Best Corner Store” for Chicago magazine — find out how one man’s store became a community hub.
3. We combined community archives, reporting, multimedia and a May community event to report on the city’s changing “Industrial West Side.”
4. In July we started with your question, “Is notoriously segregated Chicago becoming more integrated?” We dug up the data and beyond the numbers to show the whole story with WBEZ’s Curious City.
5. Over the summer we researched how things get done in City Council — including how the city squandered a chance at police reform after the Laquan McDonald video, in collaboration with Datamade and the Chicago Defender.
6. In September with South Side Weekly, we published interviews with asylum seekers that reveal how long government processing times are leading to a housing crisis for a vulnerable population.
7. Our reporting on restorative justice in Chicago began early in 2017, including a report in the Atlantic and a Chicago Defender cover story about the opening of the nation’s first restorative justice court in North Lawndale. Stay tuned for more before the year is up!
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