How do we build a vision for a racially just Chicago? And how can we do this together, by centering and amplifying the voices of the communities most impacted by inequity?

 

In the summer of 2018, CUE began working with organizers and researchers interested in exploring these questions with one shared goal: to engage everyday residents in a conversation about how to build a Chicago where race cannot predict our life outcomes.

 

We started by asking: How can we make Chicago work for all of us? Chicagoans submitted 262 ideas, scrawled on paper forms at events or submitted online. Of these, 186 unique concepts moved to the next round, to be voted on by residents. We engaged a prioritization vote that paired two randomly selected ideas at a time and asked people to choose between them. Over 52,271 votes, this revealed the collective priorities of the 2,152 Chicagaons who participated.

 

The top-voted priorities and candidates’ responses to them were published at VoteEquity.org, a website that will remain live to hold newly elected (or re-elected) city leaders accountable to a shared vision for racial equity.