This month, Chicago in Focus welcomed Kevin B. Boyd and Matt Morton to discuss the effects of AI on elections.

The Making Democracy Work Award was presented to Illinois Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias for his pivotal role in the initiation and passage of HB2789.

The new Chicago Elected School Board, whose first members will be elected in 2024, has a new proposed district map. Give your feedback before the map is voted on this week.

Keep reading, renters and condo dwellers! As dirty natural gas becomes more and more expensive, moving to electrify your home will save you money in the long run—and our first step will save you money immediately.

It’s that time of year for folks to head out to the Cook County Forest Preserves while the yellow, red and orange leaves are on full display. Now, the Forest Preserves has made finding the best fall color hot spots easier via a new interactive web map feature. 

This month, Chicago in Focus welcomed Chakena D. Perry to discuss clean water access and Black maternal health.

Drumroll please…the City of Chicago now offers free composting! Under the new program, you can sign up for one of 15 compost drop-off locations around the city.

Community schools support students’ educational and social service needs and encourage community engagement. Chicago Public Schools is looking to boost and expand community school programs.

One of climate change’s harshest blows lands when one’s shelter is lost. Between 680,000 to 30 million climate refugees will flee to the US from Central America and Mexico from 2020-2050.

Mayor Brandon Johnson’s first budget proposal was released last week, totaling $16.6 billion and providing funding for many League environmental priorities.

The League has endorsed the Children’s Fundamental Rights and Climate Recovery Resolution, which recognizes the disproportionate impact of the human-caused climate crisis on the health, economic opportunity and fundamental rights of children.

Let’s separate fact from fiction swirling around the new no-cash bail system in Illinois. A fairer legal system based on safety, not wealth, has now become state law.

The Chicago Humanities Fall Festival is here, and with it five crucial conversations on climate. Let’s learn!

This month, Chicago in Focus welcomed experts to discuss the current situation of asylum seekers arriving in Chicago and how local organizations are helping. Watch the recording!

We are happy to put an end to a system that let out serious offenders with access to bond funds but incarcerated low-level offenders with no such access.

We’ve just been through a crazy summer of heat domes, atmospheric rivers and smoke polluting the air we breathe. What are the most impactful ways for individuals to reduce their carbon emissions?

Chicago Public School students will begin the new school year just as new members of the Chicago Board of Education begin their terms of office. Appointed by Mayor Brandon Johnson, six new board members’ terms began on July 18.

At a recent City Council Committee meeting, three of the five items on the agenda were “Direct Introduction” items, whose texts were not available to the public until after the Committee and then the Council voted on them, using the Rule 41 loophole to bypass the normal process.

Governor Pritzker has signed several bills that the Illinois League and its members supported, including changes to election law in support of voting rights.

We’ve heard from the scientists, journalists and activists, but what about the artists? Art centered on climate issues has been a missing piece of the conversation, but the Chicago Design Museum has such an exhibit through October 30.