Media Party Chicago

What does it take to build voter engagement that empowers and brings communities together? In 2019, Chicago faced a Mayoral election in the dead of winter, in a crowded race left wide open as Rahm Emanuel announced he would not be seeking re-election.

Through a joint collaboration with Metropolitan Planning Council, Generation All, UIC's Institute for Policy and Civic Engagmenet, and Grassroots Collaborative, the team at Chicago United for Equity developed a model to engage residents in neighborhoods across the city to share their issues, vote on the issues, and engage elected officials in responding to community priorities. In this approach, residents had more power to shape the agenda for all candidates -- and ultimately shaped the narrative around the election.