Over the past century, Chicago has only had four Mayoral elections without an incumbent on the ballot. Given this history, the 2019 Mayoral transition was a rare transfer of leadership—and an exciting opportunity to accelerate progress in addressing our city’s most pressing challenges and captures exciting opportunities.

But the transition was also a strategic and logistical challenge, as it was the first time that a newly elected Mayor had to prepare to lead the City in less than seven weeks, between the runoff election on April 2nd and the inauguration on May 20th.

Chicago Public Schools (CPS) serves 7,500 at-risk students—in particular, students who return to school after dropping out or are significantly behind in credits needed for graduation—through 41 Options Schools. These schools offer students additional supports and services to provide a path towards high school graduation. 

In 2018, CPS engaged Civic Consulting Alliance and our partners to analyze the Options Schools and identify strategies to better support students and improve student outcomes.

Investigations of the Chicago Police Department (CPD) by the Department of Justice and the Police Accountability Task Force highlighted the broken relationship between the Department and the Chicago communities it serves.

In the fall of 2016, the CPD Superintendent appointed a Community Policing Advisory Panel (CPAP) with community members, CPD staff, and subject matter experts to provide recommendations for revamping CPD’s community policing efforts and improve police-community relations.

In late 2014, the Chicago Police Department (CPD) faced intense public criticism in the aftermath of the fatal shooting of Laquan McDonald by a CPD officer. The shooting spurred protests across the city and prompted the City of Chicago and the U.S. Department of Justice to examine practices within CPD.