The Chicago Public Library (CPL) serves all Chicagoans with free and open places to gather, learn, connect, read, and be transformed. With 81 locations across all 77 community areas, CPL branches provide free resources and act as anchor institutions that can respond to community needs.

Chicago Public Library (CPL) celebrated its 150^th anniversary in 2023 and continues to evolve as a resource for Chicagoans. In recent years, CPL underwent several changes, including a new leadership team, a post-pandemic shift in how people use the library, and key planning efforts, including an equity and capital plan. CPL’s current strategic plan concludes in 2024.

In October 2023, Cook County released the first Digital Equity Action Plan, a crucial step to address the digital divide that impacts communities in suburban Cook County, which results in barriers to economic opportunities, social connections, and community wellbeing. The plan identifies Cook County’s path to digital equity through accessibility, confidence, safety and security, and affordability.

Community Violence Intervention (CVI) uses multidisciplinary strategies to engage individuals and groups to prevent and disrupt cycles of violence and retaliation. It establishes relationships between individuals and community assets to deliver services that save lives, address trauma, provide opportunity, and improve physical, social, and economic conditions to prevent violence.

Since 2014, Civic Consulting Alliance has facilitated the Cook County Pretrial Stakeholders’ Group, tasked with promoting community safety and reducing reliance on incarceration. This includes mitigating the destabilizing effects of the system at every contact point, with a particular focus on helping those disproportionately impacted during the pretrial stages of criminal prosecution. 

In 2017, Civic Consulting Alliance provided foundational support to bring together a collaborative of healthcare providers to build West Side United (WSU), an organization committed to eradicating the 16-year life expectancy gap between residents on Chicago’s West Side and the Loop. One of WSU’s primary strategies is to address the social determinants of health by removing barriers to accessing healthy food.

Starting in 2020, the City of Chicago, Cook County, and the State of Illinois significantly increased investment in community violence intervention (CVI) services in Chicago – including street outreach – as part of a holistic and community-driven approach to violence reduction. As street outreach teams respond to more incidents, there is a need for clarity on roles and protocols between the Chicago Police Department (CPD) and CVI providers.

Chicago Public Schools’ (CPS) groundbreaking citywide Arts Plan, launched in 2012, yielded tangible results, including robust arts partnerships, and recommendations around instructional minutes. In a post-COVID world, student needs have changed dramatically, putting CPS at a critical point in time to build upon the success of the previous plan while identifying opportunities to improve and expand the arts education experience and address current challenges.

The Chicago Department of Public Health (CDPH) is organized to provide guidance, services, and strategies that make Chicago a healthier and safer city. However, the pandemic and demand for adding City-run mental health clinics have pushed the agency to increase the types of direct services provided to the public

Meaningful employment and career opportunities are foundational to the Johnson Administration’s ambition to invest in and create pathways to wealth for marginalized populations and underserved communities. While the private sector is responsible for most of the employment base, the City of Chicago government plays a multi-faceted role in the workforce space through the resources deployed by its Departments and Sister Agencies, policy activities, and the power of its influence.

Following the Illinois State Board of Education’s (ISBE) Whole Child Task Force in early 2022, the Illinois House passed legislation requiring the creation of “a community or district-level Children’s Adversity Index to measure community childhood trauma exposure across the population of children 3 through 18 years of age” by May 31, 2025.

The Bureau of Asset Management (the Bureau) comprises three departments responsible for constructing, developing, and maintaining Cook County’s approximately 200 unique properties, which total over 19 million square feet. The Bureau has also seen significant changes in its responsibilities, including a new Build Up Cook program and an expanding Capital Program.