Streetsblog Chicago cofounder Steven Vance and I are pleased to announce that we recently promoted writer Courtney Cobbs to the position of assistant editor, reflecting her increasingly important leadership role with the publication. Courtney will continue to work half-time for us, with a pay bump reflecting her additional responsibilities, which include serving as a sounding-board for editorial decisions, reviewing drafts before publication, and weighing in on Streetsblog Network matters. (Streetsblog Chicago is operated independently from its sister websites, but editors from the different sites consult with each other on various issues.) Courtney is the first African-American editor in the history of the network.
Ever since she became a Streetsblog Chicago employee last fall, Courtney has proved to be a key member of our team, with an infectious enthusiasm for promoting better public transportation and biking as a strategy to create positive environmental and societal change. A native of Little Rock, Arkansas, she says that reading Streetsblog’s coverage of sustainable transportation helped her decide to move to Chicago, a city where she could live car-free. Courtney has a B.A. in sociology and a Masters in Social Work from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. She lives in Rogers Park and enjoys biking, hula hooping, and roller skating on the Lakefront Trail (when it's not on lockdown due to the coronavirus.)
Recent topics Courtney has covered for Streetsblog include ways Chicago can support the coming e-bike revolution; how to make cycling part of your self-care routine during the pandemic; Friends of the Park's position on COVID-19-related open space issues; and strategies to help create a body-inclusive cycling community. Courtney has also written a number of articles about the debate over opening streets to create more space for socially-distanced walking and biking during the crisis.
Courtney's recent pieces looking at the need to factor racial and economic justice concerns into the open streets discussion have been particularly insightful. Efforts to reduce crashes and improve walking, biking, and transit, and public space in Chicago must never lose sight of the importance of fighting for social justice.
As for Steven, who's vacating the assistant editor position, never fear, he has taken on the new title of editor-at-large, which means he'll continue to help out with editorial decisions, as well as the technical aspects of running the site. Along with our talented roster of freelance writers, we look forward to bringing you the latest in pandemic-related transportation news. With Mayor Lightfoot's tweet Friday hinting that she's now in support of open streets, things are about to get very interesting.
