It goes without saying that this has been a huge year for sustainable transportation and safe streets news in Chicago. We've seen progressive mayoral candidate Brandon Johnson take office, after promising to make big improvements to walk/bike/transit in our city. But there's being growing frustration with post-COVID-19 conditions on the CTA, and calls for Johnson to replace its president, Dorval Carter Jr. Meanwhile, after falling behind peer U.S. cities in recent years, the Chicago Department of Transportation may finally be hitting its stride when it comes to building a connected, low-stress bike network.
As Streetsblog Chicago followers know, this has also been a very eventful year for the publication itself. In April a driver carrying unsecured irrigation pipe whacked me, the editor-in-chief, in the back of the head while I was bike touring in southern Illinois, putting me out of commission for a month. But thankfully editor-at-large Steven Vance stepped up to keep the site going, with help from talented writers Cameron Bolton, Sharon Hoyer, AJ La Trace, and Ruth Rosas, plus generous reader donations. Aside from a mild vision issue I hope to resolve soon, for several months I've been almost fully recovered, and very grateful for the wonderful support that got me here.
That's been crucial, because there was a lot of work for Streetsblog Chicago to do this year! These have been some of our key livable streets advocacy efforts in 2023.
• Covering the mayoral and aldermanic candidates' positions on walk/bike/transit issues and more, and compiling a handy election guide.
So Streetsblog Chicago's sustainable transportation journalism and advocacy has been especially important this year, and we'll surely keep covering many of these topics in 2024. To help keep the (bike) lights on, today we're launching our yearly campaign to help fund the website via small grants, advertisements, and tax-deductible donations from readers like you.
We are trying to raise $60,000 to help cover salaries and payments for our hardworking staffers and freelancers, plus other expenses of running the site. We're also in line for a major grant that would complete funding for our 2024 budget. We plan to finish the drive by January 31. Obviously, if you'd like to take advantage of end-of-year tax perks by donating before December 31, we would be very thankful.
In addition to editing Streetsblog Chicago, John writes about transportation and other topics for additional local publications. A Chicagoan since 1989, he enjoys exploring the city on foot, bike, bus, and 'L' train.
State Sen. Ram Villivalam, (D-8th) and state Rep. Eva-Dina Delgado (D-3rd), as well as Graciela Guzmán, a Democratic senate nominee, addressed the crowd of transit advocates.