Click here to donate to Streetsblog Chicago's fund drive. Thanks!
Hello Streetsblog Chicago readers,
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.
• Keeping track of the CTA's performance on reliability, frequency, safety, and cleanliness, as well as campaigns pushing for new leadership.
• Informing readers about big CTA projects like the Red and Purple Modernization, the Forest Park Branch Overhaul, and the Red Line Extension.
• Pointing out that making buses faster and more reliable is a smarter strategy to address climate change than simply paying for an electric fleet.
• Supporting the Chicago Department of Transportation's efforts to expand the low-stress bike network, but also pointing out when things don't go smoothly.
• Fact-checking local news outlets and neighbors when they wrongly portray protected bike lanes as unsafe.
• Amplifying campaigns by important advocacy organizations like the Active Transportation Alliance, Better Streets Chicago, Bike Lane Uprising, Chicago Bike Grid Now!, Commuters Take Action, Equiticity, and Ride Illinois.
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.
Streetsblog Chicago is a community-funded news outlet that counts on ours sponsors, advertisers, and – particularly – readers like you to help us keep doing what we do. If you value our walk/bike/transit and traffic safety reporting, please consider chipping in today. Thanks in advance for your help!
-- John Greenfield
Click here to donate to Streetsblog Chicago's fund drive. Thank you!
