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Hey there Streetsblog Chicago readers,
Let's cut to the chase. With the second Donald Trump administration on the horizon, it looks like 2025 will be a tough year for sustainable transportation, including here in Chicagoland. There's the immediate question of whether CTA can secure sufficient federal money for the $5.7 billion Red Line Extension project before Joe Biden leaves office, since the GOP has previously voiced anti-transit budget goals. As a walk/bike/transit and livable streets news and advocacy website, Streetsblog Chicago will have our work cut out for us next year.
The good news is that this publication is ready to rise to the occasion, having covered many high-stakes Windy City transportation issues in 2024. Here are a few of the big stories we wrote about this year:
• Is consolidating Chicagoland's four transit agencies our best hope for avoiding the region's looming $730 million public transportation fiscal cliff?
• Efforts to stop the Illinois and Chicago transportation departments from rebuilding North DuSable Lake Shore Drive without transit lanes
• Can we save Chicago's Greyhound station before our city becomes the biggest one in the northern hemisphere with no intercity bus station?
• Peer cities have had 25 mph speed limits for years, encouraging safer driver driver speeds and saving lives – will Chicago finally get with the program?
And, as always, this year we've spread the word about important projects by advocacy groups like the Active Transportation Alliance, Better Streets Chicago, Bike Lane Uprising, Chicago Bike Grid Now!, Commuters Take Action, Equiticity, Southwest Collective, and Ride Illinois. It will be especially important to amplify these voices in 2025, when campaigns to make transportation safer, more efficient, more equitable, and more environmentally friendly will likely face stiff headwinds.
That's why Streetsblog Chicago needs your help now. Today we're kicking off our annual campaign to keep the site running via small grants, ad sales, and tax-deductible donations from readers like yourself.
This year we're attempting to raise $65,000 to help fund salaries for staff writers and freelancer payments, along with the other costs of keeping the (bike) lights on. In addition to yours truly, Streetsblog Chicago currently has a talented crew including Cofounder and Advisor Steven Vance, Black Communities Reporter Cameron Bolton, and freelancers Richard S. Day, Amber Drea, Sharon Hoyer, Kirsten Lambert, AJ La Trace, Victoria Malis, J. Niimi, James Porter, and Igor Studenkov.
We're also working on securing a major grant to complete our 2025 budget. Our goal is to wrap up the fund drive by the end of March. But, needless to say, we'd be much obliged if you choose to reap the tax benefit of making an end-of-year donation to Streetsblog Chicago, produced by the 501(c)3 nonprofit the Chicagoland Streets Project, by New Year's Eve.
Again, this looks to be a tough year for those of us trying to improve our city, region, state, and nation through better sustainable transportation. But the most effective way for advocates to not only survive but succeed in this fight is by joining forces. If you appreciate what Streetsblog Chicago does, and want to help make sure we can continue to do it, please think about making a donation today. Thanks so much for pitching in!
-- John Greenfield, Editor-in-Chief
Click here to donate to Streetsblog Chicago's fund drive. Thank you!
