In case you can't tell from Streetsblog Chicago's homepage, beating the drum on the region’s impending transit budget crisis is our top priority right now. After all, if the state legislature fails to pass a funding and reform bill this summer, the likely result will be roughly 40 percent service cuts and 3,000 layoffs. That would be disastrous for the region and counter to SBC’s mission: Making Chicagoland a safer and more efficient, equitable, environmentally friendly, and enjoyable place to get around.
Some of our other priorities include pushing for a 25 mph speed limit and congestion pricing; tracking recent traffic fatalities; fighting for a citywide low-stress bikeway network, and amplifying campaigns by local advocates.
As such, it's more important than ever that SBC continues to advocate for sustainable transportation and livable streets. On that front, I've got some great news to share about our current fund drive to raise $65K. Thanks to extremely generous recent donations, we're way past the finish line, wrapping up the campaign at $95K! This ensures that we can continue to publish until the end of this year and keep reporting on critical issues that matter to you.
However, SBC has faced a major revenue headwind this year. An annual grant that has provided a large portion of our budget over the past decade is not renewing this year. We’ve been hustling to find replacement funding.
SBC currently needs to secure $45K so we can keep fighting for better walk/bike/transit in our region in 2026. This fund drive has come to a wildly successful conclusion, and we won't ask our readers for any more smaller donations via this campaign. But we would greatly appreciate any tips you might have on locking down that last $45K.
But first, let's give a shout-out to all the other awesome supporters who got us to the $95K mark, in addition to loyal readers like yourselves!
First of all, we owe a huge thanks to the Abreu Shepard Family Fund. Last year they made a very generous new contribution of $20K. After they heard about our funding challenge, they rose to the occasion by increasing their gift to $30K. We're extremely grateful for this support!
Once again we received a $1,500 contribution from Grainger, matching a $500 donation from employee Jack Carter, which was very helpful. Thanks also to the Green Justice Fund, which came through again with a $1,000 gift.
As always, we appreciate our advertising sponsors: FK Law, Keating Law Offices , Boulevard Bikes, SHOFUR, the Bike Lane, the Active Transportation Alliance, Ride Illinois, and Roscoe Village Bikes.
And I want to give special props to a longtime SBC supporter who went above and beyond to help us complete our fund drive. They've contributed $10K every year since we first launched in 2013. Recently, this person agreed to chip in an additional $17K, for a total of $27K. We’re incredibly thankful for the help!
To that list of terrific supporters who have generously helped keep SBC afloat all these years, I want to emphatically add The Chicago Community Trust. Ever since we launched the Chicagoland Streets Project, a 501(c)3 nonprofit, in 2015 to continue publishing independently, The Trust has been a vital partner. I'm very grateful to the foundation for helping keep this site going strong for a decade.
However, due to a recent strategic refresh that includes the launch of the journalism initiative Press Forward Chicago, The Trust is not currently funding editorial expenses. That's mostly what SBC needs right now: money to pay our talented and hardworking staffers and freelancers.
With support from The Trust, SBC has applied for several other grants. Nothing has panned out yet, but thanks to the generosity of our major donors, we’ve got some time to seek out other funding opportunities.
Streetsblog readers, I would be very appreciative of any advice you might have on identifying new annual revenue sources for our work. That way, we can spend less time fundraising, and more time pushing for sustainable transportation and safer streets. Please feel free to contact me with any intel at jgreenfield[at]streetsblog[dot]org. Thanks!
I'll close by saying how fortunate Streetsblog Chicago is to have such a strong lineup of writers. Besides myself, our staff is Co-Founder and Advisor Steven Vance, and Black Communities Reporter Cameron Bolton. Recent freelancers include Austin Busch, Richard Day, Sharon Hoyer, AJ LaTrace, James Porter, Ruth Rosas, Elen Steinke, Igor Studenkov, and Ben Wolfenstein.
As we continue to sound the alarm about Chicagoland's $771 million transit fiscal cliff, thanks in advance for any info you can provide that may help fill Streetsblog Chicago's $45K budget gap. Have a great summer!
- John Greenfield, editor
Did you appreciate Streetsblog Chicago's reporting and advocacy on local sustainable transportation issues? If you haven't already, please consider making a tax-deductible donation here. Thanks!
