Dear Friends,
Since 1985, Civic Consulting Alliance has leveraged the power of public-private collaboration, and a unique approach to management consulting, to pursue our mission to make the Chicago region a great place for everyone to live in and work.
When I joined Civic Consulting Alliance as CEO and President in March 2020, we were on the cusp of a pandemic, a precipitous rise in gun violence in Chicago, and a global outcry against systemic racism and police brutality. These crises laid bare the persistent racial inequities perpetuated by our institutions and systems, which prevent our region and all of its residents from reaching their full potential. They also created new opportunities to make fundamental change.
In 2020 and 2021, Civic Consulting Alliance has deepened our commitment to equity, a commitment we have operationalized both internally—via changes to our organizational policies and practices—and externally—via a refresh of each of our three platform visions, changes to our approach to scoping and selecting client projects, and prioritization of racial equity-focused client projects. All of these actions help us to better understand and address persistent inequities across our region, and are thus integral to making progress towards our mission.
While we still have much to learn and do, I am proud of what Civic Consulting Alliance accomplished this year to advance our vision for a more inclusive, equitable, and just Chicago. Across our three platforms, we completed transformative projects with our public and social sector clients—including initiatives: to ensure that once-in-a-generation federal funding is invested in strategies to catalyze an equitable regional economic recovery; to ideate school safety approaches in partnership with community-based organizations to rectify the over-policing of Black and Brown students in Chicago Public Schools; and to transform our local juvenile justice system from a punitive to a rehabilitative model.
Many Civic Consulting Alliance projects since summer 2020 focused specifically on supporting our public and social sector clients in their work towards a transformational recovery from the crises of the past year-and-a-half. These projects exemplify the ways we can, as a city, reimagine our approach to systemic challenges. I invite you to read more about this series of catalytic projects on our special page - Ensuring an Equitable Recovery.
As I look to the year ahead, I remain humbled by the scale and complexity of the challenges we face. Yet I am also buoyed by the commitment of stakeholders across Chicago to work towards a better future, and am energized by the opportunity we as a society have at this moment to create solutions that are ambitious and inclusive.
Civic Consulting Alliance has a critical part to play in this collective effort—a role I hope you will learn more about by exploring the stories and data in this report. We serve as an invaluable component of our region’s civic infrastructure, and we aspire to remake systems to be more just, equitable, and resilient. We leverage our experienced staff with our best-in-class pro bono partners to serve public and social sector clients. We could not do this work without the many contributions of our staff, Board, clients, partners, and funders, for which I am so grateful.
Sincerely,
Rebekah Scheinfeld
CEO and President
Civic Consulting Alliance
IMPACT
Over the past 15 years, Civic Consulting Alliance brought together more than $200 million in collaborative pro bono investments to get big things done for the Chicago region. We achieve impact in three key platforms that are integral to improving quality of life and creating a region that can reach its full potential – building safer and more just communities, ensuring equitable access to education opportunities and outcomes, and growing an economy that works for everyone.
Ensuring an Equitable Recovery
2020 and 2021 have brought immense challenges for the Chicago region, including: the COVID-19 crisis and its impact on communities’ health, economic, and social well-being; a dramatic spike in gun violence; and widespread protests against racism and police brutality. These events underscored that to become a more thriving region, and to recover from the devastating impact of the COVID-19 crisis, we must work to end our city’s legacy of systemic racism and inequity. In turn, these ongoing challenges catalyzed a time of transformation for Civic Consulting Alliance, as we doubled down on our commitment to create a more equitable Chicago region.
“The crises of the past year and a half have demonstrated that our city’s greatest challenges are interconnected. The City of Chicago is making progress towards addressing these challenges through holistic, forward-looking solutions. This progress wouldn’t be possible without unprecedented collaboration with residents and leaders across the private, public, social, and philanthropic sectors—and Civic Consulting Alliance has been the linchpin to many of these collaborative efforts.”
Since summer 2020, Civic Consulting Alliance has devoted considerable staff resources to support the City of Chicago, Cook County, and other public and social sector clients in working towards an equitable recovery that results in enduring change. This work amplified our initial collaborative COVID-19 crisis response management—which you can read about in our 2020 Impact Report—and relied on our unique institutional knowledge and our deep public and private sector relationships. Moreover, it was done in tandem with—and informed by learnings from—efforts to promote racial equity in practice and policy.
We are incredibly grateful to our philanthropic and corporate partners, whose generous support enabled Civic Consulting Alliance to undertake these critical equitable recovery efforts.
Economic Vitality
WE CONTRIBUTE TO THE CHICAGO REGION’S LONG-TERM VITALITY BY GROWING AN ECONOMY THAT WORKS FOR EVERYONE
OPPORTUNITY AREAS
Inclusive regional economic growth
Equitable investment across communities
Individual opportunity and prosperity
Key Projects
City of Chicago – Vision for Equitable Recovery
Advancing Equitable Recovery through the American Rescue Plan Act
Metropolitan Water Reclamation District – 5-Year Strategic Plan
West Side United
“Getting Big Things Done”
Virtual Conversation Series
How Does Inclusive Economic Growth Build an Equitable Chicago?
Event Date | May 10, 2021
“Civic Consulting Alliance provided immediate capacity and expertise to support the City’s decision-making processes, and their invaluable partnership has helped to ensure that American Rescue Plan resources will align with our equity-focused policy goals.”
2021 Economic Vitality Snapshot
Education
WE ADVANCE HIGH-QUALITY EDUCATION AND EQUITABLE ACCESS TO OPPORTUNITY FOR ALL CHICAGO STUDENTS TO PREPARE THEM FOR LIFELONG SUCCESS AND FULFILLMENT
“Thanks in part to the support of Civic Consulting Alliance, Chicago Public Schools continues to strengthen its foundation to effectively reach disengaged students this school year and beyond—paving the way for sustained, districtwide change and greater student success.”
OPPORTUNITY AREAS
High-quality learning experiences
Equitable distribution of resources
Connectivity across the continuum
Key Projects
Equity Working Group for Black Student Access and Success in Illinois Higher Education
Chicago Public Schools – Whole School Safety Planning
Chicago Public Schools – Student Re-Engagement Districtwide Framework
2021 Education Snapshot
Safety & Justice
WE FACILITATE INSTITUTIONAL REFORM AND COLLABORATIVE TRANSFORMATION TO ADDRESS SYSTEMIC INEQUITIES AND MAKE THE CHICAGO REGION A SAFE AND JUST PLACE FOR ALL
OPPORTUNITY AREAS
Holistic violence reduction
Accountable, equitable, and restorative justice institutions
Community-driven alternatives to traditional justice system
KEY PROJECTS
Building a Just and Equitable Juvenile Justice System
Chicago Police Department - Reform Pilot District
Partnership for Safe and Peaceful Communities (PSPC)
“Getting Big Things Done”
Virtual Conversation Series
How Does Institutional Justice Reform Build an Equitable Chicago Region?
Event Date | June 30, 2021
“Civic Consulting Alliance has provided a critical foundation for us to transform Chicago’s youth diversion model into one that is youth-led, community-based, services-oriented, and most importantly, results in legitimate positive and long-term outcomes for young people and their families.”
2021 Safety & Justice Snapshot
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