Reporting teams will cover utility debt, neighborhood investment and vaccination rates. Send any tips or suggestions our way!
By Arionne Nettles
Photos: Samantha Cabrera Friend/City Bureau
City Bureau is welcoming our latest group of Civic Reporting Fellows. As the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic continues to exacerbate pre-existing inequalities, fellows are reporting on issues on the city’s South and West Sides related to socioeconomic status and access to health care.
Throughout the 11-week fellowship, teams will seek to better understand Chicagoans’ utility debt, interrogate the processes behind neighborhood investment projects and dive into what’s behind low vaccination rates—keeping the focus of who is most impacted by these issues at the forefront of reporting. Here’s a look:
Utility Debt
In Illinois, utility customers in Black- and Latinx-majority ZIP codes were about four times more likely to be disconnected for nonpayment, according to a Tufts University study. A team of fellows will look into the prevalence of utility debt and disconnections in Chicago ZIP codes, the accessibility of utility debt and aid programs and the barriers that Chicagoans face in finding relief.
From left: Shabaka Verna, Samantha Cabrera Friend, Diane Bustamante and Sarah Conway (team leader and City Bureau’s senior reporter and special projects manager)
Neighborhood Investment
Large city-led investment projects often solicit community feedback, but they don’t always follow through with community needs—leaving residents feeling misled and projects without neighborhood support. This team will report in Austin and East Garfield Park on Chicago’s West Side, where residents have long struggled to secure investments to revitalize business and commercial corridors.
From left: David Boykin, Camille Joy Powell, Anjulie Rao (team leader) and Isra Rahman
COVID-19 Vaccinations
Nearly a year after the first COVID-19 vaccine was introduced, vaccination rates in several of Chicago’s low-income communities of color are significantly lower than the city’s more affluent, predominantly white neighborhoods. This team will report on the reasons behind lower vaccination rates and the efforts that are underway to improve them.
From left: Eric Cox (team leader), Daniel Corral, Jonathan Wilson and Daniela Jaime
We’d love any tips or suggestions for our fall reporting! Email us at fellowship@citybureau.org, or leave a voicemail or text us at 312-361-0881.
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