Yves here. I have mixed feelings about the developments described in this article. On the other hand, it is encouraging to see that many initiatives in Chicago have emerged or expanded to help those who suffer from economic or social problems. On the other hand, the piece states aloud that the reason for the increase in scope and informal communication of these efforts is the poor local economy (without relief from housing costs) and the budget reduction expected to reach the types of public safety. And although the organizations described here are grassroots, one has to wonder if another NGO funded by billionaires will decide to help and finish ousting some of these groups (which seem to be working well).
The article describes a key advantage of these organizations: they are more flexible than government agencies. But to put on my devil’s advocate hat, it doesn’t have to be this way. The US has a punitive, catch-the-poor attitude. Many schemes have detailed means-testing and other barriers, considering that those who are underperforming do not want to work and need to be monitored to ensure that they do not get more than they deserve. For example, openDemocracy recently published an article that gives a UK example of this behaviour, Disability checking bank accounts show that Labor is not for change. Even though disability benefit fraud is relatively low, Labor nevertheless wants full access to bank account transaction data for scheme participants.
I don’t mean to sound critical. Mutual aid is not only beneficial, but the growth of these social networks builds communities and helps fight the atomization of neoliberalism. But in a better world, they would add more social safety nets. The bottom line of concern here is that they are on their way to becoming the best.
As for the phrase “it shouldn’t be this way”, there is no natural reason for aid programs to be developed and managed at the national level. That great American socialist Richard Nixon used shared funding, based on the idea that the Federal government was better at collecting revenue than states and local governments, but states and municipalities were better at knowing their needs and designing appropriate programs. The bloc’s grants regulated fund sharing and (IIRC) its only controls were anti-fraud measures. Ronald Reagan canceled sharing funds.
Damon Orion is a writer, journalist, musician, artist, and teacher in Santa Cruz, California. His work has appeared in Revolver, Guitar World, Spirituality + Health, Classic Rock, High Times, and other publications. Read more about his work at DamonOrion.com. Produced by Local Peace Economy
In July 2024, the Council Office of Financial Analysis (COFA) reported that Chicago, Illinois, is seeing a struggling job market, a decline in multifamily housing, and an increase in single-family home prices. The following month, the City of Chicago’s 2025 Budget Forecast revealed a budget gap of $982.4 million for the fiscal year.
Budget gaps can often lead to funding cuts to essential services such as public services and education.
Fortunately, there are many nonprofits and charities in Chicago that can help ease the hardships of these situations. For example, community and neighborhood development organization Reason to Give provides education, school supplies, clothing, and toys to children and families in need. The non-profit HighSight provides low-income high school students with scholarships and academic support, and Sol House Cooperative’s mission is to “provide affordable homeownership opportunities on Chicago’s Northwest Side to community-minded people who want to share in the decision-making and responsibilities of property management within. a partnership firm.”
When talking about the practical change brought about by “hyperlocal organizations”, Daniel Ash of the Chicago Community Trust told the Reader in 2021, “These formal and informal networks focused on helping all people are almost, by definition, soft because of their size and scale… And when you get close to the problem, there you see people who need help, there’s some kind of instinctive reaction that needs to be done now.”
The ChiCommons Cooperative, a labor collective that aims to “encourage and grow a people-owned cooperative economy,” has created an online map of more than 800 cooperatives, cooperatives, and related services in the Chicago area. Similar to Seeding Solidarity of New York and the Solidarity Economy Map and Directory, the ChiCommons map points viewers to local housing associations, co-ops, labor unions, credit unions, and other self-help groups. Its users can search by co-op category, zip code, city, or region.
In addition to helping Chicago residents find community and resources, this map is important to groups and individuals working to develop co-ops. Steve Ediger, co-founder and co-president of ChiCommons, explains that consulting and installation services can use it to learn “who’s in the co-op space in Chicago and what they’re doing.”
The map also serves as a regional resource for Find.coop, an international cooperative map curated by the Data Commons Cooperative.
Anyone interested in using the ChiCommons directory as a model for a similar project can access its source software on the developer platform GitHub. “We’re very willing to talk to people about what we’ve done and what we’ve had with the map,” noted Ediger.
Between 2010 and 2012, the Institute of Cultural Affairs laid the groundwork for a solidarity map by creating Accelerate77, a list of organizations promoting sustainability in all of Chicago’s 77 public spaces. In 2012, a sharing economy center called Chicago Time Exchange worked with the coalition’s sharing economy news source to create a map of shared resources in the Chicago region. In 2016, two ChiCommons staff members used data from Accelerate77, Shareable, and other lists of local solidarity groups to create an early version of what would eventually become the ChiCommons solidarity map.
Explaining the importance of the collaborative economy, Shareable says it is “a global movement to build a world that focuses on people and the planet instead of maximizing private profits and sustainable growth.”
According to Ediger, the first version of the ChiCommons map contained between 400 and 600 entries. “Some were cooperatives, some were mutual services, some were cooperatives: things like community gardens, farmers’ markets, town squares, co-ops, bike co-ops, housing co-ops, credit unions, mutuals. —all people associated with co-op and solidarity ecosystems.”
Service Providers
Besides the unity map, ChiCommons created the social network BlockShare. “It’s trying to provide last-mile online support to underserved communities,” Ediger explained. Recipients of this service join the ChiCommons Cooperative as consumer owners. Blockshare provides people with individual servers, allowing them to organize their own communities and “share their garden produce, time, talents, tools, and rides with each other,” Ediger said.
The ChiCommons website notes that while the Chicago area is “a dynamic crossroads of culture, commerce, and innovation,” it “also suffers from legacy problems of inequality, disinvestment, and exclusion. Too often, existing institutions have ignored all aspects of our communities, geographically, demographically, and productively, including access to technology and health needs.”
An analysis by the University of Chicago’s Data Science Institute, based on responses received between 2014 and 2019, found that while nearly 80 percent of Chicago households use the Internet, up to 40 percent of households in the city’s least-connected communities do not have access to internet. “Most foreclosed homes in Chicago are located on the South and West sides of the city,” the study said.
Collaborators
ChiCommons makes a living by providing paid business services and technology to small businesses, non-profit organizations, cooperatives, and cooperatives. For example, the group designed and implemented all the necessary technology for the Wild Onion Market grocery store, including its computers, network, Internet connection, point-of-sale infrastructure, security cameras, and printers. ChiCommons also provides strategic planning and facilitation for prospective co-op founders.
Employee-owner Paul Bowman, who developed the booking and management system for the Interpreters’ Cooperative of Madison, describes his position at ChiCommons as “an opportunity to participate directly in the work of the cooperative.” Employee-owner Alvyn Walker says he enjoys “the opportunity to interact with other people in a non-hierarchical environment” and the independence that self-employment brings.
Ediger, one of about 35 residents in a sustainability-focused neighborhood called the GreenRise Purpose Communityfeels the most rewarding aspect of his involvement with ChiCommons is the sense of community it provides. “What I like, what gives me strength, is working towards the same goals with like-minded people,” he comments. “I do my cooperativism every day. I shop, bank, and work in co-ops.
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