Chicago Has a Plan for Recovery

Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot convened a COVID-19 Recovery Task Force in April 2020 to chart a better future for the city after the economic crisis and public health crisis of the pandemic recedes. In July, the task force produced a 104-page document making recommendations for the city's future, reports Alan Greenblat. 

"The task force’s five committees — made up of local heavy hitters in corporate, academic, philanthropic and other realms, with community input — have come up with a total of 17 recommendations," according to Greenblat's explanation of the "Forward Together: Building a Stronger Chicago" [pdf] report. 

"Many of the recommendations are ambitious, pursuing goals around equity and increased minority business ownership that have eluded Chicago and other cities for decades. Even the simplest ideas — such as creating and staffing a multilingual 211 service to help residents access social service programs — pose a challenge for a city that’s facing a $700 million budget shortfall."

After detailing the terrible economic toll the pandemic has taken on residents of large swatches of the city, Greenblat offers insight into how the task force's recommendations intend to address both the current challenges, and the pre-existing challenges facing the city.