Greetings Conference participants and thanks for visiting. Click here for my Future of Chicago piece. This six minute read distills 30 years of Civic Media work. If it strikes a chord, let's talk.

WILL THE CONFERENCE POINT TO A TURNING POINT OR LEAVE CHICAGO AT ITS TIPPING POINT?

Here are two Civic Media projects that are relevant today:

• Created in 2015 for the Illinois Violence Prevention Task Force: this "Full Story" proposal enables Chicago's media to supply not some but all Chicagoans,with the information, resources and support they need in order to effectively address youth, gun and gang violence in their neighborhoods. It is endorsed by 8th District House Representative La Shawn K. Ford and by then-Director of the Illinois Department of Public Health Larmar Hasbrouck.  
• This 3,000 word piece, "The Chicago Tribune’s “New Plan of Chicago”: What Would Daniel Burnham Say?" details the workings of a fully functional Civic Media. It describes this media as an Information Age Infrastructure that embodies and empowers that same civic spirit that Daniel Burnham wrote about and realized in the physical and architectural infrastructure that he created for Chicagoans to enjoy and cherish today.

The Civic Media archive is here. A word of caution. Entering this site is a little like entering a crowded attic packed with all kinds of things, old and new, public and personal. But if you browse it, you’ll soon find items of interest to anyone who’s open to the idea that Chicago’s mainstream, social and community media have constructive roles to play in getting Chicago (and Illinois and America) out of the media-driven mess we’re in now. Thanks fort taking a look.