Moving Toward Equity-Driven Economic Resilience: Chicago’s Approach to ARPA Allocations

Centering equity in the decision-making process

Former Mayor Lori Lightfoot launched the OERJ in 2019 to embed an equity approach throughout its operations. OERJ defines equity as both an outcome and a process. As an outcome, equity is “fair and just access to opportunity and resources that provide everyone the ability to thrive.” As a process, equity means prioritizing access and opportunities for groups with the greatest need, methodically evaluating benefits and burdens produced by seemingly neutral systems and practices, and engaging those most impacted “as experts in their own experiences, strategists in co-creating solutions, and evaluators of success.” The OERJ guides all City departments in designing racial equity action plans and conducting equity analyses of departmental budgets, providing tools and resources, and tracking progress over time. It has become a permanent fixture of the city of Chicago’s government and was codified into municipal code in November 2022. 

With the Treasury’s guidance encouraging a focus on those most impacted by the pandemic and systemic inequities, Chicago was able to leverage pre-existing equity frameworks and methodologies to inform its ARPA investments and prioritize investments that advance equity. Lauren Burdette, former Deputy Director for Policy and Equity explains, “If ARPA would have been allocated prior to the existence of OERJ, we may not have seen the level of equitable investment that we end up seeing in Chicago’s Recovery Plan.” 

Being data-driven is also central to Chicago’s approach. After data showed that Black and Latinx Chicagoans were disproportionately dying of COVID-19, Candace Moore, former Chief Equity Officer, established a Racial Equity Rapid Response Team in 2020. This cross-sector partnership between senior City leaders, community organizations, and hospitals worked to coordinate and implement emergency response strategies to reach the communities hardest-hit by the pandemic. Burdette describes how that table set the tone for equity investments across the City. “The impact of that team has had repercussions across the city enterprise,” Burdette said.

For Chicago’s ARPA investments, the City adopted a new approach using spatial data and mapping to target investments towards the most affected communities, significantly shifting away from traditional allocation methods based on formulas or wards. Collaborating with the University of Illinois, the OERJ and the Chicago Department of Public combined the Chicago COVID-19 Vulnerability Index (CCVI) and the Chicago Community Area Economic Hardship Index to identify program participants within high-need neighborhoods. A number of ARPA-funded programs, including the Mental Health Equity Initiative, My Chi My Future Youth Program, and Victim Support Funding Program, used these maps to tailor their programs to specific communities. With its ARPA allocations, the City sought to meet urgent needs and prioritize long-term systemic change. Lyric Griffin, Deputy Chief Equity Officer, describes how they are thinking about a continuum of improvement toward equity in the City through ARPA investments, including “transactional and transformational” investments. “On the one hand, we try to think about what are those things that were transactional and meaningful? Because folks really needed that relief. And on the other hand, where have we as a city created long-term impact?” Griffin says.

Investing in equity

With this foundation laid for data-driven equitable investments, the City collaborated with the community to co-design the Chicago Recovery Plan, which identified thirteen priority areas for investment ranging from affordable housing to environmental justice initiatives and violence prevention. The plan focuses on people and place-based investments that create thriving and safe communities, spurring an equitable economic recovery for Chicago’s neighborhoods and the communities hardest hit by the pandemic.

Chicago’s investments in guaranteed income, community violence prevention and alternatives to policing, community wealth building, and tree equity illustrate their equity focus:

• The City of Chicago and the Department of Family and Support Services committed $31.5 million in ARPA dollars to the Chicago Resilient Communities Pilot to mitigate economic hardship for low-income households most impacted by the pandemic. The program is the largest guaranteed income pilot by reach in the U.S., provided 5,000 Chicago residents with $500 in direct cash assistance per month for twelve months beginning in July 2022. Over 50 percent of Pilot recipients (2613 people) consented to participating in preliminary research to evaluate the program’s impact. These findings were published in the First Look Report. In 2024, Chicago will report on outcomes related to financial stability, increased economic mobility, improved health, reduced hardship, and an increased sense of agency and well-being.
• After near historic lows of homicides and gun violence pre-pandemic, Chicago experienced rapidly increasing community violence that correlated with the destabilizing economic, health, and social effects of COVID-19 on vulnerable communities. The Community Safety Coordinator Center (CSCC) is an investment of over $18 million ARPA dollars that works across City departments and with community-based organizations to address root causes of community violence including trauma, lack of educational and job opportunity, and community disinvestment. Focusing on 15 communities that have been impacted the most by violence, this work is rooted in a public health approach, responding to preventable public health crises that can be treated through deliberate, coordinated, and sustained efforts. Between January 2022 and June 2023, the Community Safety Coordination Center engaged over 5,000 people and provided over 300 urgent preventative or responsive support to community violence. Examples of the Center’s projects include the Emergency Supplemental Victims Fund, High Risk Intervention Team, and Mental Health Skills-Building Training for Community Leaders.
• Chicago boldly allocated over $6 million in ARPA funds to the Community Wealth Building Initiative, a pioneering pilot program launched in 2019 under former Mayor Lori Lightfoot's leadership. The Initiative aimed to address economic disparities by providing technical support, grants, and backing for shared ownership models, particularly in qualified census tracts. More than 15 organizations received grants to start, sustain, and scale Community Wealth Building models, while over 25 organizations received grants for planning projects like community land trusts and limited-equity housing cooperatives. Nneka Onwuzurike, the Community Wealth Building Lead, emphasized the Initiative's co-governance approach, involving the community in design and implementation. The Office of Equity and Racial Justice played a crucial role in establishing the CWB Advisory Council to ensure a community-led strategy. Chicago's ARPA investment reflects a commitment to equity as both a procedural approach and a tangible outcome in fostering equitable community development.
• Our Roots Chicago seeks to expand the tree canopy in every neighborhood in Chicago through an equitable, no neighborhood left behind approach. Chicago integrated their equity tools, including the Chicago COVID-19 Vulnerability Index (CCVI) and the Chicago Community Area Economic Hardship Index, with NASA data to better understand tree canopies in vulnerable neighborhoods throughout the City and to reduce climate change in these communities. With an ambitious goal of planting 75,000 new trees in the City, Chicago is committed to ensuring community requests are met. In a collaborative effort between community-based organizations and City departments, Chicago revamped the 311 system to enhance service for Spanish-speaking residents. Recognizing a disparity in parkway tree requests in neighborhoods with a majority of Spanish speakers, community members identified an ineffective translation in the 311 Spanish system. The City swiftly corrected the translation, leading to a notable rise in tree requests from the same neighborhoods. This incident highlights the crucial role of linguistic and cultural inclusivity in creating equitable programs, showcasing Chicago's commitment to innovative and inclusive practices.
• Responding to a longstanding demand from Chicagoans, the City used ARPA funds to address the integration of mental health professionals into 911 operations, resulting in the establishment of the CARE Pilot. With a $15 million investment, the innovative program formed multidisciplinary response teams, including the Chicago Fire Department Paramedics, Crisis Intervention Trained Officers from the Chicago Police Department, and Mental Health Clinicians from the Chicago Department of Public Health. Launched in September 2021 in two pilot areas, these teams have not only met, but exceeded, expectations, leading to ongoing expansion into additional areas of the City and the introduction of specialized professionals such as the Opioid Response Team.

Ensuring equitable implementation

Aligned with the City’s commitment to equitable community engagement, advisory council’s play an important role in ensuring equitable implementation of many ARPA investments. The council’s are composed of stakeholders across community organizations and City departments to function as an accountability mechanism for guiding strategy and implementation. Advisory councils play a crucial role by continuously offering feedback on programs and assessing community needs. The Community Wealth Building and Chicago Resilient Communities Pilot Advisory Council’s are cross-sector, community-driven efforts to ensure that the design and implementation strategy is community led. Advisory council members are selected based on their lived experiences, knowledge, and skill sets across different models of community wealth building and poverty interventions. 

Chicago is leveraging ARPA funds to invest in impact assessments and measure outcomes. For example, the Chicago Resilient Communities Pilot is partnering with the University of Chicago’s Inclusive Economy Lab to conduct comprehensive quantitative and qualitative evaluations of the program. 

Recognizing that transparency is key for accountability and meeting equity goals, in May 2023 the City launched a new data transparency tool to enhance public access for critical information on ARPA investments. The website, ChiRecoveryPlan.com, allows Chicagoans to see how many of their neighbors are receiving pandemic relief, where local business corridors are revitalized, and the number of youth participating in summer employment programs. Residents can engage with interactive maps overlaid with the COVID-19 Vulnerability Index and Economic Hardship Index to see ARPA programs as well as disaggregate demographic and income data. This website allows Chicagoans to explore how investment decisions were made to center their neighbors most impacted by the pandemic and experiencing the highest unmet needs.

Chicago's Office of Equity and Racial Justice also established a foundational reporting structure  to ensure racially equitable implementation of programs. Every City department has a racial equity action plan and is required to annually report on their progress during budget sessions. Most departments situate their ARPA projects within their racial equity plans and this functions as the main accountability mechanism for operationalizing racial equity in the City. This internal structure adds a valuable layer to the annual Treasury reports on ARPA investments.

Burdette sees the racial equity plans as a significant step forward and also acknowledges room for growth for tracking progress towards equitable outcomes. While the Chicago City Council initially held quarterly updates to track new contracts and success stories, these updates no longer take place. Without this regular cadence of updates, there is more siloing of projects within their departments, limiting collaboration as well as progress tracking. Like many communities, Chicago has transitioned mayoral administrations during ARPA implementation, challenging the consistency and accountability of equity initiatives.

Toward transformative change

With Chicago’s well established equity commitments, ARPA funds supported millions in new public investments that support marginalized communities and center community voice and collaboration. Burdette stresses the City's enduring commitment to equity beyond ARPA funding, emphasizing the ongoing pursuit for funding and political support for impactful programs. ARPA funds provided the rare opportunity to strategically and creatively invest in projects driven to meet the needs of the City’s most vulnerable residents, but without significant revenue increases, it will be difficult to maintain. While there is some uncertainty around the continuation of some initiatives after the funds are spent, there is sustained support for the CARE pilot and Community Wealth Building Initiative. There are efforts to integrate the Community Wealth Building Initiative into the Planning Department, so it can continue to center grantmaking for community ownership and development.

One of the most powerful takeaways from Chicago's use of ARPA funds is the transformative impact of centering those most affected by inequities in decision-making. By using data-driven resource allocation, the City was able to strategically target its investments where they were needed most. Kupe and Griffin highlighted how ARPA empowered Chicago to break from traditional approaches, proving that bold, equity-focused strategies can drive lasting change. As ARPA funds diminish, Griffin observes that departments are increasingly committed to sustaining equity-driven initiatives and are working to codify these practices to ensure they remain a priority, regardless of political shifts.