IllinoisChicago
See how Chicago performed on our equity assessment of its ARPA Local Fiscal Recovery Fund investment strategy.
Total Equity Focused ARPA Funds
$482,078,790$482,078,790
Overall Score
High
Featured Case Studies
Chicago, Illinois committed $13.5 million in ARPA funds to its Community Wealth Building Initiative, a groundbreaking economic development strategy that promotes local, democratic ownership of community assets.
Guided by its Office of Equity and Racial Justice, Chicago, Illinois’s ARPA strategy prioritized equity in its process and its investments, directing funds to initiatives like guaranteed income, community safety, and wealth-building to drive sustained, transformational change.
ARPA Equity Assessment of Chicago, IL
Overall Equity Focus
HighWas racial and economic equity an explicit focus of the jurisdiction's ARPA investment strategy?
95% of locations met this criterion.81% of locations met this criterion.86% of locations met this criterion.Equity Decision Making Tools and Resources
HighAre equity tools, frameworks, and structures in place to support equitable investment project identification, design, and implementation?
38% of locations met this criterion.Chicago’s Equity Statement of Principles names five guiding equity principles: 1) building a culture of inclusion of diversity; 2) deeping the city’s spectrum of engagement; 3) routinizing equity impact analyses in the City’s process and practice; 4) investing in the City’s healing; and 5) being accountable for equitable progress.
24% of locations met this criterion.In November 2022, Chicago codified the Office of Equity and Racial Justice into Municipal Code (Ch. 2-4-100).
31% of locations met this criterion.In July 2022, the City released a draft of a 10-year strategic plan, We Will Chicago, which was guided by neighborhood stakeholders, artists, community partners, and city agencies based on principles of equity and resiliency for all.
51% of locations met this criterion.In 2019, Chicago established an Office of Equity and Racial Justice (OERJ) and hired the first Chief Equity Officer.
31% of locations met this criterion.The Office of Equity and Racial Justice (OERJ) directly supported the implementation of the Chicago COVID-19 Vulnerability Index (CCVI) and the Chicago Community Area Economic Hardship Index to design ARPA projects based on the provided data to determine the communities that needed investments the most.
48% of locations met this criterion.72% of locations met this criterion.38% of locations met this criterion.Community Engagement
HighDid the jurisdiction engage community members in decision making about the ARPA funds, conduct targeted outreach to historically excluded communities, and implement strategies to reach underserved communities?
94% of locations met this criterion.64% of locations met this criterion.54% of locations met this criterion.Equitable Labor Practices
MiddleDoes the jurisdiction use best practices for ensuring public investments deliver family-supporting jobs to residents who have faced barriers to good jobs and economic prosperity?
36% of locations met this criterion.
16% of locations met this criterion.70% of locations met this criterion.29% of locations met this criterion.11% of locations met this criterion.Equity Investments
HighDid the jurisdiction make investments that have the potential to advance equity by targeting the communities most harmed by the pandemic and addressing systemic inequities?
62% of locations met this criterion.71% of locations met this criterion.64% of locations met this criterion.82% of locations met this criterion.63% of locations met this criterion.81% of locations met this criterion.45% of locations met this criterion.33% of locations met this criterion.32% of locations met this criterion.64% of locations met this criterion.64% of locations met this criterion.31% of locations met this criterion.67% of locations met this criterion.56% of locations met this criterion.50% of locations met this criterion.Transparency & Accountability
HighDoes the jurisdiction set performance goals, collect data to monitor progress toward equitable outcomes, and provide the public with information about how funds are being used?
55% of locations met this criterion.70% of locations met this criterion.64% of locations met this criterion.75% of locations met this criterion.