Mayor Lori Lightfoot has been urging Chicago’s corporate and philanthropic communities to help Chicago rebuild more equitably after the economic devastation created by the coronavirus and the civil unrest triggered by the death of George Floyd.
On Thursday, both sectors answered the call.
Armed with $25 million in “initial” philanthropic contributions and “corporate commitments,” the Chicago Community Trust launched, Together We Rise.
The goal is to make certain that Black and Hispanic communities that bore the brunt of both the health and economic impacts of the coronavirus can make a strong comeback from that double-whammy.
A steering committee will “pool and distribute philanthropic resources” aimed at ensuring an “equitable economic recovery,” according to a news release announcing the initiative.
On the corporate side, the news release talks about a variety of ways to “foster economic equity.” They include: “procurement and hiring commitments” and “other in-kind, catalytic contributions” as well as “workforce and income supports, such as earned income tax credit,” and “policies that incentivize investment in disinvested communities.”
Even before the pandemic exposed Chicago’s ugly under-belly of poverty, lack of access to health care and disparities in investment and jobs, Lightfoot had launched a war on poverty with the ambitious goal of eliminating it in a generation.
On Thursday, the mayor applauded Chicago’s corporate and philanthropic titans for responding to those “flashing neon signs” in an unprecedented way.
“COVID-19 has taken a devastating toll on our Black and Brown communities, undoubtedly due to the disproportionate levels of poverty and inequity they have faced for decades. As a result, our response to COVID-19 must also address these deep-rooted issues,” the mayor was quoted as saying in the news release.
“Thanks to the Together We Rise initiative, we will be able to do just that. I am proud to partner the Chicago Community Trust and every philanthropy, business, non-profit and community that has signed onto this effort and look forward to working together to rise above COVID-19 and the systemic inequalities it has brought to the surface.”
Helene Gayle, president and CEO of the Chicago Community Trust, said there is “no greater time than now” to focus on “inclusive, resilient growth” that puts Black and Latinx communities “historically left-behind” at the center of the recovery.
“We stand committed to working alongside diverse stakeholders to re-imagine systems that perpetuate racial and ethnic wealth inequity,” Gayle was quoted as saying.
As one of two “anchor corporate supporters,” of the new initiative, JPMorgan Chase has made a five-year, $600 million home lending commitment to increase home ownership among 3,000 Black and Hispanic families in the Chicago area, including the city’s South and West sides.
“Every Chicagoan should have equal access to banking and home ownership and we all have work to do to make this happen,” Curtis Reed, Chicago market leader for JPMorgan Chase, was quoted as saying.
“The firm is also taking steps to expand access for Chicagoans to traditional banking and financial health programs, including the South and West sides of the city, while launching new ways to support Black and Brown-owned businesses.”
The other corporate anchor is PepsiCo. The soft-drink giant announced a commitment to invest $500,000 a year in job training and youth development in South and West side neighborhoods.
PepsiCo also announced $1.5 million in “new programming” that includes $1 million for the Hatchery to help 400 small food business entrepreneurs owned by women, and a three-year, $300,000 partnership with the City Colleges of Chicago.
“COVID-19 has once again put a spotlight on the deep-rooted health and economic disparities that have long faced communities of color,” Neil Pryor, president of PepsiCo Beverages North America’s Central Division, was quoted as saying.
“As a member of the Chicago community for more than 30 years with deep roots here, we’re committed to supporting the city’s long-term recovery.”
Two months ago, Lightfoot exhorted the Executives’ Club of Chicago to participate by following what she called a “new economic model based on dynamic, inclusive growth.”
The mayor said on that day that she was prepared to lead the way with her $750 million Invest South/West plan to rebuild 10 inner-city neighborhoods.
But she argued that the city, philanthropic and community-based organizations together “account for, at most, 20% of the city’s economic activity” and “cannot do this alone.”
“It’s our business community, all of you, that make up the other 80%. And until that 80% finds a new way to invest in our people and our neighborhoods, the grinding poverty and the violence born out of desperation and despair simply will not end. But when we put that 80% to work in our neighborhoods, anything is possible,” the mayor said then.
Editor’s note: The Chicago Community Trust has provided a grant to the Sun-Times to fund the work of two reporters who cover the environment and public health, and social justice and income inequality.
