CUPPA Subject Matter Experts in the News Spring ’26
Introduction
City of Chicago / January 22
The Nathalie P. Voorhees Center's Point in Time Homeless count was referenced in a City of Chicago news release on Jan. 22. The release stated that on the night of the Count, about 550 trained City staff, homeless shelter staff, street outreach teams and volunteers conduct a tally and survey of individuals and families experiencing homelessness in both sheltered sites and unsheltered locations not meant for human habitation (e.g., parks, encampments) in Chicago. Mayor Brandon Johnson said, "The point-in-time count is a vital part of the City’s data-driven approach to understanding and addressing homelessness in Chicago."
Injustice Watch / January 15
David Merriman, Stukel Presidential Professor in the Department of Public Policy, Management and Analytics, was quoted by Injustice Watch in their story, "Cook County allows tax foreclosures by municipalities. Poor oversight led to misuse by local officials." He said, “The county has an obligation to ensure that any public resources it controls are used for legitimate public purposes.”
Streetsblog Chicago / January 9
Streetsblog covered Urban Planning and Policy Associate Professor Kate Lowe's new project website, "Black Perspectives on Public Transit." "Black Perspectives on Public Transit" is a new interactive website based on datacollected through Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning and CTA surveys, along with community-based research. It's described as "a mixed methods analysis of views... centered in North Lawndale to better understand the perspectives of Black residents."
Newcity / January 8
A Great Cities Institute study was referenced in a Newcity Music story on the impact of ICE on Chicago's music community. "According to a University of Illinois at Chicago and Great Cities Institute report, Chicago’s nonprofit arts sector generates roughly $1.7 billion in annual economic activity, supports about 11,000 jobs, and produces more than $250 million in local and state tax revenue."
Chicago Tribune / January 2
In a Tribune story on Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson's city hall hiring freezes, Stukel Presidential Professor David Merriman said, “In general, hiring freezes are a blunt tool to reduce spending,” Merriman wrote in a statement. “A much better approach is to prioritize city services and to curtail those that are least essential and most readily able to be cut.”
Chicago Sun-Times / December 28
A story on immigration referenced a 2024 Great Cities Institute Study on Latinos in Chicago, "A 2024 study by the University of Illinois Chicago Great Cities Institute found that Latinos in Chicago, who predominantly are of Mexican descent, contribute nearly $100 billion annually to the GDP of the Chicago metropolitan area."
Chicago Tribune / December 26
Associate professor of Urban Planning and Policy, Kate Lowe, was quoted in a Chicago Tribune story on CTA safety. Among her comments, she said, “There’s a lot of things that cause people distress, but it’s really hard to untangle what is really a risk to someone’s physical safety."