Dialogue over Division: A CivicSpace Year in Review

Across America, division is growing, and unity feels harder than ever. This year, Chicago has faced enormous challenges, yet our city has shown resilience, creativity, and hope.

At CivicSpace, we work every day to foster connection, restore hope, and revive the American Dream in communities left behind. We listen, seek common ground, and advance public policies that put people first. CivicSpace has brought Chicagoans and thought partners across the country together to listen, problem-solve, and shape policy solutions that reflect what they need most. We are proud to share what we accomplished together in 2025 across our different issue areas and our aspirations for 2026.

Civic Powerbuilding

• While divisions between rural and urban communities have grown, collaboration between them can be powerful. Learn more in this recording of our virtual roundtable with President of the Field Foundation Daniel O. Ash, sociologist Loka Ashwood, environmental advocate Catherine Coleman Flowers and political scientist Suzanne Mettler. Thank you to the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation for its support.
• CivicSpace hosted its first policy advocacy training for nonprofit partners with over 50 attendees in partnership with The Chicago Community Trust. We look forward to hosting more sessions in 2026.
• New America Chicago joined the Us@250 initiative to celebrate our nation’s upcoming anniversary in a city-wide event at Second City in October. Read about CivicSpace’s work with local partners to inspire dialogue across divisions in this blog or watch what people had to say in this poignant video showing how Americans are both unique and yet deeply connected by shared experiences.

Good Jobs & Wealth Building

• Many gig workers we’ve talked to love the work they do but they need more financial stability and basic worker protections. CivicSpace led the way in 2025 with policy recommendations to modernize workforce policy in collaboration with The Workers Lab and New America’s Center on Education & Labor and Better Life Lab.
• In partnership with the Economic Awareness Council, our team revived the popular “Get My Payment Illinois” website and coalition to increase low-income Illinoisans’ access to tax credits by building awareness of free tax prep tools and resources to answer key questions.
• Millions of eligible families miss out on tax credits due to confusion or fear of filing incorrectly. Our design sprint in Illinois with New America’s New Practice Lab continues to inspire innovative, simplified tax filing models nationwide. Our team continues to work with the Illinois Department of Human Services to help more low-income families receive their tax credits.
• Working closely with The Woodstock Institute and Civic Consulting Alliance, our team shared important community feedback and analysis on access to safe, affordable small-dollar loan products on our website and at a convening of regional lenders.

Affordable Housing & Homeownership

• In collaboration with The Chicago Community Trust’s Stay in Place initiative and New America’s Future of Land and Housing, we heard directly from senior homeowners in Englewood about what they need to age in place and pass on wealth to the next generation. Read what they shared in our design session.
• Across the city, Black and Latine two- to four-flat owners are quietly providing affordable apartments to their neighbors. In Pilsen, live-in owners shared the financial pressures to sell as they compete with wealthy developers. Learn more from the Stay in Place initiative about what city policies could help maintain ownership and affordable units.
• New America Chicago Director Meegan Dugan Adell joins The Chicago Community Trust’s podcast, Trust Talks, to discuss challenges underinvested communities face in homeownership and staying in place. Listen to the full episode.
• In April, New America Chicago and the Future of Land and Housing team gathered our largest convening of community members from the Southside of Chicago, city and county policymakers, advocates, and financial institutions into one room to discuss potential solutions for climate resiliency and housing for the South Shore neighborhood and beyond. Read about the planning and best practices for similar events or about what we learned.

Technology in Community

• The people spoke, we listened. Our 515 person 2024 CivicSpace Community Survey showed that protection from online fraud is a top priority to maintain their household’s wealth across all political backgrounds. Read these tips on how to identify fraud and stay protected.

This year, CivicSpace aims to expand the program's reach and further share community insights with those that can make an impact. We will provide community members a seat at the table, joining staff to share policy concepts from our community design sessions over the last year with city, state, and federal policymakers. We’ll cover topics that are important to Illinois communities like affordable and sustainable housing, access to tax credits, protection from online fraud, and access to good jobs and benefits.

To learn more about our work or request a briefing, contact our team member Vanessa Rangel (rangel@newamerica.org).