Gratitude and Achievements: Reflecting on New America Chicago’s 2023 Impact

For many of us, 2023 was a year of heightened challenges – from inflation that has disproportionately affected low-income communities at home to turmoil abroad. Our focus continues to be on narrowing Chicago’s racial and ethnic wealth gap and striving to ensure financial mobility for all Chicagoans. We are grateful for the support of our donors and partners to make this work possible. With the continued expansion of our programming, we are regularly seeking additional donations.

As the year comes to a close, we are proud to share some of our achievements from 2023 which include:

• We spearheaded Illinois’ innovative Earned Income Tax Credit (EIC) simplified filing pilot, which is leading the nation as an important tool to combat poverty in conjunction with the federal credit to make the tax system more equitable for low-income Illinoisans. In 2023, our friends at Inclusive Economy Lab (IEL) conducted an analysis using Census microdata to estimate the number of Illinois households who are enrolled in Medicaid and SNAP that could benefit from an expanded Illinois' simplified filing program – nearly 55,000 households are enrolled in benefits but do not file income taxes, missing out on $24.9 million in EIC payments. After learning more about the simplified filing initiative, the Illinois Department of Human Services (IDHS) included this initiative in their Poverty Commission Pillar 3 Subcommittee goals for 2024. We are continuing discussions for expanding the successful initiative to more low-income families, holding multiple briefings and meetings with more than 48 legislators, national leaders and state agency representatives. Over 20,000 low-income Illinoisans now receive their state EIC because of New America Chicagoʼs advocacy.

• In June, we released two final reports based on Child Tax Credit (CTC) user research that New America Chicago conducted in coordination with Heartland Alliance and Dylan Bellisle from Dominican University. The report, Serving Americans Well: Removing Bureaucracy to Help Americans Access Tax Credits, uses lessons learned from three years of work helping thousands of families in Illinois access their stimulus checks and CTC, as well as interviews with low- and middle-income recipients and nonprofits serving these populations. In our second report, Designing Tax Filing Solutions for All the People: Getting Tax Credits to Low-Income Families, we present six personas combined with elements of user archetypes, based on specific challenges community members shared. These reports include recommendations for federal and state taxing authorities to simplify tax filing for the public.

• We partnered with The Workers Lab to pilot a new technology platform called ChiFlexi, which aims to grow quality gig work in Chicago. ChiFlexi allows workers to fill their available time over multiple employers with short-term work while also receiving benefits like paid sick time. The project has already garnered national attention, including a presentation at the request of President Biden’s Domestic Policy Council staff. To lay the foundation for this work, we held two listening sessions with Chicago gig workers at The Chicago Community Trust and developed partnerships with local organizations, Cara Chicago, National Able Network and World Business Chicago.

• Over the summer, we held a convening with lenders and two community design sessions with residents who had recent experience accessing small dollar loans – seeking direct community insight to apply to potential practice and policy solutions. In early 2024, we will release a report on these design sessions, including feedback from various stakeholders we have met with during the course of the project.

*Update: Designing Better Small Dollar Loans was released January 2024.

• This past year, we established a Core Advisors Council to guide the development of CivicSpace and advise our team on how to maximize impact in an equitable manner. The group includes 16 community leaders, organizers, nonprofit organizations, and foundations. Their feedback has been phenomenal. We also recruited seven technical advisors with varying expertise to help advise staff on specific topic areas.

As 2024 approaches, we are planning exciting projects to continue building out CivicSpace and contributing to innovative policy solutions that improve economic equity for low-income communities in Chicago.

• We will continue to build momentum on EIC simplified filing by working with state agency staff to explore implementation options and collecting and amplifying community member experiences. Through this work, we expect to impact over 54,000 low-income households in Illinois through nearly $25 million in EIC payments.
• In early 2024, we will launch the ChiFlexi labor platform with The Workers Lab representing an unprecedented opportunity to learn alongside workers, employers, and workforce development partners. This project will explore, prototype, and test policy levers to improve access to gig worker protections and benefits nationally, allowing workers to build financial security for the future. The ChiFlexi platform will directly benefit 1700+ Chicago workers and contribute to improved policies for millions nationally.
• In February 2024, New America Chicago will host a briefing with the goal of increasing the use of new, safer loan alternatives for low and moderate income households, with a focus on Black and Latino communities.
• CivicSpace will participate in diverse community and cultural events across the Chicago metro area under the umbrella of Us@250 – a New America initiative that seeks to commemorate the nation's rich history, reckon with its failures, celebrate its achievements, and envision a united future for all. These events will explore crucial themes such as economic prosperity for struggling communities and shared identity, as well as help guide our priorities in the coming years.

During this time of reflection, we are especially grateful for the support of our friends, partners, and donors. In collaboration with The Chicago Community Trust and our partners, we remain committed to expanding our reach in 2024 – but we can’t do it without your support. We look forward to partnering with you, our friends and colleagues alongside Chicago communities, to make lasting, systems-level changes that can enhance prosperity and wellbeing.