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CBS News
21-07-2025
- Science
- CBS News
Experts in Chicago explore how community-based strategies can fight climate change
Chicago is the stage for another major climate conference this week, hosting The Aspen Institute's Climate Conference for the first time. "This is about bringing people together from across sectors," said Greg Gershuny, who leads the energy and environment program at The Aspen Institute. "We could've done this for 80 straight days, and never run out of things to talk about." Gershuny said the conversations happening at the conference this week could ultimately make some real changes — not only in the Chicago area, but across the country. The conference began as a brand-new report, released Monday, reveals how communities can come together to reduce emissions contributing to climate change. For the first time, the report details how getting involved can make an impact — and how community-based strategies can significantly reduce emissions. The new report, "Changing the Game: Community-based strategies and climate mitigation," was prepared by the Redstone Strategy Group for the MacArthur Foundation, the Marin Community Foundation, and the Equation Campaign. Jorgen Thomsen, director of climate solutions for the MacArthur Foundation, was one of the experts behind the group. He said through the report and an analysis of projects across the country, they have found what they call community-based strategies — such as state and local legislation, renewable energy development, and decarbonization projects can lower emissions known to contribute to climate change. Considering federal rollbacks in both regulations and funding — which are poised to impact the air we breathe — the experts said philanthropy can make a real difference. Thery found for every single dollar spent on mitigation efforts, a metric ton of carbon dioxide can be reduced from the earth's atmosphere by 2030. That metric ton of carbon dioxide is the same weight as about 400 bricks. "You can actually have very significant return on investment by investing in communities and engaging communities," said Thomsen. The work documented in the report takes a close look at projects in states such as California, Ohio and New York. CBS News Chicago asked about Gary, Indiana, where a CBS News Chicago investigation recently exposed significant levels of industrial pollution and a consequent health impact on residents — bringing in medical researchers studying the connection to cancer. "That's the kind of dynamic we've been looking at in these other projects," said Thomsen, adding that Gary will be on the researchers' radar moving forward.
Chicago Tribune
29-06-2025
- Chicago Tribune
Sharp drop in arrests, other long-term crime trends shown in new Cook County data dashboard
Throughout 2019, Chicago police officers made nearly 80,000 arrests before scaling them back significantly during the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic the following spring. Now five years later, that drop appears not to be just a COVID-era blip: In recent years, arrests have rebounded slightly, but annually police still are recording tens of thousands of fewer arrests than they did in 2019. The trend is among a number of long-term shifts in how the criminal justice system operates in Cook County, according to Loyola University researchers who in partnership with local officials produced a data project that seeks to shed light on how 'shocks to the system' like the pandemic have reshaped how crime and violence are handled in Chicago. The publicly available data dashboard, unveiled by officials on Tuesday, integrates information from police, the court system, jails and prisons with the goal of creating a fuller picture of how cases move through the system from start to finish. It's funded by the MacArthur Foundation's Safety and Justice Challenge and was developed in conjunction with Loyola University Chicago by David Olson and Don Stemen, co-directors of Loyola's Center for Criminal Justice. 'It's a strategic tool to be able to note big trends and for the county stakeholders to use internally in terms of how we talk to each other about overall trends and strategies,' said Ali Abid, deputy director of the Cook County Justice Advisory Council, adding that officials felt it was important to make it available to the public and the media as well. The dashboard comes at a time when the justice system is still adjusting to major changes, like the elimination of cash bail in 2023 in addition to the massive upheaval brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic. The system is also experiencing new shifts that may continue to transform how justice looks in Cook County, such as the shuttering of the electronic monitoring program run by Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart and the policy changes brought by State's Attorney Eileen O'Neill Burke since she took office in December. 'What we've been seeing for a decade is a shift in thinking about how we respond to crime,' said Olson. Olson said Cook County is the only large county he is aware of with a data system like this one. He noted that it is not designed to explain why changes are happening but rather help stakeholders spot patterns. 'Part of it is to illustrate the interconnectedness of the system despite the fact that agencies are at different levels of government, different branches of government,' he said. Even though, according to the dashboard, arrests have declined since the pandemic — with police in total making more than 47,000 arrests in 2024 compared with more than 78,000 in 2019 — the researchers noted that incidents reported to police have not seen the same sustained sharp decrease, an indication that police practices may be shifting. '(Arrests have) gone up a little bit since 2020 but certainly are not back to the levels that you saw before COVID,' Stemen said. In particular, drug arrests have declined significantly. 'I don't think anyone would interpret this as a 60% drop in drug use in Chicago, but a change in policing habits,' Olson said. And among those who are charged with a drug offense, a greater share of those people are being sentenced to probation, according to the researchers. 'The use of prison has gone down,' Olson said, as a reliance on diversion and community supervision has grown. Meanwhile, arrests for weapons offenses have risen in recent years, according to the dashboard, with more than 5,300 made in 2024 versus around 4,600 in 2019. So far this year, the dashboard has also tracked a rise in the jail population, as well as an increase in people being ordered detained by judges while their cases are pending, though Olson and Stemen cautioned that the 2025 data so far makes up a small sample of the total data. The Tribune earlier this year reported on a recent uptick in the population of Cook County Jail, as officials examined possible factors such as the new state's attorney's policy-making and judicial decisions. 'It's at least on a trend where it seems like it will continue to increase for a while, but at a certain point it should plateau,' Olson said.
Time Magazine
20-05-2025
- Business
- Time Magazine
Cecilia Conrad
In 2023, when Yield Giving founder MacKenzie Scott wanted to give $250 million to 250 charities serving low-income households and people facing discrimination, she turned to Cecilia Conrad for help choosing which groups most deserved the grants. Conrad runs Lever for Change, a nonprofit that connects donors with organizations through 'open calls,' or competitions for funding, then brings in experts to evaluate applicants for financial soundness, impact, and effectiveness. It's a reversal of the typical invitation-only system most foundations use for grants, and gave, on the one hand, little-known nonprofits a shot at significant funding and, on the other, donors a chance to discover compelling new groups to support. The upshot for Scott? Lever for Change identified so many promising organizations that last year she ended up more than doubling her initial pledge, giving away $640 million to 361 groups, chosen from more than 6,000 applicants. Such is the transformative power of Conrad, a Stanford-trained economics professor-turned philanthropy executive who previously led the MacArthur Foundation's Fellows program, aka its 'Genius' grants. She founded Lever for Change in 2019 to dismantle barriers in philanthropy. 'There are donors who want to fund creative, effective organizations and creative, effective organizations who need funding but they have trouble finding each other,' Conrad says. To date, Lever for Change, which has also advised LinkedIn co-founder Reid Hoffman, has influenced $2.5 billion in donations to more than 500 charities. And more is coming: The organization is now vetting hundreds more charities to help Melinda French Gates decide how to allocate $250 million to improve women's health. 'We exist to help donors discover new ideas, new potential," Conrad says.
Axios
06-05-2025
- Politics
- Axios
GiveNOLA Day arrives amid growing strain on nonprofits
GiveNOLA Day is Tuesday, marking one of the biggest, single-day charity drives in New Orleans. The big picture: The average nonprofit in the South gets 26% of their annual revenue from government sources, according to the Urban Institute. In Louisiana, 84% of nonprofits got at least one government grant or contract in 2023, the study found. Yes, but: The Trump administration is cutting grant funding, especially for social welfare, education and environmental projects, according to the Foundation List. In New Orleans, nonprofit leaders told City Council members last month that the cuts are hurting their ability to feed the hungry and care for sexual assault victims. Council vice president Helena Moreno said at the time she instructed the city's chief administrative officer to push back against the changes and to see what can be done to fill the gaps. Zoom out: Nonprofits nationally are responding to federal reductions by seeking more corporate sponsorships and private donors, the Foundation List says. The MacArthur Foundation, Bloomberg Philanthropies and other groups say they will increase their giving, according to the New York Observer. Susannah Burley, executive director of Sustaining Our Urban Landscape in New Orleans, tells Axios she's stepping up efforts for private donations to plant trees after millions in federal funds were frozen or canceled. How it works: The Greater New Orleans Foundation spearheads GiveNOLA Day and connects donors with hundreds of nonprofits in 13 parishes.
New York Times
05-05-2025
- Entertainment
- New York Times
Branden Jacobs-Jenkins on Winning a Pulitzer for ‘Purpose'
Branden Jacobs-Jenkins was getting ready for his first Met Gala on Monday afternoon when he got the news: his latest play, 'Purpose,' which is now on Broadway, won this year's Pulitzer Prize for drama. The other finalists were Cole Escola's 'Oh, Mary!,' which is also running on Broadway, and 'The Ally,' by Itamar Moses, which had an Off Broadway run last year at the Public Theater. Jacobs-Jenkins, 40, has been a Pulitzer finalist twice before, for 'Gloria' in 2016 and for 'Everybody' in 2018, and last year he won a Tony Award for 'Appropriate.' In 2016 he also won a so-called genius grant from the MacArthur Foundation. He grew up in Washington, D.C., and now lives in Brooklyn. 'An Octoroon' and 'The Comeuppance' are among his other well-received works. 'Purpose,' directed by Phylicia Rashad, was first staged last year by Steppenwolf Theater Company in Chicago, which had commissioned the play; Jacobs-Jenkins wrote it for the company's actors. The Broadway production opened in March, and has been nominated for six Tonys, including best play. 'Purpose' is currently on Broadway at the Helen Hayes Theater in Manhattan. The cast includes, from left: LaTanya Richardson Jackson, Jon Michael Hill, Kara Young and Alana Arenas. Credit... Sara Krulwich/The New York Times Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times. Thank you for your patience while we verify access. Already a subscriber? Log in. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
