http://issuu.com/cmrenner/docs/cnu-conference-final-20140325 – Free download of presentations and material from 2013 conference on new ways of doing urban development. We did a piece on the TIF Illumination Project. Also great stuff on how Rockford is using creativity and the arts for economic development and Naomi Davis presenting on her vision for grassroots community development.
Can you help The CivicLab advance through the Knight News Challenge? We’re seeking support to evolve our Civic Illumination work. 
We need a new narrative for Chicago and U.S. politics. We are NOT broke. We need MORE public, not less. New book, “Capital in the Twenty-First Century” lays it all out.
The CivicLab is helping to build the “I, Citizen Project” with the folks from the Museum of Contemporary Phenomena. This interactive experience will be unfolding at the Columbia College Glass Curtain Gallery in April.
I, Citizen – The Activist Game MAKERS Workshop from Helen Slade on Vimeo.
Thanks to Prof. Brad Hunt from Roosevelt University for this amazing presentation on the recent history of planning efforts in Chicago at the CivicLab. You can’t get this knowledge anywhere else this easily and this cheaply! Here are our current class listings.
The amazing Kitty Kurth and Kevin Lampe give democracy training all over the world. This morning they are at the CivicLab giving a workshop on how to run for local office. We have people from all over the city here seeking civic knowledge. Some will run and others plan on helping others to run.
Check out this great profile of The CivicLab from NBC Chicago’s “Ward Room.”
Check out this great video shot by the folks at the Progressive Democrats of America. It’s 28 minutes long and lays out what the CivicLab is all about and how The TIF Illumination Project works AND reveals the details of the 12 TIFs of the 27th Ward. Whew!
We launched the TIF Illumination Project at the Chopin Theater one year ago! What a wild ride it’s been. Here is an account of the work we’ve done. Comments are welcome.
On February 1 ten volunteer researchers braved the blankets of snow falling on Chicago to gather at the CivicLab to launch the next phase our our Civic Illumination work. We are now looking at the New Market Tax Credit Program and hedge fund activities in Chicago. This six minute video introduces the work and the reason for undertaking it. To get more details or to volunteer, contact Tom Tresser at tom@civiclab.us.