City Bureau

10/13/2026

✨️ Meet City Bureau’s Fall 2026 Civic Information Fellows!

This fall, six Chicagoans with backgrounds spanning journalism, art, community organizing, filmmaking, marketing, teaching, youth development and data analysis will explore a big question: What critical information do Chicago communities need to better understand and engage with the issues that shape their lives?

Our newly reimagined Civic Information Fellowship gives fellows six months to build skills in journalism and community engagement and design an innovative project that brings what they learn back to Chicagoans.

Please join us in welcoming Musu Bangura, Robert Speed, Maia McDonald, Sol Sanchez, Ann Marie Scheffel, and Kesha Selvey to our first Civic Information Fellowship cohort!

Learn more about our fall fellows:

A new fellowship with new goals

10/08/2026

Join us tonight for Fake Newsies Among Us from 5-6:30pm CT! We’ll role-play, join breakout rooms, swap lessons from documenting, and try to sniff out the fake + biased reporters among us. Everyone is welcome — no Documenter experience needed! Sign up here:

Join us for a game night to spot fake & biased news, refresh Documenter best practices, share lessons, and connect with fellow notetakers!

10/08/2026

Federal cuts don’t stay in Washington; they show up in our communities, too.

Our first national Documenters Network editorial project, co-published with partner Next City, draws on reporting and notes from Documenters across 23 sites to examine how federal funding cuts are affecting local communities.

Documenters across the country provided local insight that helped shape national coverage about the "perfect storm" of federal funding instability, including its impact on public health, safety-net hospitals, violence prevention, and disaster preparedness. It’s a look at what federal cuts mean on the ground, across communities around the country.

Crime prevention, public health surveillance, and disaster preparedness programs across the country are getting hit by federal funding instability and the end of COVID-era grants. Read the story.

10/07/2026

💛 You were part of our story. For 10 years, City Bureau has been built alongside Documenters, Fellows, partners, neighbors, supporters, collaborators, and community members. Now we’re collecting those stories in our People’s History of City Bureau timeline!

What’s one moment you remember? What did City Bureau make possible? Who did you meet along the way? Share your story with us! https://airtable.com/appEWbZQUnzpOo2wC/pagzViy4rbDeSOkGO/form

10/06/2026

Say yay or nay! Join Cleveland Documenter Kellie Morris for a hands-on virtual workshop on Robert’s Rules of Order, October 20 from 5-6pm CT. Learn how public meetings work, how votes are taken & motions are presented, and more. Open to everyone!

Join us for an interactive workshop on Robert’s Rules of Order! Learn how public meetings are run, how motions and votes work, and more.

10/01/2026

With thousands at risk of eviction, homelessness advocates and survivors are navigating federal funding instability and lacking local funding in the city's budget.

As the Trump administration seeks to cut funding for housing-first models of homelessness prevention, thousands could be at risk of eviction in Chicago.

10/01/2026

💌 City Bureau is turning 10 and we want to hear from you! We’re creating a virtual birthday card filled with messages from the people who have been part of City Bureau’s story over the past decade. Send us a birthday wish or share a favorite memory! https://citybureauvoices.gv-one.com/requests.html?gId=5132&rId=20440

09/30/2026

Join us for Fake Newsies Among Us on October 8, 5-6:30pm CT! Carmen Lawrence-Billé of Cincinnati Docs will lead a game night inspired by Among Us and Werewolf. We’ll spot fake newsies, refresh our note-taking skills & connect with fellow Documenters! Sign up:

Join us for a game night to spot fake & biased news, refresh Documenter best practices, share lessons, and connect with fellow notetakers!

09/29/2026

Stories from Documenters in Tulsa, Kansas City, LA, Grand Rapids, and Fresno highlight how people-powered journalism turns civic participation into local impact.

Recent stories from Documenters in Tulsa, Kansas City, Los Angeles, Grand Rapids, and Fresno highlight how people-powered journalism turns everyday civic participation into meaningful local impact.

09/29/2026

Another parking ticket? Not exactly!

Artist Grace Dickerson was frustrated with incessant tickets and turned to art. Through her zine on Chicago meters, she wanted to connect with Chicagoans about updates on the city's parking debt sale. Here's how she combined zine-making with civic action!

Learn more about the city's parking debt sale at the link in bio.