August 2008
Civic Consulting Alliance
Greetings! 
 
Greetings from Civic Consulting Alliance to the more than 700 partners and clients we've been privileged to work with over the years.  With our fiscal year recently ended, it's a good time to take stock of what we've accomplished together.  Often, we're very focused on the specific project and don't see the bigger picture our efforts become together. I'd like to take a moment to share with you how much has been happening.

In the past year, Chicago's private sector contributed, through the Alliance, more than $12.5 million in pro bono resources to work on some of the City's toughest issues.  That number - more than twice the previous year's total of pro bono contributions, and five times the number the year before that - is, by itself, impressive.  Equally impressive is the number of firms - 125 - contributing experts, steering committee members, and other supports for dozens of Alliance projects. But most important are the challenges the Alliance, our partners, and our clients are making progress on together: education and workforce development; transit; environment; improving city services; and more.
 
Below is a list of the past year's projects and partners.  Over the year, we'll continue to send updates about our joint undertakings.  For now, thank you to all who gave their time and expertise to make Chicago an even better City in FY 2008. And thanks to those who have already promised more support in FY 2009!

 
Sincerely,
Brian Fabes
Brian Fabes
Civic Consulting Alliance
Public Transit and the CTA
 
The Alliance and TransitChicago is thriving, but our quality of life is at risk if congestion continues to worsen.  Public transit and the Chicago Transit Authority are central to making the Chicago region livable.  As a result, the Alliance has been working in close collaboration with CTA leadership and our private sector partners to reduce bus bunching, implement the CTA's performance management system, develop a vision for the "rail of the future," revamp signage, increase the efficiency of IT, improve bus maintenance, launch the Transportation Academy of Chicago, and much more.  Ten firms have contributed to these efforts, with some (noted by * below) contributing to multiple efforts:  
  • Alvarez & Marsal
  • Bain & Company
  • Booz & Company*
  • Deloitte
  • Huron
  • IDEO
  • Katzenbach Partners
  • McKinsey & Company*
  • Pepper Construction
  • Skidmore, Owings and Merrill, LLC
Chicago LEADS
 
Alliance Economic Development
Chicago LEADS (Leading Economic Advancement, Development, and Sustainability in the 21st Century) is redefining the workforce development system in Chicago so it works more effectively for both businesses and residents. 
 
Specifically, LEADS aims to help businesses by significantly increasing the pipeline of skilled labor that meets local business needs; help residents by significantly increasing the skills, and hence wage-earning potential of working individuals; and help improve Chicago's economy by making Chicago a more attractive destination to locate, remain and expand businesses.

To meet these goals, LEADS is working to align the entire system around common goals, launching pilots to test bringing reforms to scale, and making changes that will help ensure long-term sustainability. In the past year, more than 80 business partners participated on five advisory committees, and four firms provided significant, pro bono staffing support:

  • AT Kearney
  • Bain & Company
  • Booz & Company
  • Deloitte
21st Century Commission
 

Alliance GovernmentIn August 2007, Mayor Richard M. Daley named the 21st Century Commission on City Government to advise him on the direction Chicago's City government should take to meet the needs of the city, its residents, and its businesses in the decades ahead.  Staffed by the Alliance and its partners, the Commission is formally charged with making recommendations for which services the City should provide; which the City no longer needs to provide; and how the City can deliver services in the most efficient way possible.

The Commission is now heading into its home stretch.  In April, select recommendations from the Commission's work were announced by Mayor Daley.  The Commission is currently working on more than 50 potential recommendations for its final report, scheduled for release this fall.
 
Staffing support and expertise for the Commission are being provided by:
  • Bain & Company
  • KPMG
  • Deloitte
  • Lloyd Consulting 
  • O-H Community Partners

In addition, the commission consists of 22 public and private sector partners.

GET LINKED
Sign up for the Civic Consulting Alliance Group on LinkedIn.  It's a great way to keep in touch with our growing community of partners and clients. 
Sign up here>
 
VIEW VIDEO
Have you seen the exciting video produced for the Mayor's Pro Bono Celebration Breakfast in April?
 
The video was produced, pro bono, by our partner Foundation Post and features clients and partners talking about their work in the City.
 
HONOR ROLL
Firms contributing more than $1 million in pro bono staffing over the past 3 years:
 
AT Kearney
 
Bain & Company
 
Booz & Company
 
Boston Consulting Group
 
McKinsey & Company
 
Mercer HR Consulting

 

Firms increasing their pro bono contributions of staff in each of the past 3 years:
 
Deloitte
 
KPMG
 
 
 
 
Firms contributing pro bono staffing support through the Alliance for the first time last year:
 
Aon
 
Earth Tech
 
FD Ashton Partners
 
Foundation Post
 
IDEO
 
Katzenbach Partners
 
O-H Community Partners 
 
Scott Balice Strategies
 
Skidmore, Owings and Merrill 




Firms providing consistent leadership and expertise for Alliance initiatives over the past 5 years:
 
AT&T
 
Exelon
 
Mayer Brown
 
US Equities
 
Washington, Pittman & McKeever

 

 
Foundations providing financial support to Alliance efforts last year:
 
Joyce Foundation
 
The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation
 
The Searle Funds at the Chicago Community Trust
Engaging Chicago 
 
Recent PartnersLast year Chicago's private sector helped support dozens of Alliance efforts with record levels of support. The following partners contributed staffing, expertise, guidance and financial resources last year:  
 

Aon Consulting

Advocate Health Care
 
AIT World Logistics
 
Alvarez & Marsal
 
Allegro Chicago, A Klimpton
       Hotel

American Airlines, Inc.

Amtrak

Annie E. Casey Foundation

AT Kearney

AT&T

Azteca Foods, Inc.

Bain & Company

Booz & Company

Boston Consulting Group

Boulevard Healthcare LLC

Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway

Chicago and Cook County Building and Construction Trades Council

Chicago Convention and Tourism Bureau

The Chicago Council on Global Affairs

Chicago Jobs Council

Chicago Marriott Downtown Magnificent Mile

Chicago Urban League

Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce

Chico & Nunes, PC

The Civic Federation

CNA

Columbia College Chicago

Columbia University

ComEd

The ComfortCake Company, LLC

Council for Adult and Experiential Learning

CSX Transportation

Dean Peters Photography

Deloitte

DePaul University, Egan Urban Center

Earth Tech

Educational Data Systems, Inc.

Exelon Corporation

Expeditors International of Washington, Inc.

FD Ashton Partners

Federal Express

Flying Food Group 

Ford Foundation

Foundation Post

Franczek and Sullivan

Greater Southwest Development Corp.

Health Care Service Corp.

Heirs of the Promise 
       Church 

Hilton Hotels

Hospitality Academy at McCormick Place

Huron Consulting

Hyatt Regency Chicago

IDEO

Illinois Hotel and Lodging Association

Illinois Restaurant Association

Illinois Trucking Association

IWIB Transportation and Logistics Task Force

Instituto del Progreso Latino

International Warehouse and Logistics Association

Jobs for the Future

Joyce Foundation

JPMorgan Chase

Karr & Associates

Katzenbach Partners

Kendall College

KLM Royal Dutch Airlines

KPMG

Lloyd Consulting 

Loyola University

The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation

Macy's, Inc.

Madison Dearborn Partners

The Marmon Group

Mayer Brown, LLP

McKinsey & Company

Mercer HR Consulting

Mercy Hospital and Medical Center

Mesirow Financial

Metropolis 2020

Metropolitan Chicago Health Care Council

Midway Moving and Storage

New Covenant Life Church

Northwestern Memorial Hospital

Northwestern University Transportation Center

O-H Community Partners

Olympus, LLC 

Orbitz Worldwide, Inc. 

The Partnership for New Communities

Peoples Gas and North Shore Gas

Pepper Construction

Phoenix International Freight

Polish National Alliance

Policy Planning Partners

PortaeCo LLC

Resurrection Health Care

The RISE Group

Robert Morris College

Rush University Medical Center

Schneider National

Scott Balice Strategies

The Searle Funds at the
        Chicago Community
        Trust 

Senior Lifestyle Corporation

Sidley Austin, LLC

Sinai Health System

Skidmore, Owings and Merrill LLC

St. Anthony Hospital

Stanford Graduate School of Business

Starwood Hotels and Resorts

Studio Gang Architects

Swedish Covenant Hospital

Swissport USA, Inc.

Teamsters Joint Council 25

Trans-tek

UNITE HERE Local #1

United Neighborhood Organization (UNO)

United Way of Metropolitan Chicago

Union Pacific

University of Chicago Medical Center

University of Illinois

University of Illinois at Chicago Medical Center

UPS

US Equities

Walgreen Co.

Washington, Pittman & McKeever

Westside Health Authority

Women Employed

Women's Business Development Center

Voices for Illinois Children