Civic Consulting Alliance:  Smart work.  Great city. 
 
 

April 2012 Update


Civic Consulting Alliance builds pro bono teams of business experts, government leaders, and our own staff to reshape how the city works.
 

Currently, 52 teams are on the ground, and partners have already provided more than $6.5 million in services since the start of the fiscal year. 

  

  

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Partner Feature: Jim Rechtin, Bain & Company

Partner:

 

Bain & Company

 


"What is Civic Consulting Alliance all about and why do you work with them?" is a question I often get from colleagues in other cities. The valuable role Civic Consulting plays for Chicago is that of a "market maker"--they match corporations' desire to contribute to the well-being of the Chicago with the city's needs for assistance.
 
The City comes to Civic Consulting with their needs because this partnership matches pro bono resources effectively--bringing the right firms with the right skill set for the problem at hand. Civic Consulting helps the partners work together--they help firms navigate the city management structure in a way that allows decisions to get made and be acted upon.
 
Civic Consulting delivers back to Bain excited, impassioned employees. The primary reason that we partner with Civic Consulting is a genuine desire to contribute to Chicago. The side benefit is a tremendously positive impact on our culture and on the recruitment and retention of our employees.
 
 
 
Nearly five years ago, we assigned a pro bono team to help the City create a "green business strategy." After that four month project, three team members continued to support City green initiatives on their own time for the balance of the year. They also created a "green team" within our office. Five years later the green team is a permanent fixture in the fabric of our office and culture--and in doing so it fosters connectivity, a sense of community and it is an outlet for our employees' passion to have an impact.
 
When we recruit, we look for two things--talent and passion. Talented and passionate people want to have an impact not just in the workplace but also in the community. Civic Consulting helps us give our people opportunities to do this.
  gamechanger

National forum features Chicago Youth Violence Prevention Plan

      

Partners:

  

Allstate Insurance Company 

 

Bain & Company 

 

Burrell Communications 

 

Frank Gihan 

 

Ernst & Young LLP 

 

DLA Piper LLP 

 

IBM Corporation 

 

McDonald's Corporation 

 

McKinsey & Company 

 

N'DIGO 

 

Perkins Coie, LLP 

 

Sidley Austin LLP 

 

Trotter Consulting Group LLC 

 

University of Chicago Crime Lab 

Mayor Rahm Emanuel presented a plan to prevent youth violence at the National Forum on Youth Violence Prevention, hosted by the U.S. Department of Justice. The Forum, held April in Washington, D.C., was attended by representatives from federal agencies and six peer cities.

 

Civic Consulting Alliance worked with City agency heads to draft the plan, which outlines 14 initiatives to reduce youth violence. The plan is part of work by the cross-sector anti-violence leadership group launched last summer by Mayor Emanuel and Cook County President Toni Preckwinkle. 

 

 

"Chicago has an abiding commitment to ending youth violence in our communities," said Monica Haslip, Executive Director at Little Black Pearl and leadership group member. "The forum provided an extraordinary opportunity to see how this important issue is being addressed nationally and to hear the voices of youth who are effecting positive change in their communities."

 

Allstate Insurance Company, McDonald's Corporation, Ernst & Young LLP, DLA Piper LLP, Sidley Austin LLP, Burrell Communications, Perkins Coie, LLP, N'DIGO, McKinsey & Company, and Civic Consulting have provided pro bono support for the anti-violence program. This effort builds off last summer's work by Bain & Company, Trotter Consulting Group LLC, and Civic Consulting.

 

For more information, contact Kristen Uyemura.

 

Chicago Sun-Times: Rahm in Washington: Fenger High School reducing youth violence 

  tourism

Local foundations join forces to support Civic Consulting partnership
      

2012 Funders:

 

The Boeing Company

 

The Civic Committee of The Commercial Club of Chicago

 

The Comer Foundation

 

The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation

 

The Joyce Foundation

 

McCormick Foundation

 

The Rockefeller Foundation

 

The Searle Funds at The Chicago Community Trust

 

 

Chicago's largest philanthropies have joined forces to support the work of the Civic Consulting Alliance.

 

The McCormick Foundation, The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation,  The Joyce Foundation, and The Searle Funds at The Chicago Community Trust have approved operating grants that will allow us to respond quickly to important opportunities, maintain a core staff of senior professionals, and develop the long-term relationships and institutional knowledge necessary to see large-scale initiatives through to completion.

 

At the same time, The Boeing Company, The Comer Foundation, and The Rockefeller Foundation have all provided programmatic grants to support our work in Environment and Transit.

 

 

These funders and ongoing support from The Civic Committee of The Commercial Club of Chicago make our unique part of Chicago's civic infrastructure flourish.

   

For more information, contact Brian Fabes.

 collaboration

City, County announce summer program for youth safety
      

Partners:

  

Burrell Communications 

  

University of Chicago Crime Lab 

 

17,000 summer jobs and 168,000 educational and recreational opportunities will be available to keep Chicago's youth safe, thanks to a partnership between Cook County, the City of Chicago, its sister agencies, community groups, and non-profits.

 

One Summer Chicago, piloted last year, will allow youth to apply for jobs through a common application and view registration information for other recreational activities on a new website: www.OneSummerChicago.org 

 

Additionally, the new One Summer PLUS program will provide 500 selected youth with jobs as well as programming to help them develop social-emotional skills.

 

 

The University of Chicago Crime Lab will evaluate the effects of One Summer PLUS on violence involvement and school outcomes for program participants. Burrell Communications worked pro bono to develop an advertising campaign to reach youth who do not typically participate in summer programs.

 

"When I don't have anything to do, that's when I get into trouble," said a youth who participated in last year's One Summer Chicago pilot. 

 

For more information, contact Alexander Gail Sherman.

 cigarette

CTA launches brand for Red Line improvements
 

Partners:

 

Downtown Partners Chicago

 

 


The Chicago Transit Authority Red Line, a vital artery serving 240,000 passengers every weekday, will soon undergo significant improvements to its stations and tracks. A proposed extension of the Red Line south from 95th Street would also add five miles and four stations to the line and increase ridership.

Downtown Partners Chicago and Civic Consulting Alliance worked with the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) to develop the brand for these and other Red Line capital projects. This new brand will help the CTA communicate the projects' vision and opportunities.



"Downtown Partners effectively captured the importance of this project," said CTA President Forrest Claypool. "The brand name 'Red Ahead' conveys a sense of renewal and urgency to improve the Red Line, the backbone of the CTA rail system."

"Downtown Partners takes great pride in being part of this effort, which will improve the quality of life for so many Chicagoans," said Lee Hillerich, Account Manager at Downtown Partners Chicago.    
 

For more information, contact Carla Esteva.