Understanding Illinois is essential to building what comes next
Research, for us, is an ongoing practice: learning from the past, making sense of the present, and expanding what we believe is possible for the future. How we understand our state shapes the choices we make about its future.
By bringing together data, history, and knowledge from communities across Illinois, we can challenge the incomplete narratives and assessments that have left too many communities behind and develop stronger strategies for where we go together.
Illinois Organizing Landscape Analysis
What does it take to sustain the people whose work makes lasting change possible?
A Shared Horizon: Challenges and Opportunities in the Illinois Organizing Landscape, a report developed in partnership with All Due Respect draws on conversations with 36 leaders from 29 organizations across Illinois to understand the experiences of professional organizers across Illinois and the conditions they need to do this work for the long term.
The findings reveal a field stretched by limited resources, demanding jobs, and too little infrastructure to support organizers and organizations. They also reveal deep commitment and a strong desire for greater connection, shared learning, and alignment across the state. A Shared Horizon makes the case that investing in the people, organizations, and relationships behind organizing is essential to building the lasting power communities need to win change.
Interested in going deeper? Email Amanda Hwu for the full report.
Understanding Illinois Voters
What becomes visible when we understand voting as behavior, not a fixed identity?
We partnered with researcher Denali Dasgupta on the Illinois State Voter Data Analysis, examining decades of demographic, voter registration, turnout, and election data to understand how participation changes across elections, communities, and time.
The analysis challenges static ideas about who is and is not a “voter.” People move in and out of the electorate, participation rises and falls, and communities themselves change. Looking at voting behavior over time gives us a different picture of Illinois, revealing patterns that a single election or political map can miss and opening new questions about where and how participation can grow.
Interested in going deeper? Email Amanda Hwu for the full report.