What we did on our summer vacation

During our time away, the And Campaign Chicago has been preparing to take our work promoting faithful civic engagement to the next level. We need your help!

Sep 29, 2023

You may have noticed that the Civic Update has been on a hiatus since early summer. We want you to know that we have used the time wisely to prepare for the next phase of growth for the And Campaign’s Chicago chapter, and we need your help to see that vision through.

And Campaign’s second Christian Civic Leadership Academy cohort

In a spirit of transparency and a desire that you, our readers, would come alongside us to help us grow, I want to share with you some of the personal and professional background that brought us to this inflection point. I also want to call on you to help the And Campaign take our work promoting faithful civic engagement in Chicago to the next level.

I began my And Campaign journey during Pastor

Chris Butler

’s run for Congress, serving as political director for the campaign. As most of you know, Pastor Chris helps shepherd the And Campaign as one of the executive leaders at the national level. He is also the co-host of And’s Church Politics podcast, and co-wrote the And Campaign’s guide to faithful civic engagement, Compassion and Conviction, along with Justin Giboney and Michael Wear.

While I had heard of And before moving back to Illinois to join Pastor Chris’s campaign, up to that point, I had only been a passive supporter of the work in which I am now actively engaged.

My professional background is in political organizing and fundraising. I’ve worked for SEIU Healthcare, organizing Chicagoland home care and childcare workers, raised funds for the AFL-CIO’s community affiliate Working America, and pounded the pavement for Greenpeace Chicago. I served as an intern for the Indiana Democratic Party, and worked as a tracker for the party during the 2018 Senate race in Indiana. Before moving back to Illinois, I worked as the field canvass director for Citizens Action Coalition, Indiana’s largest consumer advocacy organization, specializing in energy, utility and environmental policy.

I also spent the better part of a decade working in print, television and online news. So, my work as an editor and contributor here at the Civic Update combines my political activism and my former work as a journalist.

While we were on our summer break, I had the great privilege to take part in And Campaign’s second annual Christian Civic Leadership Academy, a three-month program designed to grow our knowledge of professional political engagement and faithful civic leadership. I had the pleasure of sitting weekly under the guidance of Justin Giboney and various guest speakers involved in civic spaces.

During our hiatus, I also took over duties as coordinator for the And Campaign’s Chicago chapter. In addition to hosting our weekly core team virtual meetings, part of my responsibilities include brainstorming with Pastor Chris how best to help the chapter grow and to help you and those like you in Chicago’s Christian community to better engage in civic activism in a less tribally partisan way.

To that end, Pastor Chris and I will be laying the foundation for taking the And Campaign in Chicago to the next level, but to get there, we need your help. We see our role at the And Campaign here in Chicago as one focused on bringing together Christian pastors and church members with Christian civic leaders to bring the concerns and desires of the Christian community in Chicagoland to the attention of those in City Hall, in school board meetings and at the state house in Springfield. And we see our role at the Civic Update in making sure you’re better informed and equipped to engage in faithful civic activism.

But we can’t do that work without you. Are you a pastor concerned about the political trajectory of our city and our state? Are you a Christian sitting in a local congregation not sure how best to serve the city to which you’ve been called? Are you a civic leader who wants to lead Chicago and Illinois in a less tribally partisan way, but unsure if you’ll have a community to back you up? Are you a student looking to get experience in political activism or journalism? We need your voices. We need your engagement. We need your contributions and your help to make this city and this state all it can be.

Send us a message through And’s chapter inquiry form to join the movement. Are you a writer or content creator? Join us at the Civic Update by reaching out at admin@thecivicupdate.org. Do you want to know more about the And Campaign and the work we’re doing here in Chicago? Come join our weekly virtual meeting, held every Tuesday at noon. You can find out more by contacting us at chicago@andcampaign.org.

Organized people can beat organized money, but it does take everyone contributing what they can to the movement for faithful civic engagement. You can help take our work to the next level by contributing to the And Campaign. All contributions are tax deductible.

If you’re ready for more than just politics as usual, then join us as we promote compassion and conviction in the public square!

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The Round Up

Here are the stories that caught our eyes this week and what they mean for the weeks ahead.

Black drivers ‘stay ready,’ navigating low-level traffic stops

Last year, Black drivers made up more than 30 percent of all traffic stops in Illinois. The state’s adult population is only 13.6 percent Black.

Beyond the numbers, new data reveals the reasons for the stops.

In 2022, for the first time on record, Illinois police pulled over a majority of Black drivers for non-moving violations, like talking on the phone, not wearing a seatbelt or expired tags. White drivers, on the other hand, were stopped mostly for moving violations, like speeding.

Asylum-seeking students begin enrolling in local schools

Dozens of children who came to Chicago looking for a better life have now found new opportunities as the school year has begun.

Asylum-seeking kids, mostly from Venezuela, who had sheltered or are still sheltering at Chicago Police Department stations, have enrolled into nearby public schools.

Federal and state laws ensure access to all children in the United States to public elementary and secondary schools, without regard to their immigration or citizenship status.

Here’s what you need to know about the 2024 budget season in Chicago

Next month, Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson will deliver his first budget address to the Chicago City Council.