Chicago and the region face a multitude of pressing issues — from public safety and the child mental health crisis to flooding in urban areas. The Forum explores the problems — and how to solve them.
2023
2022
2021
2020
2019
Forum underwriters:
Physician retention: Why doctors are calling it quits
Jan. 29, 2024
Physican retention: Why doctors are calling it quits
2024
Rebranding Chicago: Here's how the city can reinvigorate its reputation
Feb. 26, 2024
How to bring Chicago's housing affordability down to earth
May 28, 2024
DNC 2024: The convention will shine a spotlight on Chicago — for better or worse
March 25, 2024
Urban flooding is a rising threat. What can cities do to safeguard their futures?
april 15, 2024
A lifeline for CPS and other school districts is ending. What's next?
June 24, 2024
City's next chapter: Brandon Johnson's ambitions prepare to meet Chicago's reality
May 29, 2023
Racial wealth gap: Why closing Chicago's racial wealth gap became a priority
June 26, 2023
New workplace: Hybrid and remote work reshape how and where Chicago works
July 31, 2023
Johnson's first 100 days: Mayor leans into collaboration, compromise in first few months
Aug. 28, 2023
Labor organizing: Union activity ticks up in nontraditional areas
Jan. 30, 2023
The state of ESG: ESG investing meets the reality of the U.S. political divide
Feb. 27, 2023
Secondary education: How do you get high schoolers on the right career path?
March 27, 2023
Crossroads: CPS faces a very different landscape a decade after nearly 50 schools closed
April 24, 2023
EV: As electric vehicle plants flock to the South, the Midwest is fighting back
Sept. 25, 2023
SEPT. 25, 2023
Child mental health: The youth mental health crisis needs urgent care. What will it take?
Oct. 23, 2023
Chicago's cultural life: Chicago performing arts struggle to win back audiences
Nov. 27, 2023
Voting and democracy: Illinois weighs political reform with ranked choice voting
Dec. 18, 2023
Affordable housing: The search for creative affordable housing solutions
Dec. 19, 2022
Michigan Avenue: Putting the Magnificent back into the Mile
Nov. 28, 2022
A safer Chicago: The inequality of violence
Oct. 24, 2022
Equitable health: Squeezed budgets could slow efforts to achieve health equity
Sept. 26, 2022
Homelessness: Creatively helping the unhoused
May 27, 2022
Climate migrants: How the midwest can be a refuge
June 23, 2022
Energy: Carbon-free energy is creating a volatile state of affairs
July 29, 2022
Higher education: Confronting the cliff
Aug. 26, 2022
ESG investing: Investing in a better future
Jan. 28, 2022
Illinois infrastructure: Chicago's infrastructure is about to get a historic overhaul
Feb. 25, 2022
Workplace mental health: COVID-19's other health impact
April 1, 2022
Property tax reform: Finding the balance
April 28, 2022
Jobs: Bringing a jobs desert back to life in Chicago
Dec. 16, 2021
Culture: How social issues fueled tensions in Chicago's theater community
Nov. 23, 2021
Police misconduct: Can the Chicago Police Department be reformed?
Oct. 20, 2021
The Chicago Fire: The Great Fire set the city on course to become an architectural leader
Sept. 24, 2021
Workplace diversity: Corporate Chicago struggles to keep equity promises
May 28, 2021
Post-COVID Chicago: City emerges from a deadly pandemic
June 25, 2021
Great Lakes pollution: The major micro threat to our lakes
July 30, 2021
Education loss: What Chicago-area kids lost and gained in a pandemic school year
Aug. 27, 2021
Lake Michigan: Troubled waters
Jan. 22, 2021
The future of capitalism: Socially conscious investing gains currency
Feb. 19, 2021
Manufacturing: Quick rebound sets industry up for changing future
March 19, 2021
Gun violence and COVID-19: Chicago's seemingly unabated tragedy
April 23, 2021
Work-life: How 2020 ruptured the link between the office and home
Dec. 18, 2020
Freight: Chicago's endless loop of gridlock
Nov. 20, 2020
Regional planning: COVID endangers Chicago's global status
Oct. 23, 2020
Health care: COVID-19 quickly deepened long-standing cracks
Sept. 25, 2020
COVID-19: Can America regain its swagger?
May 1, 2020
Transportation: Getting from here to there has never been more complicated
June 20, 2020
Police reform: Rising crime vs. rising resentment of heavy-handed policing
July 31, 2020
Education: There's little consensus about how to safely reopen schools
Aug. 28, 2020
Taxes: Illinois' outdated tax system hurts everyone
Feb. 7, 2020
Racial gaps: How inequality costs all Chicagoans
Feb. 28, 2020
Economic development: Some neighborhoods sizzle, others barely tread water
April 3, 2020
Jobs: Searching for reliable middle class work
Dec. 20, 2019
Cannabis: No easy path to sharing the wealth
Nov. 25, 2019
Education: Too many hurdles to and through college
Oct. 25, 2019
Water: Complacency is catching up with us
Sept. 27, 2019
Pensions: The perilous path to pension solvency
June 20, 2019
Housing: Closing the affordability gap
July 26, 2019
Gun violence: All hands in, no time to spare
Aug. 30, 2019