City Bureau is a far-left journalism group that covers local issues in several Midwestern cities. It is heavily focused on racial-identity politics and related issues. ¹

In July 2022, City Bureau received a $10 million grant to expand its Documenters Network program that employs reporters in Chicago, Cleveland, Detroit, and Minneapolis. The Documenters Network project at the time had hired over 1,800 journalists and trained them to cover local public meetings. It announced that it will use the grant to expand its program to hire journalists to cover additional cities across the country. ²

Background

Founded in 2015, City Bureau is far-left nonprofit organization that is based in Chicago and provides reporting on local government meetings. It hires and trains individuals to attend public meetings held by local governments to document and report on what it considers “under-reported” local issues. ³

City Bureau is heavily influenced by the identity politics concept of intersectionality and advocates for increasing social  welfare payments to address “racial disparities.” ⁴ It states that the goal of its journalism is to “emphasize racial equity” and outcomes among racial groups. ⁵

Programs

In 2016, in a partnership with Smart Chicago, City Bureau launched its Chicago Tracker Project. The project created a forum that included the media, lawyers, and Chicago community members to discuss policies to be put in place following the police killing of Laquan McDonald. The project resulted in the Department of Justice pursuing a consent decree against the Chicago police department for alleged racial discrimination and targeting ethnic minorities. ⁶

In May 2021, City Bureau announced its Newswire program, a newsletter that publishes findings from its Documenters Network, covering public meetings in the Chicago area. The announcement also stated that City Bureau intended to spread the newsletter to all communities as it argues so-called systemic racism and economic depression, in addition to a supposed need for environmentalism, exist “everywhere.” ⁷

To promote City Bureau’s Documenters Network, it runs Civic Reporting Programs that train individuals to become successful local journalists. ⁵

Additionally, City Bureau publishes articles that advocate against industrial developments in ethnic minority communities, arguing that pollution from these facilities contaminates local communities. ⁸

Documenters Network

In 2018, City Bureau launched its Documenters Network program, which provides support and training for individuals seeking to become local journalists. As of July 2022, it reports that it had trained over 1,800 people across Chicago, Detroit, Cleveland, and Minneapolis to participate in the program. ⁹

In July 2022, City Bureau announced in a press release that its Documenters Network program was awarded a “Stronger Democracy Award” of $10 million for from Lever for Change and ICONIQ Impact. The award was sponsored by Additional Ventures, The Patchwork Collective, Cipora, and Vlado Herman. In response, City Bureau’s cofounder and executive director, Darryl Holliday, stated that monitoring public meetings was the most effective way to influence public policy and announced that City Bureau would use the grant to cover Atlanta, Fresno, and Omaha. ²

Financials

In 2020, City Bureau reported that it received $2.6 million in total revenue, the majority of which came in the form of contributions. ¹⁰ It also reported total expenses of $1.3 million, $726,000 of which was spent on executive compensation and salaries. ¹¹

People

Darryl Holiday is a cofounder of City Bureau and co-executive director of its national impact program. He also founded the Illustrated Press and was previously a reporter for DNAinfo Chicago. ¹²

Bettina Chang is a cofounder of City Bureau and co-executive director for its Chicago programs. She previously served as executive digital editor of Chicago magazine and as editor for DNAinfo Chicago and Pacific Standard. ¹²

1. “Our Mission.” City Bureau. Accessed July 18, 2022. https://www.citybureau.org/our-mission.
2. City Bureau. “City Bureau Receives $10 Million Award to Strengthen Democracy by Expanding Documenters Project.” City Bureau. City Bureau, July 7, 2022. https://www.citybureau.org/notebook/2022/7/7/city-bureau-receives-10-million-award-to-strengthen-democracy.
3. City Bureau. Accessed July 18, 2022. https://www.citybureau.org/.
4. “Guaranteed Income Team.” City Bureau. Accessed July 18, 2022. https://www.citybureau.org/cashassistance.
5. “Civic Reporting Fellowship.” City Bureau. Accessed July 18, 2022. https://www.citybureau.org/civic-reporting-programs.
6. City Bureau. “Investing in a Civic Media Movement.” City Bureau. City Bureau, July 11, 2022. https://www.citybureau.org/notebook/2022/07/06/investing-in-a-civic-media-movement.
7. City Bureau. “Why We’re Launching Newswire, Your Daily Dose of Chicago Civic News.” City Bureau. City Bureau, May 28, 2021. https://www.citybureau.org/notebook/2021/5/24/why-were-launching-newswire-your-daily-dose-of-chicago-civic-news.
8. City Bureau. “The Healing Power of Chicago’s Soil.” City Bureau. City Bureau, June 15, 2021. https://www.citybureau.org/newswire/2021/6/15/the-healing-power-of-chicagos-soil.
9. “Documenters Network.” City Bureau. Accessed July 18, 2022. https://www.citybureau.org/documenters.
10. Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax (Form 990). City Bureau. 2020. Part I, Lines 8-12.
11. Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax (Form 990). City Bureau. 2020. Part I, Lines 13-18.
12. “Our Staff.” City Bureau. Accessed July 18, 2022. https://www.citybureau.org/staff.