Organizing Neighborhoods for Equality Northside

The group receives significant funding from the Illinois state government and is slated to receive over $1.25 million in the 2024-2025 budget. Chicago-are media has characterized the group as being politicized and has argued that the group essentially receives taxpayer funds to organize and train activists to support Democratic Party positions and politicians. ³

Founding and History

Organizing Neighborhoods for Equality Northside was founded in 2013 by the merger of two older Chicago activist organizations, Lakeview Action Coalition and Organization of the Northeast. These groups were originally focused on opposing real estate development in the Northside of Chicago. It has since conducted numerous activist campaigns and its budget has grown significantly in size, rising from $663,416 in 2016 to reach $2,733,575 in 2024. ^{3  1}

Financials

For the fiscal year ending June 2024, Organizing Neighborhoods for Equality Northside reported $2,733,575 in revenue, of which $2,007,486 stemmed from grants and contributions, $725,641 from program service revenue, and $448 from investment income. It reported $2,159,589 in expenses, of which $1,363,422 was paid out in salaries and other compensation. It ended the year with a surplus of $573,986 and net assets of $2,279,641. ⁴

In the 2024 fiscal year, ONE Northside received $643,135 in government grants from all levels of government, which amounted to 23 percent of its revenue that year. For its 2024-2025 budget, the state of Illinois earmarked $1.25 million in state funds for the organization. ^{5  3}

Organization Philosophy

Organizing Neighborhoods for Equality Northside promotes left-of-center values such as an emphasis on equity, diversity, criticisms of capitalism, environmentalism, and a belief that poverty and other social ills are caused by deliberate policy choices. ^{2  1}

Projects and Initiatives

Organizing Neighborhoods for Equality Northside functions as an activist organization that mobilizes people to get concessions from private companies and the government. Aside from partnering with a violence prevention program and an after-school program for children in Chicago public schools, its activity is geared towards activism. ²

ONE Northside housing policy is focused on stymied development and extracting concessions from landlords and developers. The group highlights one instance where, as a result of its efforts to organize tenants, a developer had to pay out or write off over $600,000 in back rent, moving support, and settlements. The group also lobbies for rent control. ⁶

The group works to develop alternatives to policing, and fights to place aligned people on various oversight boards and commissions. It claims that these alternatives to policing will emerge as a more equitable social system is established. ⁷

The group supports a “Green New Deal,” government environmental subsidies, and reduced carbon emissions, while also supporting campaigns to control utility bill prices. ⁸

ONE Northside supports taxing the rich and big businesses to fund public services in Chicago and works to implement higher taxes on disfavored demographics. In particular, it highlights that it has lobbied for the modification of the tax code to close what it calls loopholes that benefit the rich. ⁹

Leadership

As of 2025, Jesse Hoyt was serving as the executive director of Organizing Neighborhoods for Equality Northside, a position he has held since March of 2023. He comes from a family of activists. Prior to this role he worked for the political consulting group Democracy Partners, where he was still an associate partner as of May 2025. Chicago media outlets report that he has advised various Democratic federal and state legislators. ^{3   10}