Can you help Streetsblog Chicago fight for better walking, biking and public transit in 2025?

Click here to donate to Streetsblog Chicago’s fundraiser. Thanks!

Hello dear Streetsblog Chicago readers,

Let’s get down to business. With Donald Trump’s second administration looming, 2025 looks like it will be a difficult year for sustainable transportation, including here in Chicagoland. The immediate question is whether CTA can secure sufficient federal funding for the $5.7 billion Red Line Extension project before Joe Biden leaves office, as the Republican Party has previously expressed goals for the transit budget. As a news and interest site for pedestrians, cyclists, public transit, and livable streets, Streetsblog Chicago will have a lot of work ahead of it in the next year.

The good news is that this publication is ready to take on this challenge, having covered many important transportation issues in the Windy City in 2024. Here are some of the big stories we wrote about this year:

• Is consolidating Chicagoland’s four transit agencies our best hope for avoiding the region’s looming $730 million public transit tax cliff?

• Efforts to stop Illinois and Chicago transportation departments from rebuilding North DuSable Lake Shore Drive without transit lanes

• Can we save Chicago’s Greyhound station before our city becomes the largest city in the Northern Hemisphere without an intercity bus station?

• Comparative cities have had 25 mph speed limits for years, leading to safer driving speeds and saving lives – will Chicago finally agree to the program?

And as always, this year we highlighted important projects from advocacy groups like the Active Transportation Alliance, Better Streets Chicago, Bike Lane Uprising, Chicago Bike Grid Now!, Commuters Take Action, Equiticity, Southwest Collective, and Ride Illinois. It will be particularly important to amplify these voices in 2025, when campaigns to make transportation safer, more efficient, fairer and more environmentally friendly are likely to face strong headwinds.

That’s why Streetsblog Chicago needs your help now. Today we launch our annual campaign to keep the site running through small grants, ad sales, etc tax-deductible donations from readers like you.

This year we’re trying to raise $65,000 to cover staff writer salaries and freelancer payments, along with the other costs of keeping the (bike) lights on. In addition to you, Streetsblog Chicago currently has a talented team including co-founder and consultant Steven Vance, Black Communities Reporter Cameron Bolton, and freelancers Richard S. Day, Amber Drea, Sharon Hoyer, Kirsten Lambert, AJ La Trace, Victoria Malis, J . Niimi, James Porter and Igor Studenkov.

We are also working to secure a large grant to complete our 2025 budget. Our goal is to complete the fundraising campaign by the end of March. But it goes without saying that we would be very grateful if you decided to take advantage of the tax benefits End of year donation to Streetsblog Chicagoproduced by the 501(c)3 nonprofit organization Chicagoland Streets Project, through New Year’s Eve.

This also looks to be a difficult year for those of us trying to improve our city, region, state and nation through better sustainable transportation options. But the most effective way for advocates to not only survive but thrive in this fight is to join forces. If you value the work Streetsblog Chicago does and want to help us continue to do so, Please consider making a donation today. Thank you for participating!

– John Greenfield, Editor-in-Chief

Click here to donate to Streetsblog Chicago’s fundraiser. Thank you very much!