January 2018
FELLOW SPOTLIGHT: RACHEL DOUBEK
From June to November, Rachel Doubek worked with the Civic Consulting Alliance team as a KPMG Fellow.

What projects were you involved in during your time at the Civic Consulting Alliance?

"As a KPMG fellow, I was involved in two projects during my six months at Civic Consulting. I first joined a team supporting Rush University Medical Center and the West Side Total Health Collaborative (WSTHC), a grassroots collaborative seeking to address the social determinants of health on Chicago's West Side. After three busy months with the WSTHC, I moved to the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office (SAO). At the SAO, I worked on a team creating a new system of performance metrics for the State’s Attorney Office. In both settings, my work was dedicated to identifying and implementing new performance measurements that would improve the lives of Chicago and Cook County residents."
“The diversity of my extern experience showed me how well CCA really puts all the pieces together to improve Chicago for all its residents."

Rachel Doubek
Senior Associate Consultant,
What will you take away from your time at Civic Consulting?

" I learned how to deal with a complex array of stakeholders at the WSTHC, and I saw how implementing smart, socially-informed processes can serve the end goals of two very different mission-driven organizations."

What was your most memorable experience during your time at Civic Consulting?

“The diversity of my extern experience showed me how well CCA really puts all the pieces together to improve Chicago for all its residents. The combination of knowledge and connections is really awesome.”

How has your time at Civic Consulting helped you to develop professionally?

" Working at Civic Consulting rounded out my professional experience. It provided me with the opportunity to work with public sector clients that I had not worked with in private consulting. The problems and roadblocks are often the same across sectors, but the trust and willingness to test creative solutions was incredibly encouraging."

Civic Consulting Fellowships are full time positions that last between three months and a year. In every case, Fellows are integrated into project teams for a unique professional development opportunity. Please visit the Fellowships page on our website to learn more.
GROWING THE REGIONAL ECONOMY
Three years ago, Chicagoland public sector and business leaders formed a working group to help build a cohesive regional economic identity for Chicago and the surrounding counties. This new approach to the region’s economy was borne out of recognition that the city and counties all stood to gain if they worked together to attract talent and capital. Their perspective is shared in successful regions across the country. Leaders in large population centers such as San Diego, Philadelphia, Houston, and Denver know that a job anywhere in their region helps everyone in the region.
"T he Chicago Regional Growth Corporation will help drive inclusive growth across northern Illinois."

Toni Preckwinkle,

Over the past few years, the Chicagoland working group has begun multiple collaborative projects that aim to promote the region’s economy as whole, including:
     
  • Supporting Illinois and Chicago in their bid for Amazon’s HQ2
  • Creating a metal manufacturing consortium with 100 members to promote the
  • continued growth of metal processing in Chicagoland, raising more than $46 million
  • Establishing an export assistance program for 300 small and medium businesses,
  • leading to over $21 million in export revenues
  • Streamlining trucking regulations to support the region’s status as a logistics hub
  • Developing a plan for increasing foreign direct investment

On January 18, the working group took the next step forward with the launch of the Chicago Regional Growth Corporation, a fully-staffed and funded 501(c)(3). The Corporation aims to promote cooperation and coordination to increase the capacity of local economic development groups . Its priorities include continuing the working group’s efforts on metal manufacturing, export assistance, trucking regulations, and foreign direct investment. The Corporation will also undertake a marketing and branding push to create a cohesive regional economic voice for the Chicagoland region at trade fairs and other business convenings.

The Civic Consulting Alliance helped the working group organize and develop their initial initiatives, as well as provided support for their formation into the Corporation. The city of Chicago and seven metropolitan counties — Cook, DuPage, Will, McHenry, Lake, Kendall, and Kane — are members of the Corporation.  

“The Chicago Regional Growth Corporation will help drive inclusive growth across northern Illinois, filling an important institutional gap.” said Toni Preckwinkle, Cook County Board President, who helped launch the effort and will serve on the corporation’s Board of Directors. “I’m proud to see the region take this step.” 
IN OTHER NEWS...

  • The Chicago Tribune reported that the Cook County Jail Population has dropped to less than 6,000 inmates, the lowest in decades. Since 2015, Civic Consulting Alliance and multiple partners have worked with the Illinois Supreme Court and six separately elected officials to reduce the jail population.

  • The Chicago Police Department and the University of Chicago Crime Lab convened the Crimefighters Conference on January 17 and 18. Teams from municipal police departments from across the country and federal law enforcement agencies came together to learn from CPD's ongoing reform efforts and strategic planning initiatives. In his address to the conference, Superintendent Johnson showcased CPD's revitalized vision, mission and values statements and the long term strategic plan being developed with support from Civic Consulting Alliance and our partners.

  • Rush University Medical Center released a video highlighting the Total Health Collaborative, which Civic Consulting has supported since 2016.
Questions? Comments? Contact Shoham Geva.

Civic Consulting Alliance is an affiliate of the Civic Committee of  the
Commercial Club of Chicago