The Last Ward
Austin BergThe Last Ward is where power is brokered, deals are cut, and Chicago’s future is decided. Published by the Chicago Policy Center.
| Platform |  | Pricing | Only free issues | Publishes | Weekly |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Issues | 67 | Founded | 2 years ago | Last Issue | 6 days ago |
| Active | |||||
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thelastward.orgLatest Issues
Chicago city government needs more budget brains
Chicago city government is seeing an exodus of financial talent.
City budget director Annette Guzman announced her resignation earlier this month. That followed resignations earlier this summer from the city’s CFO and deputy CFO.1
It’s co...
Why Brandon Johnson’s school board is going broke on purpose
The Chicago Board of Education this week voted to pass a budget the district’s own CEO and CFO said was unbalanced.
Why?
The roll call offers a clue.
Of the eight members who voted against the budget or abstained, all were seated via co...
How Chicago stops voters from deciding what matters
Chicago City Council last week finalized six questions that will appear before Chicago voters.
But do those questions actually matter?
Let’s take a look.
All six measures are non-binding, meaning they are essentially poll questions.
Me...
Chicago is home to the emptiest big-city school in the nation
Frederick Douglass learned to read in secret.
He understood from a young age that literacy was, in his words, “the pathway from slavery to freedom.”
But at Frederick Douglass Academy High School in Chicago, the school is so under-enrolled...
The CPS Excellence Agenda: A platform for Chicago school board candidates
Chicago Public Schools has produced some of the world’s brightest stars.
But candidates for the November school board elections—the first fully elected school board in Chicago history—face a raging storm within the nation's fourth-largest...
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Authors
The writers behind this newsletter.
Executive Director of the Chicago Policy Center | Co-founder and President of Iron Light (2025 Campaigns & Elections Public Affairs Firm of the Year) | Co-author of “The New Chicago Way: Lessons from Other Big Cities"
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