City of Chicago

Together We Heal: Defining local equity through many voices

“With Cortico, we have a pulse on what people are most interested in, all with the idea that we want to produce an Equity Statement of Principles that feels relevant and connected to people’s experiences. As we craft this, we have this rich set of information.”

–Candace Moore, Chief Equity Officer, City of Chicago

The Together We Heal (TWH) initiative, led by the City of Chicago’s Office of Racial Justice and Equity, aimed to promote civic unity and racial healing by connecting Chicagoans across and gathering real local voices to inform a more representative citywide equity statement.

As part of TWH, the City used its own conversation guides and facilitators to host 46 small-group conversations with nearly 150 residents and community leaders. These conversations surfaced stories and perspectives on racism, collaboration, class, and what Chicagoans want for their city, but making sense of almost 50 conversations was a heavy lift.

That need is what brought Cortico into the project. Once the recordings were uploaded to Cortico’s platform, participants and city staff could explore the collection, and the City could analyze the conversations at scale to surface themes and translate them into a legible, shareable narrative to support the equity statement work.

TWH reflects Cortico’s work in supporting city agencies in turning the conversations they already know how to host into clear insights that can guide public process and policy.