Three organizations recently joined the Solving for Chicago news collaborative as it prepares to tackle a new topic, “The Path Forward.”

The Better Government Association, Chicago Reporter and Illinois Latino News have joined the 20 news organizations in the Local Media Foundation’s collaborative to tackle questions about how the Chicago region remakes itself in response to the pandemic.

“The LMA collaborative includes many of the best news organizations in Chicago doing some of the most innovative journalism,” said John Chase, director of investigations at the Better Government Association. “Tackling how Chicago will move beyond the pandemic is a key question the city will need to answer, and the BGA is excited to contribute its journalistic efforts to that conversation.”

The Better Government Assocation’s long history of revelatory investigations and its commitment to solutions journalism approaches deepens the collaborative’s ability to produce impactful reporting on problems facing those most affected by the pandemic.

As the collaborative deepens its skill set, it also will expand its reach into the region’s Hispanic communities with the inclusion of the Latino News Network.

“Illinois Latino News is grateful to have been accepted to join Solving for Chicago, a coalition of independent news organizations dedicated to producing solutions journalism and evidence-based reporting in response to social issues,” said Hugo Balta, publisher of Illinois Latino News.

Chicago newsrooms have long understood the benefits of collaboration, but with support from LMA and funding from the Solutions Journalism Network and Google News Initiative, newsrooms are coming to truly understand how large-scale and sustained collaboration can put focus on the most pressing issues in the region.

“The Chicago Reporter is proud to be part of a team of journalists leveraging their individual experience in collaborating on in-depth, fair and accurate news reporting for the benefit of the public,” said Glenn Reedus, interim editor and publisher of the The Chicago Reporter.

The collaborative is also grateful that all 20 newsroom partners have renewed their commitment to the group and will stay on for “The Path Forward.”

Solving for Chicago continues to grow as it prepares to launch “The Path Forward” in early 2022 and the doors remain open to other newsrooms who see their audience as critical voices in deciding what a more equitable Chicago looks like post-COVID.

Solving for Chicago’s member newsrooms include WBEZ, Chicago Reader, Inside Publications, La Raza, Loop North News, Chicago Music Guide, WTTW, Injustice Watch, Windy City Times, Borderless Magazine, Block Club Chicago, South Side Weekly, Austin Weekly News, Chicago Defender, Hyde Park Herald, Wednesday Journal, Forest Park Review, Riverside Brookfield Landmark, Shaw Media, the Better Government Association, Chicago Reporter and Illinois Latino News.