Exploring critical issues facing our democracy and searching for solutions.
What is the Democracy Solutions Project?
Through stories, listening experiences, opinion pieces and news, WBEZ and the Chicago Sun-Times will take a solutions-oriented approach to reporting on the critical issues facing American democracy today. The yearlong special project – in partnership with the University of Chicago’s Center for Effective Government, with funding support from the Pulitzer Center – examines the current threats to our democracy, including barriers to voting, cynicism, misinformation, polarization and much more.
We want to hear from you. Tell us what you think is wrong with our democracy and share how you think we can fix it.
Opinions
The use of threats to try and shape political discourse cannot be tolerated. The tactic was on full display last week when Republicans who failed to support U.S. Rep. Jim Jordan for House speaker were threatened with violence.
What does it say about the state of the nation when a president, with decades of experience in politics, feels compelled to make speech after speech reminding us that we all have a stake in protecting the American experiment?
Congress should be focusing on avoiding a government shutdown and addressing issues Americans view as important. Instead, right-wing Republican partisans are treating our country’s institutions and practices with blatant disrespect.
Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis had to step forward, given the brazenness of the alleged actions, including charges that Trump’s allies tried to tamper with one county’s voting machines.
The conspiracy charges announced by Special Counsel Jack Smith were a necessary step in establishing the extent of former president’s alleged assault on the rule of law.
The federal government must step in with more funding and resources. Immigration is a national issue. Solutions must come at the national level.
Matchmaking services find fewer people are willing to hold hands across the political aisle.
Neither the Georgia indictment nor the federal case will lead directly to his exclusion from office, a University of Chicago law professor writes. But ultimately, the two cases might have very different consequences.
Participatory budgeting offers people a chance to vote on spending projects in their wards. It started in the United States in Chicago, but its growth has stalled.
In Illinois, 8% of the population doesn’t speak English very well, and that’s a barrier for immigrants participating in civic life. Dozens of organizations such as the Selfreliance Association have partnered with the city and state to help limited English speakers access health care, food stamps and other services.
Trump received a letter informing him he is a target of Special Counsel Jack Smith’s Jan. 6 investigation, typically a sign of a coming indictment. The public needs to know the details of whatever role Trump played in the coup attempt.
The recent regressive Supreme Court rulings represent an astonishing rejection of the principles of racial and economic justice that guided the court for more than 60 years.
Our nation seems stuck with a court that is selectively responsive to the arguments and interests of only some Americans — those on the right.
Even in states that allow abortion if the life of the mother is in danger, doctors say fear of prosecution is leading many to send high-risk patients to Illinois.
It seems like the Supreme Court is making more and more landmark decisions affecting Americans’ day-to-day lives. We talk with experts on how the court is using its power more often and whether the other branches of government are pushing back.
Americans want the Supreme Court to be the place where justices dispassionately and thoughtfully rule on cases that affect their lives. The latest reporting by ProPublica undermines that confidence even further.
I’m proud of the work Illinois has done to protect reproductive rights, Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton writes. As a mother, I know the fight isn’t over to protect rights for the next generation.
The numbers of Americans supporting abortion rights since the Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision are encouraging. But the fight is far from over to safeguard women’s right to make their own decisions about pregnancy.
For the charges against Donald Trump to shake up the 2024 election, the DOJ needs to fix his actions within a larger plot, a University of Chicago expert writes. Did Trump intend to use state secrets to advance his family’s business interests abroad?
A year after Roe v. Wade fell, Illinois Democrat and GOP lawmakers fight for legislation.
The laws governing the handling of secret documents are there for a reason: to keep the country safe. Former President Donald Trump has been charged with egregiously violating those laws, and a just resolution to this case is important for America’s future.
Eight Republican-led states have pulled out of the nation’s bipartisan electronic system that checks voter registration records for accuracy. More states could choose to pull out. It’s a threat to the integrity of our elections.
In advance of the 2024 election, Chicago Public Media is launching a new initiative, The Democracy Solutions Project, where journalists from WBEZ and The Chicago Sun-Times dig into the big themes and questions surrounding democracy in the United States.
In the runup to the 2024 election, the Sun-Times, WBEZ and the Center for Effective Government at the University of Chicago will be collaborating on a project to educate our audience about the threat to our democracy and how we can form “a more perfect union.”