Chicago is taking bold steps toward addressing racial wealth inequity, Mayor Brandon Johnson announced the city's partnership with the Cities for Financial Empowerment Fund (CFE Fund) through the CityStart initiative, bankrolled in part by Bloomberg Philanthropies' Greenwood Initiative, to focus on financial stability and empowerment targeting the historically underserved black communities in the city.

The initiative, which integrates both evidence-based policymaking and an intersectional lens, aims to level the financial playing field; the City of Chicago is set to collaborate with CFE Fund advisers in crafting strategies that draw on the lived experiences and financial realities of its residents especially where the fabric of trust has been worn by years of systemic inequality and economic barriers for black and other minority groups, the goal being to lay the groundwork for a more equitable wealth-building environment that crosses the chasms of class, race, gender, and disability.

As part of its participation in the CityStart initiative, Chicago will receive a $75,000 planning grant and an intensive partnership offering technical assistance, an effort to propel community-informed planning for a more financially empowered Chicago, "This work includes programs to provide financial support and relief to residents, protect consumers, and pursuing public and shared ownership models to ensure all Chicagoans have access to critical assets and resources in their neighborhoods," Mayor Brandon Johnson stated.

Financial disparities have long cast a shadow across U.S. municipalities, but Chicago's new initiative is viewed as a beacon for what municipal government can achieve, the CityStart cohort structure offers a platform for an exchange of ideas and collaborative policymaking that emphasizes the importance of shared prosperity and inclusive economic growth strategies that go beyond mere political jargon, acknowledged by CFE Fund’s President Jonathan Mintz as he looks forward to working with Chicago’s administration to advance financial empowerment and racial wealth equity in Chicago.

Local community leader Rosazlia "Ms. Rose" Grillier of Community Organizing and Family Issues (COFI) heralded the move for honoring "the Humanity in All Chicagoans," expressing hope that a collective effort can help Mayor Johnson's vision for universal access to essential resources for wealth-building become a tangible reality, while Ameya Pawar of the Economic Security Project lauded Johnson's Administration for its departure from free-market economics that often sidelined the very communities in dire need of policy-enabled uplift.

Examples of previous successes under the CityStart banner include Cincinnati's Financial Freedom Plan and South Bend's comprehensive financial empowerment framework, both of which have led to tangible improvements in the financial well-being of their residents - signaling possible blueprints for Chicago's financial empowerment initiatives that will be headed by Comptroller Chasse Rehwinkel and Chief of Policy Umi Grigsby.

The CFE Fund, a national leader in promoting financial stability among households, continues its mission to assist cities and counties across the U.S., having distributed more than $66 million in grants while collaborating with over 40 local governments in refining and implementing financial empowerment programs tailored to the distinct needs of local communities, aiming to reshape residents' financial destinies and bridge the racial wealth gap pervasive in American society.