The City that Works

"I'm impressed with the people of Chicago. Hollywood is hype, New York is all talk, Chicago is work." - Michael Douglas

Every city has a unique identifier. Every metropolis sets out to be great in many different ways, but when history has judged the city by its fruits, there are usually but one or two distinguishing marks that make that city what it is. In Chicago, our distinguishing fruit is the way we work.

We work hard. Most people don't realize that Chicago is precisely what it is because of the way it works. History tells the tale: in the late 1860s, Chicago was nothing but an outpost on a swamp near Lake Michigan. Nobody was betting on its future. New York with its wealth, San Francisco with its gold, and St. Louis with its railroad promises provided far more sensible investments for the aspiring city-dweller. So how is it then, that by 1893 Chicago was pegged to host the World's Fair - a global gathering that was a multi-year testament to innovation, achievement, and humanity's ability to build the things they set out to build? Not Paris. Not London. Not even New York. Chicago. How?

Simply: Chicago did what Chicago does. Chicago got to work.

Chicago willed itself to be the premier American railroad depot of the 19th-century, becoming a natural broker for the entire continent. Chicago created an urban center in which business demanded prime intellectual and geographical real estate. Chicago produced a motivated guild of writers, architects, philanthropists, and cosmopolitans, all convinced that the work they put in would eventually stand the test of time. Chicago literally sprung up out of nowhere in less than 30 years because the collective personality of the city was united by a common thread: we get to work.

I won't continue boring you with the details of a 150 year-old history lesson (though I will geek out about it offline with you, if you'd like). That's not the ultimate point of me writing this. And the reality is (which I'd be remiss not to add), that Chicago's heritage of "business first" has not been healthy for all its citizens. By demanding the primacy of work on our city's mantle, we've inevitably left little room over decades (and now centuries) for folks who don't have that same equal access to work here in Chicago.

At present in the year 2021, "work" in Chicago depicts a paradox that becomes blatantly obvious, for anyone who has lived here for more than two weeks.

For those who the work "works", life here is great. The opportunities are truly limitless, and the civic spirit on which this city was sown becomes embodied. Optimism reigns. But for those who the work "doesn't work", life here can be challenging. Those industries, roles, and businesses that help our city soar seem unattainable. The paradox leaves many with the question, "who is the work really great for?"

Chicago is the visible embodiment of two truths, two worlds that exist in many urban centers: work has made this city what it is, but work (as it currently stands) has also held this city back from what it could be.

And in many ways, my decision to join the team at Re:Work Training is an acknowledgement of those two truths.

I am a Chicagoan, through and through. I bear the DNA of this city's workmanship - many of us do. We work hard and we are proud of it. And yet I see our scars - the negative consequences that "the work" has brought about historically. I see how people like me have strategically limited opportunity for those who are willing to work hard, but don't fit the criteria of those who "deserve" it. I see how our city falls short of what we could be, because we fail to incorporate the entire demographic of our city's collective personality into our work culture.

In taking this job, many people have said to me, "Ben, that's so cool you're doing that!" Thank you - but truthfully, it's more than that for me. I really do not believe we can achieve our full potential as "the City that Works" until we unlock the potential of every citizen here to "get the work" that they were made to do. Unlocking the potential of the south and west sides isn't a "nice thing to do." Nope. It's a strategic business decision that ought to carve out the reality of Chicago's next century. The diversity of our neighborhoods will change (for the better) the future of our workspaces.

Imagine for a moment how much more this city and its businesses would thrive. Imagine the ideas that would be generated and the innovations that would ensue. Imagine how challenges related to housing, food access, and healthcare might change if economic opportunity were more evenly distributed to every zip code? Imagine that Chicago.

I suppose I could be accused of being an idealist. A romantic. Clinging to an antiquated, nostalgic belief that Chicago has the ability to do that which it sets its mind after and works at. That may all be true. But let me tell y'all something - I believe in this work. Every citizen of my city has a God-given right to flourish and reach their full potential as human beings. If you work at a business that benefits off of what this city is, you have a responsibility to work toward that right for everyone.

Chicago, we work hard. Let's acknowledge how that has made us both better and worse as a city.

Chicago, we work hard. Let's make sure that remains core to our city's future, by extending that opportunity to every citizen that makes a home here.

Let's roll up our sleeves and get started. We've got work to do.