Area Advocacy & Organizing

GNCDC was founded in the spirit of grassroots collective action for which Chicago is known across the entire nation. GNCDC organizes and advocates on behalf of businesses and the community at large. The issues may range from the immediate, such as illegal waste dumps to long range concerns such as land use policy that will affect the city for decades to come. GNCDC has also supported organizing efforts initiated by business people themselves. Such endeavors keep GNCDC in touch with its constituency, and serve as a regular reminder that community building requires sustained partnership. Some examples of GNCDC advocacy and organizing have included fighting blight, commercial district organizing and industrial organizing. In recent years, the centerpiece of GNCDC advocacy efforts has been Industrial Corridor Planning and Development.

Industrial Corridor Planning and Development

GNCDC has a long history of organizing and advocacy for the preservation and enhancement of industrial corridors. Beginning in the early 1980s, GNCDC pushed for the inclusion of industrial and commercial designations in the Department of Planning's land use planning initiatives. This resulted in the designation of industrial corridors throughout Chicago. As the City's delegate agency, GNCDC did strategic and capital improvements planning in the three industrial corridors within its service area: Pulaski, Northwest, and Grand/Armitage. All three corridors have since been designated as Tax Increment Financing (TIF) districts, and over $15 million in capital improvements projects have been implemented since 1995.