Chicago is home to a rich cultural landscape consisting of 77 neighborhoods, each with its own identity, history and sense of community. Despite the city’s tremendous promise, the reality is that for far too many youths — especially those from Black and Latino communities on the South and West sides — opportunities remain out of reach. The pandemic only exacerbated these disparities, and today, young Chicagoans are navigating a climate in which their education, safety and well-being are under threat.
Recently, my organization A Better Chicago released our 2025 State of our Youth report, which provides a comprehensive snapshot of how the city’s youths are faring. The report draws from the organization’s Youth Opportunity Dashboard — which compiles data from publicly available sources to track youth outcomes — along with citywide surveys and focus groups. It examines the challenges and barriers young people face across the city and the interventions and investments driving positive change.
Addressing youth poverty remains an urgent challenge. The report cites nearly 1 in 4 Chicago youths through age 18 live in poverty; for the city’s residents under the age of 5, that figure is 43.5%. Alarmingly, the poverty rate is as high as 90% in some Chicago communities. This has a profound impact on a child’s development, as there is a clear correlation between poverty and academic outcomes. Food insecurity and weakened health often create difficulty for children to focus and learn, and youths experiencing poverty are two to three times more likely to be chronically absent from school. Further, poverty and homelessness are inextricably linked, and in 2024, youth homelessness across Chicago surpassed pre-pandemic levels.
Many Chicago youths are also facing the harsh reality of violence in their communities. Homicides are down across the city, but the Tribune reported 573 homicides in Chicago last year, with 93 of those deaths being people under the age of 20. Nearly two-thirds of youth respondents in A Better Chicago’s survey said they have witnessed community violence in some form, and almost 1 in 4 said they witness violence weekly. Much like poverty, there is a correlation between exposure to violent crime and academic outcomes.
The academic story is nuanced. Third grade reading, third grade math and eighth grade math proficiency all hover around 20%, marking a drastic decline since the pandemic. There have been some promising gains, including a nearly 50% increase in eighth grade reading proficiency since 2019, and record-high high school graduation and college enrollment rates recently reported by Chicago Public Schools.
But chronic absenteeism remains a significant barrier to academic achievement. In the 2018-19 school year, roughly 15% of the student population nationwide was deemed chronically absent. By the 2022-23 school year, that percentage had grown to 28%. Here in Chicago, 41% of CPS students were chronically absent in 2024, meaning nearly half of students missed a month or more of school instruction last year.
When students become disconnected from their learning environment, the impact is far-reaching. Frequent absenteeism, even in a child’s early years, can have a negative effect on academic achievement, long-term success and future earnings. The consequences are disproportionately worse for families experiencing poverty that often lack the resources to help children catch up.
So how can we support Chicago’s youths in meaningful ways and improve outcomes? No one person or organization has all the answers, and city budget concerns and other constraints can make change difficult. But we do know where we can start. The answer lies in a combination of targeted interventions, increased investment and collaboration across sectors.
First and foremost, we need to prioritize housing and food security. Stable housing and access to nutritious food are fundamental for young people to succeed in school and life. We cannot expect youths to thrive when basic needs are not being met.
Second, we should expand access to mental health services. Initiatives that address trauma and prevent further harm are needed to keep youths engaged in their education and reduce the cycle of violence in our communities.
Third, we must bolster academic support. It’s essential for young people to be equipped with the skills to overcome academic setbacks, setting them up to thrive in school and the workforce. This includes aggressively targeting chronic absenteeism — which is a significant barrier to learning — and improving math and reading proficiency rates.
Finally, we must increase access to community-based programs, especially in under-resourced areas of the city. Youths of all ages and backgrounds are calling for expanded access to these programs — after school, on weekends and during the summer — which offer additional safe spaces to learn and grow.
The challenges facing Chicago’s youths are significant but not insurmountable. Nearly all youth survey respondents (95%) reported feeling optimistic about their future, and the vast majority are planning to further their education. This speaks to their remarkable resilience and the need for us — adults, institutions, policymakers, community leaders — to invest more deeply in the potential of every young person in this city.
Beth Swanson is CEO of A Better Chicago, leading the organization’s efforts to create opportunity for Chicago’s youths experiencing poverty.
Submit a letter, of no more than 400 words, to the editor here or email letters@chicagotribune.com.