Jon Davis Email & Phone Number

Greater Chicago Area

Greater Chicago Area

Study the effects or potential effects of laws, proposed laws and public policies in Midwestern states, with particular emphasis on the state of Wisconsin; write and edit stories for "Stateline Midwest" and other CSG publications; support the Midwest Interstate Passenger Rail Commission to promote a viable, cohesive passenger rail network across the Midwest.

Interurban and transit-oriented railfans of the world rejoice when Shore Line publishes "First & Fastest." I'm proud to help by writing and editing the CTA portion of "First & Fastest News" -- F&F's quarterly roundup of Chicago-area transit news. I'm also on Shore Line's Board of Directors.

Chicago, Illinois

In Chicago, each alderman gets roughly $1.3 million annually to spend on capital and infrastructure projects in his or her ward. My alderman, Joe Moore, invites ward residents via "Participatory Budgeting" to help decide how that money will be spent. I’m one of the residents who helps oversee the Participatory Budgeting program that begins in the fall with community meetings soliciting ideas and volunteers, and results in an annual vote by ward residents on which projects will be funded.

In Chicago, each alderman gets roughly $1.3 million annually to spend on capital and infrastructure projects in his or her ward. My alderman, Joe Moore, invites ward residents via "Participatory Budgeting" to help decide how that money will be spent. I’m one of 17 residents who will determine which transportation-related projects will be voted upon by ward residents in April 2011.

From bleeding budgets to bloody political noses, I covered the Park Ridge, IL, city council for the Tribune's Northwest suburban bureau until February 2015, when I began covering Glenview, IL, keeping an eye on the Village Board, Glenbrook High School District 225, and more.

Contributing writer to Planning Magazine, covering transportation issues, public governance, and adaptive re-use of defunct prisons, among other topics.

How do cities and metropolitan regions remain resilient in the face of economic headwinds? Building Resilient Regions, a project of the Institute of Government Studies at UC-Berkeley, aimed to find out by examining questions of economic resilience and insecurity, governance, immigration and infrastructure. I provided twice-weekly blog posts covering these topics. Check them out at http://brr.berkeley.edu/author/jon-davis/.

Copy edited stories for the financial news website HedgeWorld.com.

I authored a white paper for the client that lays out a vision of what Northeastern Illinois’ transit system can, and should be in coming decades, and how to achieve that vision. This includes developing an outline synthesizing history of the system, its current status, and listing the myriad economic, environmental, and fiscal benefits of strong transit systems.

I helped launch CNU's Emergency Response & Street Design Initiative, a U.S. EPA-sponsored project that aims to reconcile good urban street design and effective emergency response. In just three years, working cooperatively with new urbanists and fire marshals from across the United States, we won recognition from the International Fire Code Committee that current fire codes do indeed allow flexibility in street designs.As project manager, I helped coordinate ongoing activity and communication among Initiative participants, organized national meetings and workshops and wrote news items, blog posts, and the "CNU Report on Emergency Response & Street Design," available as a PDF at www.cnu.org/emergencyresponse.

I wrote and edited stories for the Association's newsletter and content for its website.

As Editorial Page Copy Editor (2005-2007), I ensured that copy was compelling, concise, and free of errors, wrote editorials and contributed to editorial policy. I also moderated a candidates forum during a state legislative election.As a Reporter, I covered transportation and development (2004-2005), including transit-oriented development and all aspects of transit, expansion of O'Hare International Airport, toll roads, public transportation expansion and funding. I was chosen in 2004 to write a weekly fan's perspective sports column on the Chicago Cubs.I also covered municipalities (1996-2004) including the flagship city desk beat, Arlington Heights. I broke stories on major downtown redevelopment projects and the evolution of a strip mall into a major shopping center for the suburban Korean community. I also wrote a humorous front-page piece on a press conference "given" by a champion race horse.

I covered crime, public safety, and legal issues as well as elections.

I covered just about everything from police and fire beats to breaking news, elections, municipal government, feature stories, and local high school sports.I created and wrote a twice-weekly opinion column, winning First Place, Original Column (1992), and Third Place, Original Column (1993), from the Illinois Press Association.I also took photographs and helped with layout (this, in the pre-digital age).

Master'S, Public Affairs Reporting

Activities and Societies: Student newspaper. Won a First Place award for column writing from the Illinois College Press Association (1995).

B.A., English

Activities and Societies: The Daily Cardinal. Was a city reporter and managing editor at the Cardinal (1987-1991).

Education record

Education record

Education record