Future Hindsight

Investigations Get Results Since 1957, BGA investigations have uncovered corruption and unfair practices throughout Chicago and the state of Illinois. A recent investigation of police shootings in predominantly African-American neighborhoods of Cook County found that of 113 shootings over seven years, none led to disciplinary action. After the findings were published, a state law was enacted requiring an investigation each time a police officer discharges their weapon. BGA also investigated and exposed the corruption of Alderman Burke in the 14th Ward of Chicago, who is now under federal indictment on multiple charges. When governments are faced with evidence of corruption they must — and usually do — act quickly to correct it. Good governance Advocacy for good governance goes well beyond exposing corruption. The BGA's policy team recommends public policies for more transparency, accountability, and efficiency. Marie Dillon, the Policy Director, participated in the mayoral transition to help newly elected Mayor Lori Lightfoot transition into office and to help her staff develop ethics reform goals. The BGA is also tracking how the new mayor's actions measure up against BGA's agenda. The combination of advocacy for sound public policy and government oversight through investigative journalism makes it possible for BGA to push for effective government reform. Getting People Engaged Voting is still the ultimate tool of accountability. To that end, a big part of BGA's civic engagement effort is to empower citizens to participate in their democracy. The way that government treats its citizens is one of the most important factors in the daily quality of life, from the safety of the roads to the quality of public schools. When citizens have little faith in their government, or see their government as unresponsive to their needs, the social contract breaks down. In the last city-wide election, BGA published stories and candidate profiles, as well as where to vote and how to vote. Good governance helps people see their investment in voting, in paying taxes, and participating in their communities as worthwhile, and become even more engaged. Find out more: David Greising is the President and CEO of the Better Government Association. Greising spent 25 years as a high-profile local and national journalist, and served as the Chicago Tribune's business columnist for more than a decade. He also recently served as the Midwest bureau chief for Reuters. The Better Government Association was founded in 1923 as a voter advocacy and election reform group. Their mission evolved in the 1950s to include investigative journalism. Since then, they have produced hundreds of investigative reports outlining corruption and other government shortcomings, resulting in lasting legislative change in the state of Illinois and city of Chicago. You can follow David on Twitter @dgreising and the BGA @bettergov.

Technology for Democracy Democracy Works remedies some of the most pervasive and mundane reasons we don't vote. TurboVote is a tool that enables online voter registration, sends out election day reminders, and even provides absentee ballots. Those mailed-in ballots are then tracked by the Ballot Scout initiative. The Voting Information Project produces the polling place and ballot data that is then used by Google and get-out-the-vote drives. By using current technology to take the hassle of voting out of our busy lives, the initiatives of Democracy Works are building a more engaged society. Partnering for Success Democracy Works collaborates with voters, state partners, and corporations to create more successful elections. Since being founded in 2012, TurboVote has registered over 7 million new voters, with 2.5 million in 2018 alone. Moreover, 63% of them were millennials or younger. Successful voter registration came through heavy reliance on partnerships, including with over 130 universities and Snapchat. When Facebook reminds you to vote, it's because of a TurboVote partnership. The Voting Information Project partnership with Google provides accurate polling locations and ballot information. Partnerships with 46 states help streamline the election and voting processes. TurboVote Challenge The TurboVote Challenge is the premier corporate coalition championing civic engagement in America. Its goal is to reach 80% voter turnout by 2024. In order to achieve record-breaking voter turnout, we cannot rely on the government and politicians alone. Instead, everyone must play a part and treat everyone like citizens and voters. Learning institutions need to register their students; companies need to work to motivate both employees and customers; and everyday citizens need to vote and encourage others to vote as well. Democracy is strongest when we are all participating and voting. Find out more: Seth Flaxman co-founded Democracy Works while studying at Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government. The Democracy Works' tool TurboVote has been used by more than 7 million Americans to register to vote, and provides a suite of other tools to simplify voting for everyday citizens. Democracy Works also started the Voting Information Project, a widely accessible public information project designed to remove voting barriers by providing easily searchable polling place locations, ballot information, and other official election information. Thanks to a partnership with Google, the VIP is used by millions of voters around the country. Seth earned an undergraduate degree from Columbia University and was student body president there. In 2011, he was honored as one of Forbes magazine's '30 Under 30' in the field of law and policy. Seth is also a Draper Richards Kaplan entrepreneur and Ashoka Fellow. You can follow him on Twitter @Sethflaxman, Democracy Works @demworksinc, TurboVote @TurboVote, and The Voting Information Project @VotingInfo

Protecting our Elections Most Americans take for granted that our elections will be free and fair. However, this would not be the case without the rigorous efforts of dedicated non-profits, citizens, and volunteers. Organizations like the Lawyers' Committee work year-round to protect our elections from internal interference using a variety of tools such as a voter hotline (866-OUR-VOTE), digital outreach, physical field programs, and litigation when states enact unfair or discriminatory voting practices. Legitimate elections are the result of passionate citizens and organized civic engagement. Attacks on Democratic Infrastructure The Lawyers' Committee started its Election Protection program in 2002 in order to combat increasing attacks on election infrastructure at national and state levels. The most notable of these attacks was the 2013 Shelby County v. Holder Supreme Court Case, which struck down a key portion of the Voting Rights Act that had required districts with a history of voter discrimination to seek federal authorization for any changes in voting laws or procedures. Since then, 14 states have instituted new voting restrictions, and more than 1,000 polling locations have closed around the country. Restrictions like this make it harder for many to vote, alienating them and corroding the foundation of our democracy. Restrictions and Interpretations New laws—like Texas's former voter ID law that banned student IDs, but allowed concealed carry permits—are not the only way states can suppress voting. Some states simply interpret existing laws in a new way. The National Voter Registration Act contains a list maintenance provision on how to remove voters who have moved or died, which some states have interpreted as a way to aggressively purge voters who still live in the jurisdiction. In Husted v. Philip Randolph Institute, the Supreme Court ruled that Ohio is allowed to purge voters who have not voted in two years and have not responded to a change of residence notice. Election protection challenges voter suppression in new laws as well as unfair interpretations of existing ones. Find out more: Marcia Johnson-Blanco is the co-Director of the Lawyers' Committee's Voting Rights Project. She manages the Project's programmatic and advocacy portfolios, and also leads the Election Protection Program. The program was started in 2002 to combat voter suppression and disenfranchisement, which includes tools such as the voter hotline (866-OUR-VOTE), on-site election protection services, and litigation against discriminatory laws and tactics. Johnson-Blanco is a widely-recognized voting rights leader, and served as the deputy director of the National Commission on the Voting Rights Act in 2005. She holds degrees from Georgetown and Villanova, and serves as a taskforce co-chair at the US Human Rights Network. You can follow her on Twitter @mfjblanco, and the Election Protection program @866OURVOTE.

Civic education for all Many Americans are unsure of how their government works. Civic education is the manual for democracy, and Civics 101 offers it in the form of a popular podcast. Civic learning is a unifier that promotes democratic ideas and a more connected populace. In fact, listeners of the podcast span across the ideological spectrum, equally motivated to learn all about how they can utilize our democracy. Civics 101 also produces classroom materials for a growing number of high schools around the country. Lasting legacy of slavery The institution of slavery and the needs of slaveholding states were given weighty consideration in the founding days of the nation and were, therefore, baked into the Constitution. One important holdover is the Electoral College, which was originally designed to grant outsized electoral power to slaveholding states. The system continues to give about one third of American voters an advantage at the expense of the majority. Empowering citizens The United States became more democratic as time progressed. Even though the Bill of Rights was adopted in 1791, it was not always considered to be the bulwark of our democracy. The Supreme Court did not even hear a case with the First Amendment until the 1920s. However, over the last hundred years, concerned and well-educated citizens have bolstered and protected it through activism and litigation. Our responsibility is to understand the rules, participate, and empower ourselves to make this democracy work us. Find out more: Hannah McCarthy and Nick Capodice host and produce Civics 101, a production of New Hampshire Public Radio. They work with the Civics 101 team to brainstorm topics, as well as research, write, and record episodes. Each episode explores topics – the secretary of state, the NIH, the vice president, the midterm election – through interviews with experts and teachers. The hosts ask the questions you've been wondering but may be too afraid to ask – what exactly does the vice president do? How do executive orders work? - and stitches them together into engaging narrative stories. Civics 101 is used as a key classroom aide around the country, and episodes have been downloaded more than 13 million times. You can follow Hannah on Twitter @HMcCarthyNHPR, Nick @capodice, and Civics 101 @civics101pod

High-quality civic education Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor founded iCivics in 2009 because she believed that the practice of democracy must be taught and learned anew by each generation. High-quality civic education starts at an early age and teaches how the US system works. The curriculum includes the basics, such as the Constitution and the Bill of Rights; how to think about the complex challenges that face any government by examining past Supreme Court cases; fostering well-informed, civil discourse with people of differing viewpoints; and teaching media literacy. Educating and empowering future engaged citizens about why their vote matters, what their government does, and how they can enact change is the foundation for a strong democracy. Educational Gaming The series of innovative iCivics games and supporting classroom resources make the complex legislative, judicial, and electoral systems come to life. Civic knowledge is taught through active learning instead of through writing answers on worksheets or checking boxes. The games place you in real world civics situations: a constitutional lawyer deciding which cases to bring to trial based on your knowledge of the Bill of Rights, or one of the founders who is working to ratify the Constitution. In this way, students look at how they fit in to their community's civic life and how they can make informed decisions and participate in our democracy. Prioritizing civic education Currently, 25% of young Americans view democracy as a "bad" or "very bad" system of government. This shocking number is both an indictment of the way civics is currently taught, and an urgent wake-up call that we must do better. School curricula are determined at the state level, so parents and legislators need to advocate for and invest in statewide civics programs. States like Florida and Massachusetts, which have rigorous civics requirements in their schools, are excellent examples to follow. Many other states are already invested in civics education, but more needs to be done. iCivics founded CivXNowto help ensure that every young person acquires the necessary civic knowledge for informed and authentic civic engagement. Find out more: Louise Dubé joined iCivics as Executive Director in 2014. She oversees the work that iCivics does in creating video games that transform abstract concepts into real-life problems and in designing a developmentally appropriate civics curriculum. Inspired by a continuing deep commitment to ongoing learning, she has devoted her career to ensuring that all students are prepared for active and thoughtful citizenship and life. Before joining iCivics, Dubé served as the Managing Director of Digital Learning at Boston's WGBH. She is also a co-founder of CASES, a New York alternative-to-incarceration program for youthful offenders where education helped re-shape lives. She holds degrees from McGill and Yale Universities. You can follow her on Twitter @louise_dube.

We Are Our Government In our representative democracy, every citizen of the United States is ultimately a part of the government. One of our civic responsibilities is to be informed about how our elected representatives are working for us and how our tax dollars are being spent. We have the power to hold our representatives accountable when there is corruption or injustice. Our government is of the people, by the people, and we must participate in our society through civic engagement, community activism, or even running for office. Find out more: Mila Atmos is the founder, host, and executive producer of Future Hindsight. She seeks to promote civic values and social engagement through thought-provoking interviews with citizen changemakers. Previous guests include presidential candidate Beto O'Rourke, Eurasia Group founder Ian Bremmer, Indivisible co-founder Ezra Levin, and Robin Steinberg, founder and CEO of The Bail Project. You can follow her on Twitter @milaatmos Myriam Zümbuhl serves as Future Hindsight's associate producer. A veteran reporter and producer at Swiss Public Radio, Myriam recently starter her own media company, Harvest Productions. Skilled in the arts of storytelling and scriptwriting, Myriam is also a passionate chef and gardener. She lives in Zurich, Switzerland.

Passion Informs Engagement Creating a stronger community and society comes through a continuous commitment to civic engagement. Passion about certain issues can motivate and sustain a lifetime habit of being involved. In addition, participating in community life and initiatives are essential for staying engaged. Working together and joining forces with other people yields the best results to shape a society that reflects our values. It is one of the most treasured gifts we can leave to future generations. Find out more: Mila Atmos is the founder, host, and executive producer of Future Hindsight. She seeks to promote civic values and social engagement through thought-provoking interviews with citizen changemakers. Previous guests include presidential candidate Beto O'Rourke, Eurasia Group founder Ian Bremmer, Indivisible co-founder Ezra Levin, and Robin Steinberg, founder and CEO of The Bail Project. You can follow her on Twitter @milaatmos Myriam Zümbuhl serves as Future Hindsight's associate producer. A veteran reporter and producer at Swiss Public Radio, Myriam recently starter her own media company, Harvest Productions. Skilled in the arts of storytelling and scriptwriting, Myriam is also a passionate chef and gardener. She lives in Zurich, Switzerland.

Loss of Agency One of the most important factors in a healthy democracy is the sense of agency. When citizens in a democracy feel they have some agency over their lives, whether it is economic, social, or political, they will work together to create a better future for themselves, their families, and their society. When this sense is taken from them by outside variables such as market forces, they lose this sense of collectivism, and become less likely to work together. This division leaves an opening for bad-faith actors and aggressive populism to take hold in otherwise stable democracies. The Three Dimensions of Freedom There are three ideas that bind and define a successful democracy. They are liberty, equality, and accountability. While liberty is the end-goal of modern democracy, it needs to be acted upon and bolstered by equality and accountability. If a democracy has liberty but not equality, that liberty is little more than privilege. Further, if a democracy has liberty but not accountability, that liberty becomes impunity to act without consequences. Lack of accountability through the loss of individual agency is a major reason why bulwark democracies like the US and the UK are facing crises today. Accountability is Paramount Many of the problems facing Western democracies today are the result of a dearth of accountability on many levels. Market deregulation and the globalization of capital markets have undermined accountability for companies as well as governments from the local to the national level. Executives are now narrowly focused on shareholder return, primarily at the expense of the average worker. Politicians also increasingly represent and serve special interests, resulting in policies that favor a select few and discount average citizens. In order to return to an equitable financial system and democratic process, we must urgently address the lack of accountability. Find out more: Billy Bragg is a well-known songwriter, musician, author, and activist living in the UK. Beginning in the 1980s, Bragg released a series of socially-conscious folk-rock albums focusing on political and romantic themes. Bragg continues to release albums, including 2017's Build Bridges Not Walls, and sells out tour dates around the world. Staunchly progressive, Bragg is a self-proclaimed socialist whose musical career has been paralleled only by his decades of activism. Bragg has written several books, including The Three Dimensions of Freedom, which came out earlier this year. You can follow Billy Bragg on Twitter @billybragg.

Engagement and Representation There are a multitude of ways to become an engaged citizen. Often people think of civic engagement as an overwhelming and high-level concept. In reality, civic engagement can be performed on any level, from lowering the speed limit on your street and participating in a protest, to joining a local advisory council or parent-teacher organization. The important part of civic engagement is not what we do, but that we actually do something to make our voices heard. We can only be represented when we are engaged in our democracy. Find out more: Mila Atmos is the founder, host, and executive producer of Future Hindsight. She seeks to promote civic values and social engagement through thought-provoking interviews with citizen changemakers. Previous guests include presidential candidate Beto O'Rourke, Eurasia Group founder Ian Bremmer, Indivisible co-founder Ezra Levin, and Robin Steinberg, founder and CEO of The Bail Project. You can follow her on Twitter @milaatmos Myriam Zümbuhl serves as Future Hindsight's associate producer. A veteran reporter and producer at Swiss Public Radio, Myriam recently starter her own media company, Harvest Productions. Skilled in the arts of storytelling and scriptwriting, Myriam is also a passionate chef and gardener. She lives in Zurich, Switzerland.

Since the 2016 election, it has become increasingly imperative that we participate in our democracy as citizens. There are many ways to be civically engaged beyond voting and running for office, from being mindful about civic actions to passionately advocating for an issue. Our society and our social contract are only as strong as those participating in them, and the more you can get involved —- and inspire others to do the same -— the more our democracy represents us. Find out more: Mila Atmos is the founder, host, and executive producer of Future Hindsight. She seeks to promote civic values and social engagement through thought-provoking interviews with citizen changemakers. Previous guests include presidential candidate Beto O'Rourke, Eurasia Group founder Ian Bremmer, Indivisible co-founder Ezra Levin, and Robin Steinberg, founder and CEO of The Bail Project. You can follow her on Twitter @milaatmos Myriam Zümbuhl serves as Future Hindsight's associate producer. A veteran reporter and producer at Swiss Public Radio, Myriam recently starter her own media company, Harvest Productions. Skilled in the arts of storytelling and scriptwriting, Myriam is also a passionate chef and gardener. She lives in Zurich, Switzerland.