Health Care and Jobs During the Pandemic:
A Closer Look at Chicago’s Neighborhoods
This forum is part of Project Hometown, a new initiative from the Chicago Fed that aims to foster discussion around the challenges and opportunities confronting hometowns in the Seventh District.
In Chicago, as in all major cities, the health impact of the Covid-19 pandemic has been felt disproportionally by some groups and neighborhoods. Similarly, the decline in economic activity necessary to reduce the spread of the virus has had a disparate impact on employment around the city.
Our goal for this forum is to bring together diverse perspectives on how neighborhoods can recover from the pandemic, overcome long-standing inequities, and rebuild for resilience.
In this one-hour virtual convening, experts will discuss:
- How people and neighborhoods within the city of Chicago have been impacted differentially by the pandemic.
- How health care providers have responded to the various needs of different communities.
- How communities and community-based organizations have supported their residents in confronting the health and economic implications of the virus.
- How job loss and job challenges have affected different groups of individuals, and how this has evolved over the course of the pandemic.
- How Chicago is responding to these challenges and identifying opportunities for a healthy and inclusive recovery.

Jane Dokko
Assistant Vice President
Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago
Moderator

Carmelo Barbaro
Executive Director
UChicago Poverty Lab
Panelist
Carmelo Barbaro is the executive director of the UChicago Poverty Lab. He previously worked as a project leader in the Chicago office of the Boston Consulting Group (BCG). Before joining BCG, he spent several years working in urban planning and community development, with a focus on low-income communities in the cities of Chicago and Milwaukee. Barbaro holds a BA in government from Harvard University, an MSc in regional and urban planning studies from the London School of Economics and Political Science, and an MBA from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business.

Darlene Hightower
Vice President
Community Health Equity
Rush University Medical Center
Panelist

Leslie McGranahan
Vice President and Director of Regional Research
Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago

Katya Nuques
Executive Director
Enlace Chicago
Panelist

Brenda Palms-Barber
President and CEO
North Lawndale Employment Network
Panelist