Community
Chi Hack Night is a central hub for Chicago's civic tech community. The easiest thing you can do get involved is show up to a Tuesday Chi Hack Night. In addition to that, there are many ways to get involved:
Subscribe to updates on upcoming Chi Hack Night speakers and events.
SubscribeJoin our Google Group to keep up with civic tech news and projects in Chicago.
Join our Google GroupBrowse our weekly breakouts to find your learning or prototyping group.
Breakout groupsDive right in!
Ready to dive right in with a project? Take a look at the open source civic apps, the data that power them and the people who built them.
Keep track of open source projects from Chicago's civic tech community.
Open source projectsBrowse the data portals, government websites, APIs and tools available in Chicago.
Data & resourcesMeet the people who work on open source civic tech projects in Chicago.
Meet the techiesOther Chicago civic technology events
Check out the ever-growing ecosystem of civic tech events in Chicago.
Chicago City Data User Group - You don't have to be a developer to use Chicago's rich sets of data! The Chicago City Data Users Group is for end users, business users, enthusiasts, students, entrepreneurs, and anyone interested in how to use city data. Our goal to promote civic engagement, innovation, and economic opportunity leveraging The City of Chicago's data. Please join us and we can learn about data and civic life together.
City Bureau Civic Scrapers - City Bureau is a civic journalism lab headquarted in Woodlawn. One of their projects is developing and coordinating the #CityScrapers, a community open source project designed to standardize, scrape and share information about public meetings in a central database, in contrast to the disparate websites they are scattered across now. #CityScrapers is always looking for coding volunteers.
City Open Workshop - We are a collaborative group united in the belief that design should be open for all as a platform for change and participation in the civic realm. CITY OPEN aims to build meaningful collaborations between community partners, engaged scholars, policymakers, and the urban planning and design community to foster civic discourse about Chicago’s built environment and spark curiosity and investment in its communities.
Maptime Chicago - MaptimeChi is Chicago’s offshoot of MaptimeSF, a weekly meetup of mappers and map learners interested in creating a time and space for collaborative learning, exploration, and map creation using mapping tools and technologies.
Open Uptown - Chicago's Code for America Brigade! We forge partnerships between neighbors who use technology to improve interactions with, and access to, public services. Whether you're a technologist, designer, journalist, public servant, or curious community member- there is a place for you here! Join us for our co-working, project, service, and social events!
South Side Code & Coffee - Bringing together developers and tech enthusiasts from all across the south side, South Side Code & Coffee is a weekly meetup for early-rising office workers, program-from-home freelancers, CS students, and anybody else who likes caffeine with their code. Each week we convene at a café to chat with fellow tech folks and get work done in a shared space, all while supporting local businesses and community organizations.