We're Citizen Grit

For too long, too many people have been left out of the news conversation. Costs went up, policies changed and paychecks didn't keep up. Nobody asked what you thought.

Citizen Grit is here to change that.

We cover what's close to home — your costs, your health, your housing, your neighborhood, your life — told straight, with nothing to prove and no one to please.

Hardworking news for hardworking people.

What we cover

We focus on the things that affect your daily life: what you're paying for groceries, gas, rent and utilities. What's happening in your neighborhood. What decisions are being made — and what they mean for your wallet and your family. The programs and resources most people don't know they qualify for. The stories that the headlines keep getting wrong. Solutions to your everyday problems. Stories about people like you.

We're starting in Cook County and we're building from there.

How we work

Citizen Grit is independent and nonpartisan. We have no political affiliations and no agenda beyond accurate, useful journalism. We correct errors promptly and transparently. We protect sources. We use plain language. We never invent details. We do not use AI for content creation. We do use it to streamline workflows.

Who's behind it

Citizen Grit was founded by Erika Hobbs, an award-winning journalist with more than 25 years of experience in major national and regional newsrooms, including Newsweek, the Philadelphia Inquirer, the Orlando Sentinel and the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists. She has covered government accountability, education, municipal government and aging. She built Citizen Grit because, as a former kid on welfare, she knows the news gap is real and that the people who feel that gap most deserve better.

Support Citizen Grit

Citizen Grit is free to read. If you want to keep it going, please chip in here.

Get in touch

Have a story idea? Something your neighbors need to know? A correction?