Block Club Chicago is an online newspaper that reports on local and neighborhood news in Chicago. The website operates as a non-profit, subscription-based service.[1][2]
After DNAinfo was shut down in November 2017, Block Club Chicago was founded by three former editors of DNAinfo Chicago – Shamus Toomey, Stephanie Lulay, and Jen Sabella. The new online publication was initially funded through a Kickstarter campaign and capital from the Civil publishing platform. At the time, the Kickstarter campaign was the most successful local news initiative of its kind.[3]Block Club Chicago officially launched on June 12, 2018.[1][2][4][5][6][7]
Block Club Chicago was founded to supply a neighborhood-focused coverage[8] and adopted a geographic, rather than topical, structure, assigning each reporter a specific "neighborhood beat."[3]
As of 2021, Block Club Chicago had a newsletter circulation of 140,000 and 15,500 paid subscribers. It had ten reporters and five editors.[8]
By 2023, the website had grown to 20,000 paid subscribers and offered news coverage of 45 of Chicago's 77 community areas.[9]
