The news so often feels beyond our control. Issues of globalization, war, poverty, racism, and climate change all seem so impossibly big that we don't even want to pay attention anymore. We don't need another reminder of our powerlessness.

And yet there are Chicagoans every day who are making a difference on those same issues. Their stories inspire hope and prove to us that ingenuity, compassion, and action can make a difference.

This blog is dedicated to the people working behind the news -- to the changemakers who are quietly and persistently steering our world in the direction of peace and justice.

I hope this blog will give you a different relationship to the news. Whether it's political corruption or the subprime mortgage crisis or the latest failures of the public schools, you'll be able to connect a changemaker and a solution to that problem. These are the stories we need to hear to inspire us to be more CitizenPowered.