It was a big Night
It was a big night.
This past Thursday we gathered for the first time—a full room of Chicago cycling advocates, both fresh to the cause and with many years of experience.
We were there to launch this new and essential piece of the bike advocacy community: a political action committee which can directly influence the 2027 election for Chicago City Council.
Our goal was $10,000.
We raised $17,269. 172% of our goal.
The professional term for this is: Hell. Yeah.
If you weren’t there, the mood was electric. In fact, that may be a good analogy: the Chicago Bike PAC is a little like adding electric pedal assist to the #bikechi community. We've already been rolling. But now we’re adding some oomph. Some power to climb these bigger challenges.
Ald. Andre Vazquez joked on stage about how he’ll get negative comments from NIMBY’s about being influenced by the “organized bike lobby.” He laughed, because he knows that we’re not power brokers. We’re moms and commuters—just Chicagoans who know that safe cycling is an essential part of a world-class city.
But maybe today, we did organize the Bike Lobby.
We’re not mad about it.
The gratitude from Kevin Borgia and I is rich and deep for such a successful launch. First to SRAM and Director Rob Cappucci, for hosting us in their West Loop beautiful space (with indoor bike lane), buying us all some beers, and generously providing a $5000 matching gift.
A huge thank you to our special guests Ald. Daniel LaSpata and Ald Andre Vasquez for being champions in city council and using their voice and vote.
And a special thank you to our volunteers who did some thankless jobs to make the event smooth for everyone.
Above all, thank you to every donor. Our community raised $16,000 in just under 10 minutes. We invite our current elected officials and future candidates to take notice.
After a successful launch for Chicago Bike PAC, it’s time to make future plans. Our eyes are on 2027, and so for now it’s a build phase. We’ll focus on raising more funds: our next milestone goal is $50,000.
We’d like to meet friendly business leaders (hit reply and tell us who you know that we should contact).
But for now, thank you #bikechi community. We’re working hard, we’re working together, and we’re going to elect a pro-bike Chicago City Council.
Chris Ridgeway & Kevin Borgia
Co-Founders, Chicago Bike PAC
