Stacey Sutton, an associate professor of urban planning and policy at the University of Illinois Chicago, has been named a 2025 Freedom Scholar by the Marguerite Casey Foundation. The recognition comes with a $250,000 grant to support her research focused on advancing racial and economic equity through community-driven economic models. She is one of four scholars nationally to receive the honor this year. n nSutton’s academic and practical work centers on two interconnected areas. One involves studying how local governments and grassroots organizations can foster economic democracy by supporting cooperative business ownership and community control over neighborhood assets. Her efforts aim to empower residents with greater influence in decisions affecting their lives and environments. n nHer second area of inquiry investigates how seemingly neutral urban policies can unintentionally reinforce systemic inequalities, particularly along lines of race, gender, and geography. By exposing these dynamics, she advocates for more inclusive governance. n nAs the founder of the Solidarity Economy Research, Policy & Law Project at UIC’s Center for Urban Economic Development, Sutton leads initiatives that promote alternative economic frameworks emphasizing equity, sustainability, and collective decision-making. The project partners with local groups to deliver training and public education, helping communities engage with cooperative models. n nHer current research forms the foundation of a forthcoming book titled “Building Real Black Utopias,” which examines Black-led networks in several U.S. cities that prioritize mutual aid, worker ownership, and community stewardship. These systems serve as real-world examples of solidarity economies in action. n nBetween 2023 and 2025, Sutton played a key role in launching the Chicago Community Wealth Building Ecosystem hub. This effort supported the city’s $15 million Community Wealth Building Initiative, which funds cooperative enterprises such as worker-owned businesses, community land trusts, and limited-equity housing co-ops. The goal is to shift economic power toward residents and strengthen neighborhood resilience. n nShe is the fourth UIC faculty member to receive the Freedom Scholar distinction since the award began in 2020, joining Barbara Ransby, Beth Richie, and Nadine Naber. In 2021, she was awarded the Edward Blakely Prize by the Association of Collegiate Schools of Planning for her work in scholar activism and previously served as a Kendeda Fellow at Rutgers University’s Institute for the Study of Employee Ownership. n
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— News Original —UIC economic justice researcher named Freedom ScholarUniversity of Illinois Chicago professor Stacey Sutton has been named a 2025 Freedom Scholar by the Marguerite Casey Foundation in recognition of her work in economic democracy and community engagement. n nOn Sept. 17, the foundation announced that Sutton, an associate professor of urban planning and policy in the College of Urban Planning and Public Affairs, is one of four standout scholars honored this year. Each will receive $250,000 for their impactful research and dedication to advancing racial and economic justice. n nSutton’s research, teaching and community involvement focus on two areas. First, she explores how grassroots organizations and city governments create enabling environments for economic democracy by advancing cooperative ownership of enterprises and community control of neighborhood resources. This work encompasses promoting fair economic systems and a voice for everyday people in decisions that affect their communities. n nSecond, she critically examines how specific “universal” city policies and institutional practices can deepen inequity by punishing or excluding people based on race, gender or where they live. n n“As a community-engaged scholar, racial and economic justice researcher and social movement practitioner, being awarded a 2025 Marguerite Casey Foundation Freedom Scholar award is perhaps the greatest honor and recognition of my scholarly contributions and commitment to radical democracy, solidarity economies and social justice,” said Sutton, who came to UIC from Columbia University in 2015. n nSutton is the founding director of the Solidarity Economy Research, Policy & Law Project, based in UIC’s Center for Urban Economic Development. The project aims to advance solidarity economy research and policy, and support community networks with cooperative ownership and building solidarity economies, which are alternative economic systems prioritizing social well-being, equity, sustainability and shared decision-making. n nIn partnership with community organizations, the project offers technical training and public education to help people understand and participate in these alternative systems. n nSutton’s new body of research is the basis for her book project, “Building Real Black Utopias.” Across multiple U.S. cities, the project explores infrastructures, ideologies and practices of Black-centered community-driven networks that prioritize solidarity economy practices, such as community stewardship, worker ownership, shared decision-making, mutual aid and economic justice. n nFrom 2023 to 2025, Sutton helped launch and lead the Chicago Community Wealth Building Ecosystem hub, which was responsible for research and coordination for the City of Chicago’s Community Wealth Building Initiative, a $15 million investment in emerging cooperative enterprises—worker cooperatives, community land trusts, community investment vehicles, limited equity housing cooperatives. The initiative is designed to give residents more control over their economic futures and strengthen communities from the ground up. n nSutton is the fourth UIC scholar to be recognized with the Freedom Scholar honor since its inception in 2020. Other UIC-based recipients have been professors Barbara Ransby in 2020, Beth Richie in 2022 and Nadine Naber in 2024. n nShe received the 2021 Edward Blakery Award from the Association of Collegiate Schools of Planning for her commitment to scholar activism. She was a Kendeda Fellow at the Institute for the Study of Employee Ownership at Rutgers University.