About The VP Chicago

We connect the story of Chicago's South Side and South suburbs to the story of all of Chicago—and the nation.

Viaducts connect our neighborhoods just as much as they've historically separated them. That's the idea behind The Viaducts Project. The South Side isn't a world apart from the rest of Chicago—what happens here tells you how this city actually works. Our schools, health care systems, how we get by, where we learn, and how we live.

If you want to understand Chicago, you start on the South Side. If you want to understand our nation, you start in Chicago. And if you want to figure out how the systems in our city affect your neighborhood and your everyday life, start with our newsroom: The VP Chicago.

Our mission

Most news in Chicago is made for people who are already plugged in. The VP Chicago is a newsroom made for everyone else. We cover the South Side and South suburbs—the health of our people, the schools our children attend, the money in our pockets, where we live, and the systems we all have to navigate. Because what happens here tells you everything about how this city, and this country, actually works.

Who we are

Kelly Glass is an award-winning journalist and experienced editorial leader from Chicago's Far South Side. As a journalist, her interests focus on deeply reported, evidence-based culture, family, and policy stories. Her writing and reporting have appeared in The New York Times, Washington Post, National Geographic, Health, Consumer Reports, Chicago Tribune, and many more national publications. She's also appeared on MSNBC Live, NBC Boston, CBS Mornings, and Al Jazeera's The Stream to talk about being a Black journalist and the state of the industry. 

Glass is no stranger to the startup news world. She was formerly the national editor for Courier Newsroom, a national network of local news sites. In 2022, she was the founding executive editor of Kindred, Parents Magazine’s first and only destination tailored to Black families. Most recently, she served as the deputy managing editor of culture at the data journalism startup Stacker.

As Founder and Editor-in-Chief of The VP Chicago, Kelly leads editorial strategy and oversees the newsroom’s mission to produce community-centered, solutions-driven reporting tailored to historically underserved audiences on Chicago’s South Side.

How to get in touch

Before we publish a single story, we’re gathering the people who want to help strengthen our communities, tell our stories, and give the nation the real deal to watch. There are a ton of ways to get involved, but we want to hear it from you. Here are all the ways to get in touch:

📱Text us at (773) 234-2723‬
➤ Follow us on Instagram @thevpchicago
📩 Email us at contact@thevpchicago.org
✍🏾 Write us at:
The VP Chicago
10735 S Western Ave Ste 6 #230
Chicago, IL 60643