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Chicago 'Hackathon' Will Break Down Immigration Data

By Chloe Riley | June 1, 2013 8:25am
 A hackathon - a meeting of professionals who break down data - is taking place this weekend at Cibola in Pilsen. The hackathon will specifically look at state and local immigration issues.
A hackathon - a meeting of professionals who break down data - is taking place this weekend at Cibola in Pilsen. The hackathon will specifically look at state and local immigration issues.
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RDataVox

PILSEN — A gathering of technical minds will take place in Pilsen, as local professionals brainstorm new ways to address immigration issues during a weekend-long hackathon.

The Chicago Migrahack will focus on using new and previously available technology to tackle immigration issues at state and local levels.

A "hackathon" is a gathering of programmers, journalists and community members who talk about new digital tools and find ways to make information more accessible to the masses. Chicago Migrahack will be hosted at the Pilsen incubator Cibola at 1647 S. Blue Island Ave.

Although the in-person workshops are full, organizers encourages city residents to check the Migrahack website throughout Saturday and Sunday, as info graphics will be posted for public sharing throughout the two workshop days.

The event was created by RDataVox and the Institute for Justice and Journalism, two media-focused nonprofits.

Following a previous hackathon in L.A., Institute for Justice and Journalism Executive Director Phuong Ly says she expects the Chicago hackathon to be a "bigger, better, more ambitious project."

"We designed this for people who may never have been to a hackathon before," Ly said. "A lot of these are going to be data graphic projects. So our teams will find out, what is a good way for viewers to look at this data? "

Those data projects — which will be posted live on the site — range from number of immigrant children living in Chicago, to rates of Latino voters across city neighborhoods.