It's time to make affordable housing the city's top priority
City elections are over and the mayor and city council
will be preparing for new terms of office and
considering government priorities for Chicago. The
Chicago Rehab Network believes that the problem of
housing affordability should be at the top of the list.
The ability of residents to afford to live in the city
without sacrificing a tremendous amount of incomes
on housing costs is the most important issue we
could deal with. A recent CRN analysis revealed 41
percent of city home owners and 46 percent of renters
are spending more than one-third of their income just
on housing.
Our 2007 Housing Platform, which includes
recommendations for preserving affordable housing
in the city outlines areas where city leadership -
including increased funding, policy changes and
public commitments - can keep Chicago a place
where everyone can find a home.
The Housing Platform also calls for a moratorium on
condo conversion, $40 million a year dedicated to
affordable rental development, elimination of
regulatory barriers on government-assisted housing
development, and action to preserve trouble
properties or properties with expiring federal Section 8
contracts. More than 8,000 units of federally-assisted
housing are at risk of expiring by the end of 2009. The
loss of these units would be a devastating blow in a
city where there has been a decrease of 71,000 renter
households.
In addition, the Chicago Rehab Network calls for
greater coordination and transparency between the
city departments responsible for housing - including
the departments of planning, zoning, building and
construction permits. An updated information system
is also needed to track city policies and their impact
on residents.
Unlike the federal and state government, city
government has no information system in place to
track legislative activities and initiatives and there is
no coherent system to inform the public about what is
happening. If our leaders and residents don't know
what is happening it is difficult to get them involved to
make sure that the right things are done.
We congratulate all who participated in the recent
elections. Many more people need to be involved, but
this presents a new beginning and we must take
advantage of this moment. The competition for what
issues should top the city's agenda is going to
continue. We hope to keep our members aware and
engaged to take advantage of this new opportunity.
Kevin Jackson, executive director,
Chicago Rehab Network
