Affordable housing is a hotly contested issue and for good reason. No one deserves to be homeless.
In this article, I will tell you four different aspects of the affordable housing situation in Chicago through bite-sized news reports.
I hate to be the bearer of bad news first, but the fact is that we are in an affordable housing crisis.
Especially during the COVID-19 pandemic, about half of Americans (49%) say the availability of affordable housing in their local community is a major problem, up 10 percentage points from early 2018, according to a Pew Research Center survey conducted in October 2021.
A home is one of the most essential things in human life. It is a basic human right. Just like every day, everyone needs food and clothing, and all of us need a safe place to live.
Where one lives impacts childhood development, individual self-esteem, and family well-being. In fact, there have been several studies linking the lack of stable affordable housing to many of America’s social problems, including poverty, homelessness, educational disparities, and health care.
So now let’s dig into the recent news buzzing about affordable housing.
Amongst the diverse news cycle in Chicago, I will discuss these topics
1. the challenges of affordable housing in Chicago,
2. the struggles of Chicagoans to find affordable housing,
3. the current issues with existing housing,
4. how Chicagoans continue to fight for affordable housing,
5. the solutions to this crisis, and
6. the recent successful affordable housing developments in Chicago.
Challenges of Affordable Housing in Chicago
As I’ve previously mentioned in my other videos, living in Chicago is expensive. And housing costs are very high, especially to high property taxes.
This makes the availability of affordable housing very challenging for renters and landlords alike.
Redevelopment Threatens Iconic, Affordable Chicago Homes - WTTW
Nick Blumberg reported about the danger that workers’ cottages are in amidst the redevelopment boom.
Workers' cottages are simple homes of four to six rooms with a gabled roof.
This iconic form of Chicago affordable housing gets demolished to make way for newer, more expensive dwellings.
Chicago’s two-,three-and four-flats are a key source of affordable housing but the pandemic might be changing that. - The Chicago Tribune
Sarah Freishtat wrote about the struggle of landlords of affordable housing.
In Chicago, units of two to four flats have always been part of affordable housing. But the pandemic is changing this dynamic.
More landlords reported changing their management tactics, including increasing rents, adding fees, conducting more thorough tenant screening, or selling their rental properties for good.
Most of them are small landlords who struggle with rising inflation and high property taxes.
Struggles of Chicagoans to find affordable housing
As inflation rises and home prices continue to go up with the low housing supply, Chicagoans are finding it hard to find affordable housing.
The grim housing options for Chicago's undocumented seniors - Injustice Watch
Carlos Ballesteros and Laura Rodriguez Preza tell the grim story of the undocumented seniors in Chicago.
Undocumented seniors frequently lack the necessary paperwork to sign a lease, such as photo IDs or credit histories.
So most pay their rent on a month-to-month basis, placing them at risk of being evicted quickly, as Illinois landlords only need to give them 30 days notice to vacate.
Foreclosure wave sweeping US crests in Chicago - Courthouse News Service
David Byrnes reported that Chicagoans are losing their homes in higher numbers than any other metro area in the country, amid a national spike in residential foreclosure rates.
As surprising as this increase in homelessness is, experts say it was inevitable after the epidemic eviction moratorium ended.
Despite the fact that the present foreclosure rate is the highest since the pandemic began, it is still lower than the typical pre-pandemic foreclosure rate; in the first quarter of 2022, only approximately half as many foreclosures were started as in the first quarter of 2020.
Current Issues with Existing Affordable Housing
Then when they do find affordable housing, they will still struggle due to some housing’s poor living conditions.
City, Feds Want South Side Landlord Out - Book Club Chicago
On May 4, 2022, Maxwell reported about a troubled Kenwood affordable apartment building that faces extreme backlash from the government.
This came after a slew of complaints from the low-income housing tower’s residents regarding plumbing concerns, bug infestations, poor security, electrical repairs, and other issues.
3 Die At Rogers Park Senior Building - Book Club Chicago
Joe Ward reported about how Alderman Maria Hadden of the 49th Ward called for an investigation into the death of three women from suspected heat exhaustion in a Rogers Park Senior living complex.
She asked the City Council's housing committee to hold hearings into the building's management and how the deaths occurred.
The hearings will look into what went wrong, as well as make recommendations to the City Council so that laws can be drafted to prevent heat-related deaths in such homes.
Chicago Ald. Walter Burnett softened affordable housing stance after cash influx - ABC7 Chicago
The Better Government Association uncovered corruption uncovered against 27th Ward Alderman Walter Burnett.
Residents claimed that their homes were swept out to make way for a gleaming new luxury high-rise that they couldn't afford. They complain that their new Canadian landlords and Burnett, a long-promoted champion of affordable housing, promised tenants new homes in the community but then failed to deliver.
Chicagoans still fighting for affordable housing
Despite all these challenges and struggles, Chicagoans are still active in fighting for more affordable housing.
City pushes to address the issue of vacant lots; some activists call for more affordable housing - CBS News
CBS 2’s Tim McNicholas reported about the issue of vacant lots in the city.
The City Hall solicited answers through a community survey.
The answers could influence how and to whom the city sells the lots it owns.
Community advocates and leaders - like Savannah Brown, a member of Southside Together Organizing for Power, a Woodlawn-based grassroots organization focused on affordable housing - demand more affordable housing development.
South Shore residents push for stronger housing protection - WGN 9
Gaynor Hall reported about how a group of South Shore residents is pushing for better housing protections.
The Community Benefits Agreement Coalition claims the city is not doing enough to protect people in the South Shore neighborhood, which is close to the Obama Presidential Center.
The South Shore Coalition requests that all city-owned vacant properties be placed aside for affordable home development.
They also want more protections for homeowners and tenants, and they want the Chicago Housing Authority to be held accountable.
Lincoln Square Neighbors Rally For Affordable Housing Proposal - Book Club Chicago
Residents staged a protest in response to a proposal for affordable housing near the Brown Line.
This rally called "Build Housing Now" supports a plan for 51 low-cost apartments in a city-owned parking lot.
The Community Developers-led project received preliminary approval for vital affordable housing city tax credits in December.
Officials have also stated that plans with more apartments and 18 or 19 parking places would match their requirements and allow the project to proceed.
City, Activists Clash Over Woodlawn Housing Plans - WTTW
Aida Mogos reports: Tensions ran high as Woodland residents feel the effects of the incoming Obama Presidential Center.
Residents want all 52 city lots in the area to be allocated for affordable housing.
They want the government to uphold the Woodlawn Housing Preservation Ordinance, which was passed in 2020 to protect residents from displacement while also providing additional affordable rental and housing options.
Gov. J.B. Pritzker signed legislation last summer to create the COVID-19 affordable housing program, which would be overseen by the state and funded with $75 million from the American Rescue Plan.
Affordable housing solutions
The affordable housing crisis is a complex issue.
But the good news is: there are many solutions that governments, institutions, and businesses are implementing to help ease the burden on Chicagoans.
Affordable housing plan aims to bring down high costs of living - WGN 9
Hannah Brandt reports about the government’s aim to assist tenants and homeowners who are struggling with growing housing costs.
According to Bharat Ramamurti, Deputy National Economic Council Director, the focus is on boosting the quantity of available residential spaces.
New financing alternatives and improved access to certain tax credits and loans are part of the administration's proposal, which also puts pressure on local governments to change cumbersome zoning restrictions.
President Joe Biden is also urging Congress to approve legislation addressing the issue of affordable housing.
Furthermore, Biden's administration is lobbying for the expansion of the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit and the passage of the Neighborhood Homes Act.
Efforts to Reduce Residential Segregation by Boosting Affordable Housing - WTTW
Officials with the Chicago Department of Housing claim that efforts endorsed by Mayor Lori Lightfoot to lessen residential segregation in Chicago by increasing the number of homes that Black and Latino residents can really afford have begun to show signs of progress.
The heart of that endeavor is rewritten legislation that compels developers who receive special authorization or a subsidy from the city to create more apartments for low and moderate-income Chicagoans while also paying higher fees.
Housing Commissioner Marisa Novara said the city's most visible instrument for constructing affordable housing needed to be revamped to address Chicago's heritage of systemic racism and segregation.
And aside from government intervention, businesses are helping solve the affordable housing crisis through innovation.
Can These Factory-Built Homes On The West Side Help Fix Chicago's Affordable Housing Shortage? - Book Club Chicago
East Garfield Park is slowly populating with hundreds of factory-made homes to help working-class families cope with escalating housing costs.
One such modular homes project is the Harrison Row Townhomes project, which includes 33 affordable houses. Fourteen of the townhomes will be duplexes.
The townhomes are manufactured off-site at a factory, which reduces the cost and time it takes to construct them.
One of the developers, Mikes Drew said, "The program is meant for first-time homebuyers who agree to sell the home at a restricted sales price when they move out in order to maintain it accessible for any new buyer who comes in."
Affordable Housing in Chicago (Finished and Under Construction)
And of course, I save the best news for last!
Chicago already has affordable housing developments finished and under construction.
Here are some of these affordable housing units that you and your family can get in Logan Square and the West Side:
All-Affordable Logan Square Apartment Complex Opens After Years Of Planning - Book Club Chicago
A 100-unit affordable housing building located immediately north of the Logan Square Blue Line stop has been renamed Lucy Gonzalez Parsons Apartments in honor of Chicago labor leader and activist Lucy Gonzalez Parsons.
It opened in May 20, 2022, with nine tenants already moved into the apartment complex.
Bickerdike Redevelopment Corporation, a local nonprofit developer, manages this building.
Half of the units will go to people making under 60 percent of 2022 median income, and the rest would go to CHA voucher holders.
TIF funds, tax-exempt bonds, and Chicago Housing Authority funds are used to support the $41 million project.
Plan To Convert Logan Square Church Into Affordable Housing Gets $2 Million Boost - Book Club Chicago
The nonprofit developer LUCHA will receive $2 million from the federal government to redevelop an old Logan Square church into affordable housing.
They will convert the almost 100-year-old Humboldt Park Methodist Church into 22 affordable apartments.
After opting to relocate the congregation, church leaders teamed up with LUCHA to redevelop the church.
The congregation runs 11 affordable flats at the church, and church leaders want a developer to continue their efforts with affordable housing.
The Humboldt Park Methodist Church project is one of several community-based projects that Jesus Garcia, who represents Illinois' 4th congressional district, has secured federal funding for.
West Side Police Parking Lot Is Slated To Become Affordable Housing - Book Club Chicago
The Chicago Plan Commission approved plans for a six-story affordable housing project at a police station parking lot on the West Side on January 20.
This would consist of 65 units priced at 60% of the region's median income.
The apartment complex will have broad windows on each level, a landscaped roof, balconies, and terraces to emphasize views of Chicago’s skyline.
Conclusion
Living in Chicago is expensive. But this doesn’t mean that affordable housing won’t happen here. Chicagoans fight for affordable housing, pushing the government to take action against unsafe housing and toward better housing developments. And the Chicago real estate market is gradually growing with affordable housing developments.
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