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It’s fair to say that the level of interest was a little lower when the council’s 14-member housing committee met this week to hear an update on the city’s affordable housing record. One alderman–committee chairman Ray Suarez–was around for all of the 15-minute report, and for most of it he was the only member of the council present. Three others–Lona Lane (18th), Sharon Denise Dixon (24th), and Ariel Reboyras (30th)–each showed up for a few minutes apiece.
The alderman paused a moment to address classes from Columbia and Harold Washington colleges that were sitting in the audience. “Welcome to seeing government in action,” he said.
Kevin Jackson, executive director of the Chicago Rehab Network, offered a critical voice, testifying that many of the city’s projects were well-intended but still too costly for thousands of working-class and low-income families. Additionally troubling to Jackson was the fact that only a fraction of the rental apartments created by city programs were open to any low-income family in the city–the rest are being built as part of public housing redevelopment projects. The city simply needs to devote more money to affordable rental housing, Jackson said, or leave more families at risk of housing crises. “CRN must reiterate its call for the city to replace resources that are allocated to the CHA plan from [Department of Housing] funds in order to meet pressing housing needs for all Chicagoans.”
