From: The Metropolitan Tenants Organization

The Chicago Housing Initiative (CHI) announced at a press conference that the Keeping the Promise ordinance will be reintroduced in the city council. Organizers have the support of 23 of the council’s 50 members. CHI is a coalition of several housing organizations, including the Metropolitan Tenants Organization (MTO).

The proposal is a direct result of the failure of the Chicago Housing Authority to release housing assistance vouchers that it has received federal funding for, its foot-dragging on replacing the thousands of housing units razed by the CHA, and its failure to rehab and occupy over 2,000 vacant units.

At the conference, Demetrice Davis, a resident of Dearborn Homes, explained “CHA needs to have oversight and accountability, and if HUD does not want to hold them responsible, we are glad that the alderman that are standing with us today will.”

“It is time we create access to affordable housing across all neighborhoods. It is time for accountability and transparency on the part of the Chicago Housing Authority,” said Executive Director of People for Community Recovery Cheryl Johnson.

The Keeping the Promise ordinance is named after the CHA’s promise to residents of the Cabrini Green and Robert Taylor Homes housing complexes, torn down years ago. It would require quarterly reporting by CHA; one-for-one replacement of standing low-income housing units; enforcement of CHA’s commitments to rebuild replacement housing, and encouragement for CHA to fully utilize all available funded vouchers, improve housing quality and voucher holder access to opportunity communities, and create safeguards against privatization and displacement. Supporters say that 12,000 families could be provided with affordable housing if the ordinance is enacted.

Alderman Walter Burnett, 27^th Ward, spoke at the press conference to explain why this ordinance is necessary, “People have been living in limbo for almost twenty years. It’s time to give everyone an opportunity to come back home. The average rent right now is going for about $4 per square foot, which means for a three bedroom apartment it could go for at least for 4 to 6 thousand dollars. Without the help of CHA and Section 8, regular people in our society, who don’t make six figure incomes, would not have a place to stay.”

Alderman Maldonado, 26^th Ward, echoed Alderman Burnett’s sentiments by saying, “It’s a no brainer. CHA has in their savings account right now $440 million.”

At the insistence HUD, the CHA temporarily re-opened its Section 8 waiting list late last year briefly, which allowed Regina Rizzo, a survivor of domestic violence and mother of two young daughters, to sign-up. Speaking at the conference, Rizzo said “My priorities are safety for my daughters, food, and a roof over our heads. The CHA needs to continue to release these fully funded vouchers.”