Proposed ordinance seeks better use of housing during pandemic

by Suzanne Hanney

by Suzanne HanneyA proposed ordinance before the Chicago City Council would require publicly subsidized housing to maintain a 97 percent occupancy rate and a 60-day turnover of vacant units due to the coronavirus pandemic.

During a July 28 press conference, Ald. Chris Taliaferro, chief sponsor, described new housing in his West Side 29th ward that sat vacant for nearly a year before it was occupied. “It’s important that we partner with the Chicago Housing Authority and the community to identify this stock and permanently house the medically vulnerable. It’s unfathomable that we sit on unoccupied homes while some people are on the street or in congregate housing.”

The ordinance would also create a 20 percent preference for medically vulnerable people who need to move from a congregate living facility – a shelter, nursing facility, detention center or jail -- to avoid life-threatening exposure to the virus, said Ald. Walter Burnett, a co-sponsor.

“Basically, we have to understand we must protect the most vulnerable members of our community, because our communities are an interconnected set,” said Don Washington, executive director of the Chicago Housing Initiative. “We are only as secure as they are. It’s not only a moral objective but a public health obligation.”

“We need to address all the unique special characteristics and weaknesses in our infrastructure. It’s just like when you are running for your car in a downpour, it only works if all the doors are closed,” said W. Susan Cheng, Ph.D, M.P.H. of the Illinois Public Health Association Executive Council.

According to the proposed COVID-19 Public Health Housing Ordinance, the coronavirus has killed more than 1,700 Chicagoans, 77 percent of whom are African American and Latinx. In addition, 1 in 4 (25 percent) of residents in homeless shelters have tested positive for the virus and many of them are medically vulnerable.

Debra Miller of the Jane Addams Senior Caucus lived in a shelter 10 years ago and said they are not safe for people with multiple illnesses like herself. “When you are in the shelter it is one big room and you are at risk of being so close to people because your bathrooms are shared: maybe only three for 40 women and they have to be cleaned after each use.”