Working Toward a Healed City with Equal Housing and Inclusive Planning

by Sydney Wirtz

Chicago has long been a divided city, and many people have fought to keep it that way. But Chicagoans are ready for cohesiveness, starting with disabling aldermanic prerogative, which advocates say leads to “patchwork planning” rather than a citywide plan committed to racial equity that is more inclusive, equitable and transparent.

Led by the Shriver Center on Poverty Law, 11 communitybased groups filed a housing discrimination complaint against the City of Chicago a year ago and this fall released a report entitled, “Working Toward a Healed City: How Chicago Can Build Equitable Communities from the Ground Up.” The report details their recommendations for steps Mayor Lori Lightfoot can take to resolve the fair housing complaint they filed under the administration of Mayor Rahm Emanuel.

The current process for community development is through Zoning Advisory Councils (ZACs) and they exist almost exclusively in wards with low poverty and a white majority, largely contributing to the discontinuity of the development of neighborhoods. ZACs currently have no regulation on how they are created, who can participate, and how they operate.

One idea for expanding the involvement in community planning involves replacing ZACs with Community Development Action Councils (CDACs). These new councils would give responsibility to communities to hold aldermen accountable for creating a more cohesive and inclusive city plan.

The lack of cohesive planning has allowed ZACs to limit the much-needed affordable housing from being developed on the scale it is needed. With more diverse councils and aldermen being held accountable, previously uncontrolled gentrification may be tamed, and affordable housing may finally be secured.

During her campaign, Mayor Lightfoot showed significant support for creating a unified policy for the city and she has taken the first step, by signing an executive order limiting aldermanic prerogative, the advocates say. More still needs to be done.

The 35th ward, which covers parts of Albany Park, Irving Park, Avondale, Logan Square, and Hermosa, for example, has established Community Driven Zoning and Development, which keeps the community involved in zoning decisions and is transparent about how it will affect them. The group is led by active community associations, which give direct input to the alderman’s office. This input influences choices made about zoning and other community development.

While the 35th ward is diverse and has had success with this system, it is only one example of this structure. Patricia Fron, coexecutive director of the Chicago Area Fair Housing Alliance explained, “the alderman there really sought out the participation of a broad array of groups in that council to really get those diverse voices at the table.”

Fron emphasized that the groups working towards fair housing and against aldermanic prerogative are not trying to strip aldermen of their power but to make them share it.

Their goal is to work with aldermen and the Chicago government to fix the broken and damaged systems that are in place. They are working to find the best way to, “balance the voices so you’re really hearing from the community and the people who are going to be most impacted.”

They also seek to balance the power between those in office and those affected by their choices. “The goal is to create a more uniform process and also bring more democratic process to community boards and community voice,” Fron said.

The 10 groups joining the Shriver Center in seeking citywide planning are: the Chicago Area Fair Housing Alliance (CAFHA), the Chicago Housing Initiative, the Lugenia Burns Hope Center, the Kenwood Oakland Community Organization (KOCO), Neighbors for Affordable Housing, Logan Square Neighborhood Association, the Jane Addams Senior Caucus, Southside Together Organizing for Power (STOP), Organizing Neighborhoods for Equality: Northside, People for Community Recovery.

Inset: The cover of the Shriver Center on Poverty Law's proposal.