The city of Chicago lost more than $3.1 billion in wealth, or about
$2,900 per household, in 2012 as a result of the foreclosure crisis,
according to a new report from the Alliance for a Just Society.
And more than $192 billion in homeowner wealth was lost nationally last year, the new analysis shows.
Communities of color in Chicago saw more foreclosures and lost wealth per household compared to other communities.
In
2012, the average Chicago household in zip codes with the highest
concentration of people of color lost $3,700 in wealth, the “Wasted Wealth” (PDF) report found.
In comparison, the average wealth lost in segregated white communities was about $1,300 per household.
“Seeing
this loss of wealth per household is profound," said the Rev. Marilyn Pagán-Banks, president of IIRON, which also worked on the release of the report. "People of color in
Chicago, whose majority equity holdings remain in real estate, have been
particularly affected by the crisis.”
Tonya Yarbrough, a security officer at the Chicago Stock Exchange at
440 South LaSalle St., wakes up at 5 a.m. every day to commute on the
Green Line from Englewood to be at work by 7 a.m. in downtown Chicago.
She says she feels safer at work than she does at home.
“If I were
paid a little bit more maybe I’d be able to make a better life for
myself and my family,” she said. “Maybe I could move to a better neighborhood.”
Yarbrough, 42, a born-and-raised Chicagoan and security officer of nine years, makes $12.65 an hour.
Derived from a long history of discrimination, a staggering
opportunity gap has widened financial disparities between black and
white Americans, condemning African Americans to less home equity,
according to a new report by the Institute on Assets and Social Policy (IASP) at Brandeis University.
After
studying 1,700 American families for 25 years, the
report examines the major causes of America’s racial wealth gap.
Researchers found that the total wealth gap between white and
African American families had almost tripled during the study, increasing
from $85,000 in 1984 to $236,500 in 2009.
The city of Chicago lost more than $3.1 billion in wealth, or about
$2,900 per household, in 2012 as a result of the foreclosure crisis,
according to a new report from the 
Tonya Yarbrough, a security officer at the 
Derived from a long history of discrimination, a staggering
opportunity gap has widened financial disparities between black and
white Americans, condemning African Americans to less home equity,
according to a new 