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Housing
Quick Hit
by Matthew Blake
4:49pm
Tue Jul 24, 2012

Board Takes First Step Toward Cook County Land Bank

The Cook County Board passed a resolution today setting up a committee that has 60 days to devise a model for a county land bank, an ambitious proposal that board President Toni Preckwinkle called a “critical tool to help combat the foreclosure crisis and eradicate blight in our communities.”

As we have reported, a land bank is a quasi-governmental organization intended to seize and manage properties until they can be put into productive use. Read more »

PI Original
by Ellyn Fortino
1:58pm
Wed Jul 11, 2012
1 comment

Neighborhoods May Not Be Ultimate Winners In Plan To Demolish High-Crime Properties

Crime

A plan to demolish abandoned buildings in high-crime areas used for illegal activity in Chicago has not been well received by housing advocates. They say area residents may not wind up the big winners once the plan gets executed.

Quick Hit
by Matthew Blake
10:52am
Thu Jun 28, 2012
1 comment

Advocacy Group Wants Infrastructure Trust Used For Vacant Properties

The Infrastructure Trust ordinance, a plan where private investors will fund public infrastructure, passed City Council over two months ago, but the city has not identified Trust projects, besides an initial plan to retrofit municipal buildings.

So the Chicago advocacy group Action Now, which previously opposed the Trust, unveiled their own detailed proposal yesterday, calling for the Trust and developers to turn vacant city properties into affordable rental homes. Read more »

PI Original
by Steven Ross Johnson
3:52pm
Thu Jun 21, 2012
2 comments

Housing Market Woes Continue, Legislators Hold Keys To Possible Solutions

Housing

Continued stagnation within the U.S housing market has been cited as one of the key factors contributing to a still slow economic recovery. Meanwhile, forecasts for the remainder of the year indicate a rise in foreclosures and sluggish home sales remain. We take a look at some of the causes of the housing market's ongoing problems and discuss a few possible solutions.

PI Original
by Matthew Blake
5:45pm
Wed Jun 20, 2012
1 comment

Cook County Commissioner Lays Out Plan For Vacant Properties

Housing

Government has tried, with limited success, to address each new wave of the foreclosure crisis. In Chicago and Cook County, the focus is increasingly on the surging number of properties vacated because of foreclosure. Cook County Commissioner Bridget Gainer (D-Chicago) proposed in May an ambitious way to deal with the problem.

Quick Hit
by Matthew Blake
5:37pm
Tue Jun 19, 2012
1 comment

County Board Could Have Votes For Housing Voucher Protection

Cook County Commissioner Jesus Garcia (D-Chicago) introduced at a county board meeting today an amendment to the county’s human rights ordinance that would give legal recourse to people with federal housing vouchers that landlords discriminate against.

The amendment to the 1993 county law (PDF) has seven co-sponsors, meaning at least eight of the 17 commissioners, or one short of a majority, already support the measure, including board president Toni Preckwinkle (D-Chicago). Garcia anticipates the ordinance will pass through committee in two weeks, and then swiftly see a vote by the full board. Read more »

Quick Hit
by Ellyn Fortino
4:22pm
Mon Jun 11, 2012

State Leaders Join Forces With Local Advocates For Economic Justice

Members of the faith-based power network IIRON signed a covenant on Sunday for economic justice and called on Attorney General Lisa Madigan and other elected officials to sign it in order to create a more just economy.
Read more »