35th ward residents to vote on 3 referenda

Kelvyn Park High School students and Monroe Parent Mentors worked together to tell neighbors about "Yes-Yes-No" campaign

Vote “Yes-Yes-No” to 35th Ward Referendums

On Primary Election Day—Tuesday, March 21, 2006—35th Ward voters will see 3 referendums added to their ballots. They will be asked to vote either “yes” or “no” to each referendum. The 35th Ward is the only ward in the city with these referendums on the ballot, and the results of the vote will have serious citywide consequences. Here are the referendums:

1) Shall the Chicago City Council enact the Inclusionary Housing Ordinance, in order to help ensure a balanced community with housing available for diverse families and individuals of varying income levels? Yes/No

2) Shall the Chicago City Council enact the “Chicago Big Box Living Wage Ordinance” requiring all newly constructed retail establishments in Chicago, greater than 75,000 square feet, to pay a minimum “living wage” of at least $10.00 per hour plus $3.00 per hour towards employee health benefits? Yes/No

3) Shall the Alderman of the 35th Ward support commercial and residential redevelopment of the Fullerton/Milwaukee/Armitage TIF (Tax Increment Finance) District? Yes/No

Logan Square Neighborhood Association (LSNA) is asking community residents to vote “Yes-Yes-No” to these referendums. Keep reading to find out why!

Referendum 1: Shall the Chicago City Council enact the Inclusionary Housing Ordinance, in order to help ensure a balanced community with housing available for diverse families and individuals of varying income levels? Vote YES!!!

What is the Inclusionary Housing Ordinance?

Otherwise known as the Balanced Development Ordinance, which LSNA has supported for the past several years, it is an ordinance that, if passed, would mean that all new construction or substantial rehab projects of 10 units or more would require that 15% of those units be priced affordably. Or instead of the 15% affordable units, the developer can choose to donate $100,000 dollars to a rental support fund (the Low Income Housing Trust Fund) for each unit he is supposed to set-aside. This is a great tool for communities like Logan Square, where the pool of rental and homeownership options for working families is shrinking rapidly as prices rise, due in part to condominium conversions and new construction.

Low Income Housing Trust Fund:

The rental subsidy has helped 103 families in Logan Square and Avondale in 2005 alone. It provides a subsidy to the landlord, based on an application he submits which includes information on the renter’s income. “The low-income housing trust fund is a great way to help people,” says Logan Square homeowner Idida Perez, “I didn’t want to have to raise the rent for my tenants, but with my taxes increasing so much, I wouldn’t have had a choice. The trust fund allowed me to keep my tenants and still be able to pay my mortgage.” Renter Maria Gonzalez agrees the Trust Fund has been a huge help. “Before my landlord got into the trust fund, I had to work three different jobs to pay my bills. My daughter never saw me. Now we’re able to stay in the community where she’s always lived, and I can spend more time with her.”

Affordable Homeownership Opportunities:

Some First Ward residents who are members of LSNA have benefited from a voluntary form of the Inclusionary Housing Ordinance called the Chicago Partnership for Affordable Neighborhoods (CPAN.) Allen Wright, a branch manager for Washington Mutual Bank, is purchasing a condominium at Welbourne Row. With market rate prices starting at more than $300,000 for a one bedroom condominium, Allen would not have been able afford a home in this development if there had not been some units set aside at affordable prices.

Unfortunately, a program like CPAN, because it is not required for developers, only goes so far. According to the Department of Housing’s quarterly report, not one new CPAN unit was committed in Logan Square in the first three quarters of 2005, despite all the new condos and conversions. Clearly, for this program to work, it has to be mandatory.

Vote “Yes” to the Inclusionary Housing Ordinance!

Referendum 2: Shall the Chicago City Council enact the “Chicago Big Box Living Wage Ordinance” requiring all newly constructed retail establishments in Chicago, greater than 75,000 square feet, to pay a minimum “living wage” of at least $10.00 per hour plus $3.00 per hour towards employee health benefits? Vote YES!!

LSNA has seen the powerful benefits for a community when its residents demand decent, living wages for workers. In the late 1990s, LSNA, in cooperation with the Church of the Good News and the LEED Council, fought a proposal to build 500 condominiums on the former Cotter & Company property across Damen Avenue from the Lathrop Homes. The fight was not only to save the site for jobs, but also to identify companies that would hire workers from the community and pay living wages.

Rev. Liala Beukema, then pastor of Church of the Good News, explains: “We pushed the developer, the alderman and the city to bring a company to the table with the substantive qualities: living wage jobs and benefits.” After receiving and rejecting many proposals, including warehousing and storage, LEED Council identified Costco, which had a reputation nationally for starting workers at $10 an hour, providing health coverage, and creating as many full time positions as possible.

Costco agreed to buy the Cotter site and assigned a local manager, Fred Elsner, who worked with the community to set up a job training initiative and hired many residents of the Lathrop Homes and the surrounding neighborhood. Job retention at Costco is over 80 percent, and two employees from the community are now supervisors. Employee Pecola Doggett, who joined the Costco five years ago this month, says, “In all my working life, in the public sector and private sector, I’ve never had as good an employer as this. They give back as good as you give.”

The good wages and health coverage have allowed some workers to stop working two jobs and spend more time with their children. One Costco worker is in the process of buying an affordable home nearby through the CPAN (Chicago Partnership for Affordable Neighborhoods) program.

“We need more companies like Costco that give people an even break,” says Doggett, who testified in support of the Chicago Big Box Living Wage Ordinance before City Council in 2005. Often when “big box” retailers like Wal-Mart or Home Depot move into a community, it is at the expense of locally owned businesses. LSNA supports locally-owned businesses, and supports the idea that if a “big box” wants to locate in the Chicago, it should pay its workers a living wage. Vote Yes for Living Wages!

Referendum 3: Shall the Alderman of the 35th Ward support commercial and residential redevelopment of the Fullerton/Milwaukee/Armitage TIF (Tax Increment Finance) district? Vote NO!!

Don’t Hand the Alderman a Blank Check!

Voting “yes” to this referendum is like handing the alderman a blank check with which he has the power to develop the Fullerton/Milwaukee/Armitage TIF district without the consent of the community. Here’s why: this referendum does not limit the type of “commercial and residential redevelopment” the alderman could approve. If the community votes yes, “redevelopment” can include the construction of pricey condominiums and chain stores without community input and without the maintenance of affordable rental units and small businesses.

LSNA is not necessarily opposed to development on the commercial streets. In fact, there are two projects currently being considered that LSNA is actively supporting - on Armitage Avenue and on Milwaukee. However, both projects will maintain local businesses, preserve existing buildings where possible, and remain in character with the surrounding block. They will not be out-of-scale luxury condos with commercial space that only a national chain could afford.

Don’t Give Away Your Ability to Participate in Community Planning!

This referendum works against community planning and process, on which Alderman Colon built his campaign during the 2002 elections. “The Logan Square community united in 2002 and sent a strong message affirming the importance of public input,” says LSNA Board President Deborah McCoy. “On Tuesday March 21st neighbors must once again unite and reject this effort to undermine their authority.”

A landmark example of the community planning process, which Alderman Colon currently supports, is happening on the west side of the 2700 block of Milwaukee Avenue (a.k.a. the “Tianguis Block”). LSNA has been working in partnership with Humboldt Park Social Services (HPSS) and the Interfaith Housing Development Corp (IHDC) to save the Tianguis Block, which has been for sale since summer 2005. The vision for this block is to increase affordable rental units while providing social services for community residents and maintaining local businesses. Delia Ramirez, Executive Director of HPSS and Housing and Land Use Representative on LSNA’s Board of Directors, says: “This project would be a statement to the Logan Square community: We’re still here, and we’re not going anywhere.”

Vote NO to a “blank check” for development!