LSNA Helps Launch “Sweet Home Chicago” Campaign

On July 30th, the Sweet Home Chicago Coalition, of which LSNA is a member, launched a campaign to get the city to spend more money on affordable housing for very-low-income households in Chicago.  Three hundred and fifty people came out for the campaign launch and were energized by songs and chants and the words of support from Alderman Burnett, Alderman Flores, and Alderman Foulkes.
    At a time when thousands of families are losing their homes to foreclosures and thousands of people are losing their jobs and struggling to afford housing, the Sweet Home Chicago Coalition learned that the city has $1.3 billion that could be used to build affordable housing.  The money is called Tax Increment Financing (TIF) funds and they are special property tax dollars that the city sets aside to redevelop neighborhoods.  However, a lot of the funds are sitting there unspent!     

Meanwhile, LSNA has been fighting for years to find funding for Zapata Apartments, Lathrop Homes, and new supportive housing for the neighborhood.  All of these projects could potentially be funded with TIF.  The Sweet Home Chicago campaign is calling on the city to designate TIF funds for affordable housing projects like these.

Sweet Home Chicago Coalition Proposal:
Each year the city would dedicate 20% of TIF funds collected towards affordable housing.
Developments could receive funds if 50% of the units were affordable to households earning less than $37,000 for a family of four.  In addition, citywide, 40% of the total units created with the dedicated TIF funds each year must serve households earning less than $22,600 a year for a family of four.

What is TIF funding?
Tax Increment Financing (TIF) dollars are property tax dollars that the city uses to develop certain neighborhoods.  They can be used to build affordable housing.

Chicago’s use of TIF funds for affordable housing:
Over the past 13 years, only 4% of TIF dollars have gone for affordable housing.
In 50% of the wards where TIF funds were used to build housing, at least half of the units that were called affordable were too expensive for current residents.
Since 1995, only 27% of the affordable units built with TIF funds have been for households with the greatest needs—those earning less than $20,000 a year.