Communities Grapple with Foreclosures, Affordable Housing

Thelma Sardin |

In the middle of a recession and in a tough economic climate, communities are searching for solutions to the problem of affordable housing, especially in the wake of higher levels of foreclosures.

From the Southside to the South suburbs, affordable housing is a hot button issue where some homeowners are struggling just to stay in their homes.

Two new foreclosure initiatives by the Community and Economic Development Association of Cook County, Inc. (CEDA) and the Illinois Housing Development Authority (IHDA) offers residents some help.

These programs[s] were established in response to the recent economic recession and related mortgage crisis as an effort to assist Cook County families in foreclosure, stated CEDA Housing Director Barbara Hyshaw.

Through these programs, our counselors will provide critical support and help families explore their options to either stay in their homes or negotiate a respectable exit as early as possible once the foreclosure process begins, Hyshaw added.

Depending on the situation of the homeowner, the program counselors may refer clients to legal assistance. Additional assistance is available to families receiving a summons to court, Hyshaw said. For more information, homeowners can call 877.895.2444.

According to Janice L. Morrissy, Director of Housing Initiatives, for the Chicago Southland Housing and Community Development Collaborative, the South suburban communities of Dolton, Ford Heights, Harvey, Lansing, Park Forest and Richton Park all received Neighborhood Stabilization Program (NSP) funds to rehabilitate or construct new homes in their communities. The NSP provides federal funding to projects located in areas of greatest need to acquire, rehabilitate, and redevelop foreclosed properties that might otherwise become sources of abandonment and blight.Morrissy also notes that the housing market in the South suburbs can only be revitalized if more jobs become available to residents. .the South Suburban Mayors & Managers Association (SSMMA) and the Chicago Southland Housing and Community Development Collaborative (the Collaborative) have joined with the Chicago Southland Economic Development Corporation (CSEDC) to aggressively pursu[e] a multi-faceted strategy for sustainable development that includes Transit Oriented Development (especially through the work of the Collaborative), Cargo Oriented Development, and green manufacturing, with the emphasis on a strong potential for job creation.., Morrissy said.

But the end result of foreclosures means people are, showing up in homeless shelters, says Eithne McMenamin, senior policy analyst at the Chicago Coalition for the Homeless. Although in many instances, foreclosure victims do not immediately go to homeless shelters, some may move in with family, but after they have exhausted their resources, some people turn to shelters in the end, she added.

Affordable housing should be available to everyone, McMenamin said. As a city we really do need to be focused on how do we have a good amount of quality housing that is available for people who may have lost their home to foreclosure or for whatever circumstances, she said. For people who have lost their homes to foreclosure, McMenamin suggests trying to make contact with a social service agency that can help people who are homeless locate affordable housing.

In Chicago, the issue of affordable housing brewed during the monthly Chicago City Council meeting held last week where the Sweet Home Chicago Ordinance was tabled until the council reconvenes in January. In the city, political leaders spoke out on how the issue of affordable housing is affecting their constituents and the neighborhoods they serve.

The ordinance has been the source of a heated debate among council members. According to a released statement by City Clerk Miguel del Valle, the ordinance could potentially create some 3,000 jobs and would dedicate 20 percent of TIF funds for affordable housing. The City Councils Housing and Finance Committees recommended passage of the ordinance earlier this year.

We have been waiting for ten months for the City Council to pass the Sweet Home Chicago ordinance. Chicagoans struggling in the face of foreclosure and joblessness cannot wait any longer, del Valle said. For thousands of families, the Sweet Home Chicago ordinance is an overdue and necessary life raft, he said.

But the ordinance has controversial provisions that trouble some aldermen. Sixth Ward Alderman Freddrenna Lyle in an e-mail to the Citizen outlined concerns some Southside aldermen have with it.

The more affluent areas do not need [Tax Increment Financing] TIFs to get developers to build housing (assuming the market ever rebounds); our communities might have to use TIF to attract developers. In a worse case scenario (and based upon the Citys history with scattered site housing, which some communities never, ever, ever agreed to), we could potentially only see this provision used in communities of color, she stated.

Lyle believes the ordinance poses a threat to Chicagos black community, We are however afraid that this particular ordinance will hurt if not kill the Black middle class communities that we represent, she said. Lyle also told the Citizen a Black Caucus meeting was held after the City Council meeting and that members, remain committed to working out an ordinance that accomplishes the goals of the Sweet Home Coalition without having negative impacts on the communities we serve, she said.

Lyle added, We are fighting to prevent our communities from being forever ghetto-ized by being labeled as the only places in the city where extremely poor and the working poor are allowed to live, she stated.

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