Housing

Guided by the Urban Land Institute and supported by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, the Preservation Compact has brought together leaders from the public, private, and nonprofit sectors to craft a new vision for Cook County—to reverse the downward trend in Cook County’s affordable rental housing supply by 2020. The Shriver Center is a partner organization to the Preservation Compact plan.

Below are links to several important documents related to the Preservation Compact:

• Preservation Compact Action Plan
• The State of Rental Housing in Cook County
• Keystone Fact Sheet
• Housing Fact Sheet

Housing Rights for Victims of Domestic and Sexual Violence
These brochures, flyers, and legal tools outline provisions of The Safe Homes Act and the Violence Against Women Act of 2005 (VAWA), which protect the housing rights of victims of domestic and sexual violence. Please feel free to download and distribute any of the materials.

Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky's Keynote Address at the Landau Housing Luncheon
Sargent Shriver National Center on Poverty Law hosted the annual Howard Landau Housing Justice Awards Luncheon on June 11, 2007. Congresswoman Jan Schakowsky delivered this year's keynote address. A citizen advocate, grassroots organizer, and exemplary leader, Congresswoman Schakowsky has fought throughout her career for economic and social justice and improved quality of life for all—championing, among others, the expansion of housing opportunities for low-income people.

One-for-One Replacement of Public Housing Demolished
As HOPE VI, the federal plan to revitalize public housing, comes up for reauthorization in 2007, the Shriver Center is adding its expertise to an important conversation about meeting the housing needs of low-income people. Shriver Center Director of Housing Litigation, William P. Wilen, has coordinated a coalition of housing advocates and service providers working to ensure that every unit of public housing demolished is replaced so that families who wish to remain in their communities can do so.

Jane Addams Senior Caucus v. Moody Bible Institute of Chicago
The Shriver Center has filed a complaint against the Moody Bible Institute (MBI) for violating a section 8 contract. The complaint was filed on behalf of the residents of Morningside I because MBI, owner of the Morningside I, is converting contractually mandated Project-Based Section 8 units to a dormitory for MBI students. Pursuant to the contract signed by MBI, the evangelical center is legally obligated to lease 201 units to eligible low-income applicants, with at least 30% of the initial leasing being targeted to very low-income individuals.

The Lawndale Restoration
Shriver Center attorneys have filed a complaint challenging the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's decision to terminate a project-based Section 8 contract on 1,240 housing units comprising the Lawndale Restoration property, following HUD's foreclosure on the HUD mortgages and property.

McLean County Housing Crisis Averted
After advocates and Illinois’s congressional delegation campaigned to prevent 64 families from losing their housing in Bloomington-Normal, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) announced in midmonth that it would return the $299,000 in unspent reserve funds to the McLean Housing Authority.

Shriver Center, Jenner & Block Restore Housing Choice Vouchers

Chicago Housing Authority and Housing Advocates Settle Lawsuit over Resident Relocation
For more information, contact Bill Wilen or Kate Walz.

Comprehensive Affordable Housing Plan
The Illinois Development Authority has published Illinois' Comprehensive Affordable Housing Plan. The Plan includes over 80 recommendations geared toward six housing priority populations: very low-income households and families; low-income senior citizens; low-income people with disabilities; homeless people and families at risk of becoming homeless; low- and moderate-income families and people unable to find housing near jobs and transportation; and low-income families and people living in existing affordable housing that is in danger of becoming unaffordable. Shriver Center housing advocates participated in the regional solutions working group, which made recommendations to the Governor of Illinois as part of the planning process.

Empty Promises: Fair Housing Ordinances in Metropolitan Chicago Suburbs
This report from the Leadership Council for Metropolitan Open Communities shows that municipal support for fair housing is primarily symbolic.

Inside Housing

• June 2007 issue
  
• April 2006 issue
  
• April 2005 issue
• April 2004 issue

Housing-Related Articles from Poverty Action Report

• Insecure in Your Own Home: What It Means to Rent in Illinois (January 2006)
• HUD Required to Renew Project-Based Section 8 Contracts After Foreclosure (December 2005)
• Advocates, CHA Enact New Protection Provisions for Persons with Disabilities (October 2005)
• Housing Discrimination Is Due to Misdistribution of Opportunities as Well as Racism, Leadership Council Report Says (September 2005)
• Shriver Center Responds to a Report Released by CHA's Independent Monitor (August 2005)
• Court Approves Voucher Desegregation Settlement (July 2005)
• Rental Housing Support Passes (July 2005)
  
• HUD Is Sued to Save Subsidized Housing Units (May 2005)
• Bush Administration, HUD Again Try to Dismantle the Housing Choice Voucher Program (May 2005)
• McLean County Housing Crisis Averted: HUD to Restore $299,000 to Keep 64 Families in Voucher Program (April 2005)
• Shriver Center, Chicago Lawyers' Committee Settle Voucher Segregation Lawsuit (March 2005)
• President's Proposed FY 2006 Housing Budget Cuts Hurt Illinois Families (March 2005)
• 2005 Final Budget and 2006 Proposed Budget Jeopardize Federal Housing Programs (February 2005)
• Housing Advocacy Shortfall Reported (February 2005)
• Public Housing Residents to Present Complaints to Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (February 2005)
• Voucher Holders in Chicago Region Segregated, Study Finds (September 2004)
• CHA Approves New Tenant Rules for Replacement Housing, Advocates Oppose Inflexible Work Requirements (September 2004)
• Appellate Court Upholds Protection for Chicago's Voucher Holders (September 2004)
• Stringent Screening Criteria May Block ABLA Residents' Return (June 2004)
• CHA Plan for ABLA Homes Violates Federal Fair Housing Law and Perpetuates Racial Segregation (June 2004)
• Horner a Model for HOPE VI Projects Nationwide, Says GAO (March 2004)
• Failed CHA Program Moves Families to Racially Segregated, Poor Neighborhoods (January 2003)
• Public Housing Local Advisory Council Election Still in Disputed Eight Months Later (September 2002)
• "False HOPE": Critical Analysis of HOPE VI Public Housing Redevelopment (August 2002)
• Chicago Police Stop Giving Juvenile Arrest Records to Housing Authorities (August 2002)
• Horner Residents Negotiate Housing Redevelopment Plans (December 2001)
• Federal District Court Denies Horner Residents Contempt Petition Against CHA But Orders CHA to Consult with Residents' Committee (November 2001)