Good, good afternoon, everyone. I want to welcome everyone to the
December meeting of the Committee on Housing on Real Estate of the City of
Chicago. The time is 12:40 and the meeting is called to order.
I ask council members to please have a seat.
And, um, we're gonna start with the first, um, item with this roll
call. Today we have 11 items on the agenda.
We'll start with roll call to establish quorum. Vice Chair Mitchell.
Vice Chair Mitchell not present. Alderman Espada?
Here.
Present. Alderwoman Dow? Present.
Alderman Robinson? Not present. Um, Alderman Quinn?
Here.
Present. Alderman Moore?
Present. Alderwoman Taylor?
Here.
Present. Alderwoman Tavares? Not here.
Alderwoman Scott? Present. Alderperson
Fuentes?
Here.
Present. Alderman Burnett? Alderman Burnett,
present. Alderwoman Rodriguez-Sanchez? Not present.
Alderman Quesada? Present. Alderman Villegas? Present.
Alderwoman Mintz?
Not present. Alderwoman Clay?
Not present. Alderwoman Happenworth? Present.
And Alderwoman Hadden? Not present.
So, so that makes it
12, including the
chair. Uh, so we have quorum. Um, we have a
route 59 request from Alderperson Harris to participate remotely.
Can I get a motion to allow, uh, Alderwoman Harris to participate in that 59?
So moved by Alderman Villegas. All those in favor say aye.
All those oppose say nay. In opinion of the chair, the ayes have it.
Alderperson
Harrison a- and also we have, um, also Alderman Robinson also is
being added to the... Can I have also a route f- 59 for Alderman
Robinson? So moved by Alderman Villegas. All those in favor say aye.
All those oppose say nay. In opinion of the chair, the ayes have it.
We have now Alderperson, um, Harris and-
Is here.
... Robinson. Thank you, Alderman, Alderwoman.
Now we have 14 speakers today. Um, each
speaker will be given, um...
Two minutes is possible. We- we'll try to be flexible to make sure that we add
everybody to the... Um, so we, we'll try to finish
every sentence and we'll try to be a little flexible.
Um,
so we'll have first Zoie Lee.
Zoie Lee?
Thank you.
Uh,
um, as you know, uh, the Committee on Housing and Real
Estate, uh, that's a trigger for me because going
on three years, y'all still haven't figured out,
uh, how to get Corporation Counsel and Brandon Johnson
and to, uh, sit down to settle this case
that has
been... It's, it's, it's national now.
P- everybody's waiting to see what's gonna happen.
And then
I'm watching you guys taking
public housing land,
Chicago housing land
that's meant to be for affordable housing and for...
Because you guys are forcing us to be in
poverty and the help of the e- elected
officials that do not help. They don't care.
You guys are, are manipulating it with the market
rate
with the affordable housing,
which makes no sense because if public housing and Chicago
Housing Authority land
is supposed to be for
us because we're in poverty, it's because you guys keep forcing us to be in
poverty. The Democratic Party, y'all don't want to get us out of poverty
because that's how y'all make y'all money.
And, um,
it doesn't make any sense for the market rate part.
Um,
and, uh,
I also want to say this.
The Democratic Party is so used to killing anybody that's
willing to get us
liberated. Y'all killed Malcolm.
Y'all killed Martin. Y'all killed Harold
Washington. Y'all killed Michael
Scott. Y'all kill anybody
that tries to get us somewhere that
needs... to get us out of where we need to be
because that's just what the Democratic Party does.
Thank you. Uh, next we have Michelle, um,
Clapton? Is it Clayton or... no. I think it's Clapton.
Clapton, Mich- Michelle Clapton. Sorry for the...
couldn't read it.
Thank you, Michelle.
Hello, everybody. Um, I'm Michelle Clapton,
a Jon Burge torture survivor of 27 years.
I stand here in solidarity with my other torture
survivors that are here today
for the transf- land transfer of 55th and King
Drive to Ch- Chicago Torture Justice Memorial.
Uh, I stand here
as a person who gathered the votes
t- for the approval of this memorial.
I stand here as a, as a female
tortured... Oh, please bear with me.
Um,
uh,
I stand here as a person violated, degraded
and humiliated by Chicago PD
Jon Burge goons
who continue to torture anybody
who they felt they could get information out
of.Uh, I was kicked,
punched,
and spit on for information that, uh,
they assumed that I knew,
and I wouldn't give them. Uh,
during, during, uh,
the lie detector test, Detective Michael
McDermott
proceeded to pull a photo out of the inside of
his jacket pocket
and put it in my face while I was taking a lie detector
test. And as I turned... It was a picture of the deceased laying in
the position they were found in. And as I turned my head,
because I didn't... I knew what he was doing. He wanted that image in my head.
And as I turned my head, that man
grabbed my hair and, and twirled my hair in his hand and
pulled my hair so hard
that it felt like my scalp was coming out of my
head. So I said-
Can, can we allow her a little bit... We do have a...
If you can finish please, your...
Uh, thank you. And so I stand
here because the memorial will be a place of healing, will be a
place of education to teach our, our
future children that's coming up, that this is
real. That this is true, and this is what happened
behind those walls if somebody...
And I'm not stating that all CPDs b- D is bad,
but it's a lot of them that are. And we stand here, and I
stand here as a female torture survivor to support this memorial, and
I ask and I plead for you all to vote yes on this land
transfer. Thank you for listening to me. Thank you.
You're welcome.
Thank you. Thank you.
Thank you. Um, we have next, uh, Dennis
White.
Uh, the question is, when Brandon Johnson say
affordable housing, if you gonna put
affordable housing there, you gotta put affordable housing in the Black
neighborhoods and make it more comfortable for them.
You need- If you wanna do affordable housing, then put affordable
housing for the m- the veterans that served this country here
and dying in this country. If you want affordable housing,
then you gonna have to get the illegals out the Black neighborhoods then if
that's the case in, in the City of Chicago.
If you talk them about affordable housing and you want the illegals to stay,
then charge them rent and make them pay property taxes.
'Cause I know some of these people here are pra- paying property taxes.
If you want to do affordable housing, then
you gonna have to tell Brandon Johnson and question
Brandon Johnson that who will it benefit?
Because it's not benefiting the taxpayers.
It's benefiting him and some of you aldermans here that's in this chamber
of the committee and in the chamber, period.
So the former... The, the, this real estate and
housing,
to me, is bu- is a bunch of BS because you're not
telling the people about these housing and real
estate, but you wanna raise property tax under
Maria Pappas, and she ain't telling nobody why she raising the
taxes. She just wanna do a payment plan scheme.
So that what she doing. So we gonna, we gonna have to
put this on notice, is that you all
are responsible to let everybody know what's going on when it come down to
property taxes. You, you all are responsible to let the constituents know
what's going on. But if you wait till the last minute by giving out
turkeys on holidays, hams on holiday,
backpack during school week just to get votes, then
we as a people are not the one for you.
That's just a notice.
Thank you. Next we have Mr. Tyrone Muhammad.
Tyrone
Muhammad.
Um, Mark Clemens. Mark Clemens from the Chicago
Torture Justice Center.
Thank you. Alderman
Moore, please turn
around. I've known you the
longest.
Chicago police torture
occur.
I was 16 years old, taken down to a police station and
tortured.
Sanchez, you know. Jeanette, you
know. It's about time
to recognize
my little old mother and the little old
mothers of people that were
stuck inside of a prison. No one wanted to hear
us. And to really add
insult,
women
taken to police station, losing
their children,
and no one gave a
damn. Now people say,
"Well, this is just a m-
memorial." Well, it reflects
my little old mother
who died of cancer
to free me out of a prison.
It reflects
w- the hard work of Joey
Mobile,
the People's Law, and so many other
people. It reflects the hard work
of Mark Clemens.
... beating this
community.
But, okay... Guess what? We were
onward. I'm asking to approve this
transfer of this land so that we can get
this right and torture survivors to move forward.
But most importantly, we visit this torture
ordinance that excludes women. I will
not stop until justice is
prevailed. Thank you.
Thank you. Um, next we
have Anthony Holmes.
Anthony
Holmes.
Which one? Yeah, there he went. Oh, he-
he wasn't here.
Okay. Um, in the meantime, we wanna
recognize Alderman Tavares for the roll call and recognize Alderman
Beale, Cardona, as well as Alderman Moseley who
was here just for, um, purposes of the quorum. There are no members.
Oh yeah, there's Alderman Moseley as well.
Um, go ahead, Mr. Holmes.
My name is Anthony Holmes. I was probably one of the first ones got
tortured by Verge.
But I'm not gonna speak on them, I'm speaking on, about the memorial.
This is a memorial we've been trying to get did ever since
2015. And before then we were
struggling. People didn't believe us that, that we was telling the
truth. I did 33 years in the penitentiary
for murder I didn't do. They gave us
$100,000. They promised to give, uh, they gave us ma-
the
memorial and going in the schools speaking to the kids
to show them, you know, get 'em better guidance.
But the bottom line is this here, this memorial,
it's not only for us,
but it's for everybody that's been tortured, misused by the police
and couldn't say nothing about it.
Ain't nobody wanna believe us. And so many people have been
passed from, you know, when the changes was.
But the bottom line is, this is our truth.
And y'alls, heck, y'all gave us this truth because y'all belo- believed in us and
you, and you voted for us in the first place and the last place.
That's why we got reparations. First time it's ever been did in the United
States. And we were, we the only Blacks, there's only a few of us
left that started this and, but this memorial got to be
built
and y'all got the chance to do it. We appreciate if you do it for us
because of the truth of what happened to us.
And it can't be swept under the rug
because it's gonna stand after us, we all gone.
But the only difference of it is we here now
to speak on it and bring it. So therefore, we
wanna see it, we p- hope you do it
and, uh, our alderman, she's been in our corner from
day one.
She uh, she had let us come to our neighborhood.
She uh, gave us open op- open arms
and we've been standing strong since then.
And I thank y'all.
Thank you.
Uh, next we have Mr. George Blakemore. Mr.
Blakemore.
I'm playing the race card.
Most of those men and women who was tortured, were they
Hispanic men? Were they white
men? Were they Asian or
Chinese? What color
played the race card? Black
people
not advocating, um, country advocating
for revolution. These people, you can't
vote them out.
"Oh, Mr. Blakemore, are you talking about
dealing?" You can't vote them
out. This country was not built by
voting.
The colonies saved... England wasn't treating no right.
Taxation without representation.
What happened? They revolted.
Blood,
black blood here
built this country. A white world.
Blood,
slave blood, black blood. You
cannot, uh, uh, advocate it, but flip red, go
red with all these blue lighted, blue people
are giving black people the blues.
And it just didn't happen now, it's been
here. Racism... And to see another people
come
and get good service, contracting jobs,
housing, healthcare.
But something is evil here. Something is
un-American here. So what should you, we do
here? What did, what, wh- what did Malcolm X
say? "By any means necessary."
So you gonna vote them out? W- watch this next election, they
will be back in. Uh, uh, this country was not built
on voting England out.
Uh, we have Danielle Carter next.
... wow, full.
Don't laugh.
I just want to tell you, I feel for you guys. I feel your pain.
And I just want to say, this is what Chicago Flips Red...
we are fighting for. Because getting help from these
people, you're never going to get it.
They don't care about you or me. The only people they care about right
now and giving legal help to is illegal aliens.
And we are not that. We built this country, so you don't matter
to these people. Secondly,
I just want to ask a question, a legit
one. How much
of that TIF money that was allocated to our
communities ever made it there? Can any one of you all tell
me that, over the years? I know you
can't. Because right now, we just left
CPS's board meeting, and they're asking
for $550 million of
that TIF money to go to CPS if this
budget pass.
So what we're saying right now,
with you aldermen, because we see that you all are...
This administration, Brandon Johnson administration, all of them are
receiving raises
with our tax dollars when we in a billion dollar
deficit. And we are letting you all know, and we are putting you
all on notice, if you all pass, pass that budget...
Because we know you all like to play this game, like y'all did last year,
and act like y'all fighting for the people when you all know you all
gonna pass that budget anyway because you all are getting paid off.
So we're telling you all right now, we're not... The...
All those games, they're done. We're done with them.
If you all pass that budget, we're going to
make sure we go knocking door to door, ward to ward,
letting all your constituents know how you all have
voted over the years
and what... A- and what you all have voted for.
We, we are going to make sure we do this.
And you, you... And you know that Chicago Flips Red,
we are not...
Thank you. Next, we have Jessica Jackson.
Um, the first thing I want to say, Alderman, uh,
Cito Lopez, the other day, I was making a comment
about how the aldermen here didn't help us, didn't help me at
all.
And I was reluctant to say
what two of you have done because I know that there's a
very retaliatory mayor
and a very
retaliatory...
See, this is why. This is why. You see that?
I was going to
tell you thank you
for what you did for me.
You
and Alderman Taliaferro, but he's not here.
You, you took the time, and you
wrote that letter in support of
me. And to let you know, it
got dealt with yesterday and overturned.
Thank you. Now, you can't be burning no more flags.
Don't do that no more. Okay? Don't do it no
more. But thank you for that. And to
y'all, Chicago Flips Red is
here. Look,
what can we say? I love Black people. I love us.
We're here. Tell us what it is that you want that we can do
to support you, and we will do that.
You understand that? I did prison ministry for 20 years.
I know what it is. Tell us how we can help you, 'cause we
will. Y'all, whatever it is that they asking
for, you give it to them. I'm telling you, give it to them.
Because if you don't, you know what it is.
You know what it is.
Give them what they want.
Thank you, young Ms. Jackson. Uh, now we have Joey
Mogul.
Good afternoon. My name's Joey Mogul.
I'm a founder of Chicago Torture Justice Memorials, and I co-led the
campaign for reparations for Chicago Police Torture
Survivors. We are here today, can you all stand up,
um, in support of the land transfer at 55th and King Drive
so that we can build the memorial that was promised in the
reparations legislation that was passed by the City Council in
2015. We want to thank, um, the aldermen who voted in
support of that, including Dowell, Burnett, Harris,
Mitz, um, as well as David Moore, who was a candidate at that
time. Um, we also want to thank Alderman Taylor for her leadership
and support in building the his- historic memorial.
This will be the first memorial of its kind in the nation
to honor the survivors and their family members for their
resilience and perseverance in light of racist
state violence. Um, it's also, uh, will tell
the story of decades of resilience and
organizing to seek justice and accountability,
including the passage of the reparations legislation in City
Council. Um,
again, this was the first time in the nation there's ever been reparations for
Black people passed in, in this country and
used the term reparations.This memorial, um, not only
is owed to the survivors, has been promised by this council to the survivors, and
to this community, and to the Black community, but this memorial will
enhance the Reparations I curriculum that's now taught to
all eighth and tenth graders in Chicago public schools, and be an important
field site. This memorial will help bring income to the
Washington Park neighborhood. We believe there will be tourists who will come not
only from the city and the State of Illinois, but nationally and
internationally. And they will come to see this memorial, and they will bring
business to the area. Um, w- so all of us
here are in support of this memorial, and we hope that all,
this committee will support this land transfer.
Thank you.
Next we have, uh, John Gayaya, in, um, also from
Chicago Torture Justice Memorial.
John? Is it John
M.
Gayaya? No? Not here? All right.
Um, is, uh, John
M.-
Gay?
Gayaya?
That's a comma.
Oh, it's a comma. It's John M. Gay? Is that right?
Yes.
Oh. I think it's a comma, and then you're...
(laughs)
It's okay. Good afternoon. Uh, I'm John Gay,
and, uh, I've been hired by Chicag-
Chicago Torture Justice Memorial to be their
architect, uh, for the design of the
memorial. And what I want to say
is that
we have had an opportunity to
listen extremely intently to the stories
and learn the truth of
their unfortunate situation.
Um, as an architect, it is, it is our job
to take the story, to take the program,
and bring it forward into a built edifice.
What's important to know about the ultimate design
is, it will
sustain the stories, it will
share their truth, it will promote
health and healing as a result of the
pattern and the landscape design
that we have formed in the pattern of what we are calling the
vortex. Because in their
truth, they were pulled into a situation,
and they were incarcerated for a
while, stayed together, became
stronger, and actually came out the other
side. So it's important that the story is
told, uh, because they are
survivors. Okay? It's important that the story is
told and sustained
in the 20th Ward, in Washington
Park. As a collegiate design
professor, I've been doing studios about
how vacant the 20th Ward is. This is an
excellent example of community
engagement, it's an excellent
example of listening to the client, it's
an excellent example of what will be a
success story for the City of Chicago as a
result of an unfortunate act. Thank
you.
Thank you. Thank you so much for your testimony.
Next we have a Stanley, is it Stanley Howard?
And I also want to recognize our Vice-Chair Mitchell for the
quorum.
Hello, everyone.
My name is Stanley Howard. I am a Jon Burge torture survivor.
I spent 16 years on Illinois' death row.
I done 39 years of incarceration. I am the founder of
the, uh, Death Row Ten Campaign, where there was others torture
survivors on death row with us. I'm the author of the book Tortured By
Blue. I've been out for two years now, and I will never
forget when I got out, we was knocking on doors in Jeannette Taylor's
community, trying to get the approval, 'cause she wanted us to have
approval of her community to get the memorial built.
The memorial's going to be built on 55th and King Drive, a
neighborhood that I grew up in, four blocks from there.
Washington Park was my playground.
And to have this memorial built
in Washington Park, across the street from Washington Park, is a
win-win. I was inside of a cell when the City
Council passed a reparation package, and I remember when the First
Ward alderman asked all of the torture survivors to stand
up.
I stood up inside the cell,
'cause I wanted to get my due also. But I've been working
real hard
trying to expose what had been going on here.
I am really thankful in many ways. I'm thankful
that now the truth is getting out. I'm thankful that this committee and
this, uh, council passed the reparation
package. I'm thankful that we are getting this memorial built
because it's gonna be a stone throw from the Obama Center.
So when people getting off of public transportation, they can stop at the memorial
before they go there. It's co- it's co- it's a win-win.
We are gonna be having jobs for people to take care of the
lawn and everything a- also. So, it's going to give
back to the community and it's going to be here for decades to
come. And I want to thank you all again.
Support this land transfer. Thank you.
Thank you. Um, next we have Lanetta Thomas.
Lanetta Thomas?
Good afternoon, aldermen. Um, this, we're here on
housing, um, I think the city should make sure that we're saving
our property owners, um, when things are happening
like when our houses come inhabitable for flooding and things like that.
And make sure there's something that's safe in place because we have contractors,
like me. I was out of my house for a year because a contractor left with $20,000
and disappeared. And with si- and my house cost
$60,000 to fix. So, we only had $40,000
left to fix the house. So make sure we have some safe pla-
something in place from the city to make sure that me...
I almost lost my house. I had to go...
I h- I filed for bankruptcy to keep my house safe
while they... 'Cause my, the, because I had to pay rent at
somebody else house for $22,000, I mean $2,200 a
month, and pay mortgage. I stopped paying my mortgage because I wasn't living
there.
Mm-hmm.
So I stopped and paused my mortgage so that me and my kids can have a place to
stay. But in that process where I stopped and poor- paused my mortgage, my
house was not being rebuilt. My house didn't get rebuilt until this year.
I was out of my house for an entire year.
Um, the property taxes went up. Everybody knows this.
I put in my exemption. I'm a veteran. I don't pay property taxes.
But my property taxes went up and she still sent me a bill when I don't
supposed to have a bill.
If we have this thing in place where veterans aren't supposed to put their
exemption in, why are we continuing to get a bill?
There has to be a better way because I shouldn't have to, every year,
prove that I'm a veteran when you knew last year I was a veteran.
That is crazy. Um, and People's Gas come out, they're contracted
with the city, they came out, ripped up my grass in my front yard,
put this fake grass ridden with, uh,
weeds in it. Now my whole grass is tore up and People's Gas is
refusing to redo my lawn over. And for the Chicago
Tortured Justice... I know, Mark, I'm a big co- activist in the
community. Mark was like, "You up here?" I ain't seen you out in these streets.
But I stand with y'all because I'm not a Chicago torture
victim, but I was arrested by the Chicago Police Department when
I was 19. That officer lied and said
that...
... lied to me and then they put him in, on, on trial for
coercion. He quit the police department and retired
right in the middle of my trial.
So I stand with y'all because I know how corrupt this system is.
I had a class four felony on my background for something I never
did. They wanted me to pay restitution.
I never paid it 'cause I never stole anything or took anything
from anyone. I had just got a $20,000 bonus from the
military and they told me that my Black, broke a-s-s needed
more money. $2,000. $2,000. They tried
to ruin my life over $2,000 that they've never recovered and I
never saw to this day. So I stand with y'all and give them what they
want.
Thank you. Thank you very much. And then finally we got, um,
Anthony Pre- Prewitt? Is that right, Anthony?
Prewitt from, um,
1365 North Wells Street.
No? All right. Well,
um, yes, and then
we got a request by, um...
Yes. So we're good. Um, so the first order of
business is the Rule 45 report from November 13th.
Uh, oh, and before we move on that, the committee also received 18 written public
comments. 16 of those are in support of item number 10 on the
agenda and two regarding the item number two.
Written comments were also emailed and included in your packets.
I appreciate everybody who came for public comment and, uh, we, we hear
you. Thank you so much and in, um, the first order of business is the
Rule 45 report from November 13, 2025 which was emailed and
handed out to committee members. Can I get a motion to approve this report?
So moved by Alderman S- uh, Quezada. All those in favor say aye.
All those opposed say nay. In the opinion of the chair, the ayes have
it. So we're gonna, because of, uh,
Alderwoman Taylor, uh, will have to leave a little earlier today, we're gonna move
to i- item number 10 on the agenda. So if, um, we're gonna
be, well be, we're gonna go a little bit out of business just to make sure that we
accommodate that request. So we are in item number 10 on your agenda
items. Um, ordinance
2025.002526, sale of city-owned
property at 5413 South Calumet Avenue to
Lake Park S- Associates Inc under Real Estate Exchange
Agreement in the 20th Ward. Uh, Meg Gustafson from
Department of Planning and Development, um, is here on behalf of this
ordinance and, uh, I know that we got someone else to present so they can introduce
themselves. Thank you so much.
Thank you. Uh, Meg Gustafson, Department of Planning and Development.
Thank you all for speaking today.
And for the record, my name is London Walther with the Department of Planning and
Development.
Um, we have the presentation here for the land sale which includes a land
swap. Um, the property in
question is 5520 through 40 South, uh, Dr.
Martin Luther King Jr Drive. Um, the assembled site is
approximately 5., uh, .55 acres. This is
in Alderwoman Taylor's ward, Washington Park.
Um, once the land is assembled, we propose to sell it for $1
per parcel to the Chicago Tortured Justice
Memorial. Um-The
memorial is proposed, um, on this site.
It's a 22-foot monument, um, with open space and
amenities including pathways, seating, landscaping, and
lighting. Um, as part of this land
sale and what we're here before you today, is to swap
a parcel, um, with Lake Park Associates, which is a
subsidiary of University of Chicago.
Um, here's the site map. Um, in red is the
U of C parcel that we will swap, um, to
gain the blue one, um, just south that
will assemble these four lots that we will be deeding
over for a dollar to the Torture Justice Memorial.
Um, here's the site plan. Um, thank you to the architect for
speaking on all the different elements.
Um, here's the elevation
and, um, some beautiful renderings, um, of this,
uh, incredible memorial.
Um, we included this budget. Um,
the l- we're here before you for the land swap, but the budget is
included, uh, for the feasibility in the future.
Um, it's about a $4.6 million
project. And I'll end with ... uh, on
this rendering slide. Um, London, if you have anything to add, please
do.
No, I think you covered it pretty well.
Um, you know, we've been working on this site for a very long time, so it's,
uh, good to see it coming through.
Do we have any questions? Mm-hmm. Any, any questions by committee
members? Alderwoman
Dowell.
Uh, yes, thank you. I want to commend, uh,
Alderman Taylor
and I want to commend Architect Gay
and to acknowledge all of the people
whose lives have been impacted by, uh, the Burge
misconduct. Uh, this is a fitting
memorial, and I will gladly
support this. Um, wanted to ask a question.
What is CTJMF funding?
Um, that is the, what they have fund-raised, I believe.
Oh, that's
the- In the... Are you looking at-
That's the J- Justice Memorial people. Okay.
Yes, they have-
All right. I didn't-
... they have fund-raised for it.
That didn't click in my head right away.
Yes.
Um.
Sorry. Thank you.
Okay. Thank you.
I should have spelled it out.
Thank you, Alderwoman. Um, any other committee members?
I know that Architect, um, Gay is also here, uh, if there's any other
questions. Otherwise, I know Alderman, uh, Taylor will have the
privilege to c- to, to close.
Thank you, Chairman.
It's been a long time coming. It's been 10 years, but for from a s-
some of these survivors, it's been 20, 30, 40
years. Um, for an institution that is serve, supposed
to serve and protect, it actually hurt people in our
community, and befitting the majority of those people look like
me. It shows what type of system we still live
in and we reside in, in a country that we built for
free.
Mm-hmm.
Too often, there's not a conversation of people who survive this, 'cause some of
those brothers and sisters never made it out. They died in prison.
Hm.
Imagine not being able to see your children grow up.
Imagine not being able to get married or even have
children, or seeing your parents and relatives die
all on something that you actually didn't do.
What does that say about the system we live in?
It says a whole lot. This memorial is just not a
space. It's a place for the City of
Chicago and this country to say, "I'm
sorry." And too often, we don't say that to
folks. To the men and women that were tortured that
are survivors, I thank you for telling your story, 'cause too often those
stories go untold. I appreciate you pushing the city,
'cause this didn't happen because we thought it was a great thing to do.
It's because you all thought to stand together to say, "This is a r- this
is a wrong that needed to be right." Um, for 10 years they
couldn't find a space. And what bothers me the most is,
y'all voted to make sure that we honor them, but didn't make the move to make sure
that this memorial actually happened.
Um, I have a process in my community where the community has to say that
this needs to happen, and I know the m- the Torture Justice
Survivors were like, "Well, we've done that due diligence." But what I
wanted them to do was have a conversation with their community about the things
they endured, about what happened, about how the City of Chicago gave
them a few dollars and said, "Get over it." And that's not what we want to
do.
Chicago has always been a space, uh, where we lead what
happens. And if this country starts to do right about the people it hurts,
we going in the right direction. Um, I want to say thank you
to Alderwoman Dowell who agreed to take this land swap.
A lot of people who know me know I hate land swaps, 'cause I often feel like when
we do land swaps, it's usually around places where public housing
was, and I don't like it. Never gonna agree to it, don't ever support
it. But I appreciate her saying yes.
She didn't have to think about it. It wasn't a second thought on her mind.
And while me and Alderwoman Dowell don't always agree, she was willing to work
with me, and I appreciate you for that, Alderwoman Dowell.
To the University of Chicago, who has hurt the South Side of
Chicago, who has hurt the Black community, this is one small
step in the right direction to do what's right.
And so I ask that you all today vote for this land swap so that we
honor people who often are forgotten and for us to say, "I'm
sorry." Thank you, Chairman.
Thank you. Thank you,
Alderwoman. Um, so got a motion from
Alderwoman Taylor to move. All those in favor, say, "Aye."All those
oppose, say nay. In the opinion of the chair, the ayes have it.
And on behalf of the City of Chicago, I wanna thank also all the survivors who
came and shared their story. I also wanna thank everybody for being
flexible enough to allow a little bit of extra time.
There's the little that we can do to repair all the harm and damage that
we done, and I am thankful also for the Chicago Torture
Justice Center and all the people who came here for your leadership and
determination for this to be done.
Thank you, Alderwoman Dowell, Alderwoman Taylor, and everybody who
participated. We gotta come together, and that is the way we heal, by looking at
the history, so we don't repeat it again. Thank you so much.
And with that, the due pass recommendation with this ordinance will be reported out
at the next city council meeting on December 10th, 2025.
Congratulations everybody for coming today.
The next item, Item number 11. So we got, uh, another... We, we...
So since we have you here, Item 11 is Ordinance
2025-002506, Transfer of
City-Owned Property at 8385 South Bricker Cove Avenue
and 8319 South Vincennes Avenue to Chicago
Park District in the 21st Ward. Meg Gustafson, again, from DPD to present
on this item.
Great. Thank you very much. Um, for the record, Meg Gustafson, Department of
Planning and Development. Um, this is a reconveyance to the
Chicago Park District, um, from the city for land that is
currently in trust for the, um, Chicago, um, Public
Schools. Um, it is in the 21st Ward, Alderman Moseley's
ward. Um, eh, the park in question is,
um... Well, hold on. I'll start with the address.
8319 South Vincennes. Um,
there is, um, three parcels, um, that are
currently involved in this park. Um, the school that is...
was n- adjacent to this park has closed, Garrett Morgan
Elementary. It closed in 2013.
Um, so we wanna deed the land back to the Chicago Park
District, um, who is already maintaining this
property. Um, the parcel in question is in blue.
It ends in pin... Uh, the pin ends in 004.
8319 South Vincennes. That pin is 1.2
acres. Um, as you can see, Morgan Elementary
School, just south, is closed and closed in 2013.
Um, it was part of an RFP process, um,
but no vi- viable candidates came through, so it will be
probably back up. I have someone from CPS here, um, if there are
detailed questions about that. Um, the zoning is
RS3, and we will be reconveying it to the Park
District, um, for $1. Here is the zoning
map. And I'll go back to this slide here if there are any
questions. Thank you.
Any questions by committee members?
Alderman Espada.
Move. Thank you, Chair. Meg, so if I'm reading
the map right, it looks like this parcel's internal
to the park and is all... is currently improved with
recreational facilities. Is that correct?
That's correct.
Okay, thank you very much.
Essentially it's no change. This is a housekeeping
ordinance to convey the land back to the Park District, but they've been
taking care of this for quite some time.
Good housekeeping on both counts.
Thank you.
Thank you, Chair.
Thank you, Alderman Espada. Any, any other questions?
Otherwise, can I have a, um, a motion to move on this item?
So moved by Alderman Quezada. All those in favor, say aye.
All those oppose, say nay. In the opinion of the chair, the ayes have it.
The due pass recommendation of this ordinance will be reported out on the next city
council meeting on December 10th, 2025.
Now we're gonna... Yeah, we're gonna move back now to the regular order of
business. On item number one, um, is an aldermanic introduction to
correct an error on the journal of proceedings, which initially
published a substitute ordinance rather than a substitute
ordinance as amended. So this is a minor change.
Uh, Ordinance, um, tw- uh,
2025.00.1968, Amendment of Ordinance
passed on November 7th, 2023 regarding acquisition of
property at 11414 South Halsted Street from
Albertsons LLC for use of...
or by city as a migrant shelter in the 21st Ward.
Alderman Moseley is here to present on behalf of this
ordinance.
So, Alderman, Alderman Moseley, the floor is yours on, on this
amendment.
Thanks so much, Chair, uh, and committee.
This item is before you today because, um, when
this item passed City Council a few years ago, the
language that we debated and passed was not reflected
on the clerk's site. Uh, this is the former Jewel-Osco at
115th and Halsted. Um, we have a...
actually just plan... passed plan committee, uh, Morgan
Park Commons, and so we are looking forward to continue that
development, breaking ground next year.
But the conveyance of the land, uh, needs to be done, so which this
item speaks to. This is a 13-acre
development, um, that is half-owned by the
city and half-owned by Far South CDC.
Far South CDC will be the developer of Morgan Park Commons.
Uh, it's a mixed-use development that will have residential up
top, commercial at the bottom, uh, a new park and
performant arts center for our youth.
Phase 1, uh, is... are two buildings along
Halsted that has 70 units, um, up
top, the commercial retail, and then doing site
prep work for the remaining pha- phases.
Uh, with that information provided, I would ask for your
favorable consideration and happy to take any questions should they arise.
Briefly, would you, would you go back to the previous slide?
Alderman Moseley, is that
not to the left the Major Taylor Trail running next to this
development?
That is the Major Taylor Trail that you and I had the opportunity to ride together.
Uh-huh. Fantastic to see the, the developments you called coming to
fruition. Nice work, sir.
Thank you. We are, uh, very proud to be moving, um,
forward development that residents have been calling for.
Uh, I'll just highlight a couple other ones.
Um, also on the west side of
the trail, south side of the street at 115th and Morgan, we're
partnering with Habitat for Humanity, building 20 townhomes.
That project is underway. Uh, we've been working with Far South CDC,
who actually purchased that strip mall that you see on the south end
of the street. Uh, Maple Park Plaza, we have,
um, uh, closed on or purchased the former
Aldi's that closed on us, and is in process of buying the former
Walgreens that closed on us, again bringing those uses back to the
21st Ward and providing those services and also convenience to the
residents that live here.
Nice work, sir. Getting it done. (laughs) Thank you, sir.
(laughs) Thank you, Alderman. Um, any other questions?
No questions, so moved by Alderman Moore.
All those in favor, say aye. All those opposed, say nay.
In the opinion of the chair, the ayes have it.
The due pass recommendation of this ordinance will be reported out at the next city
council meeting December 10th, 2025.
And congratulations, Alderman Moseley.
Um,
next item, um,
is, uh, we have a substitute also for this item, uh, that includes
clarifying language to the ordinance on the need for council approval for the
sale of any property acquired by the Chicago,
um, Housing Trust. A copy of the substitute was emailed to
all committee members yesterday and in the packets today.
Can I get a motion to accept the substitute?
So moved by Alderman Dowell. All those in favor, say aye.
All the- all those in fa- um, all those opposed, say nay.
In the opinion of the chair, the ayes have it. The substitute is before us.
Um, item number two is a substitute ordinance
2025-0018827, amendment of
municipal code sections 2-44-080,
2-44-085, and
2-44-135 to dissolve the Chicago
Community Land Trust, AKA Chicago Com- uh, Housing
Trust, and allow formation as borough between the Department of Housing.
James Wheaton and Will Edwards from Department of Housing are here to present on
this item.
Good afternoon. Thank you, A- Alderman and, um,
members of the committee. Uh, let's see.
That one, okay.
So
we are asking for approval of an amendment
to an ordinance that was actually passed by the city council
nearly 20 years ago
that established the Chicago Community Land Trust.
And for the last several years, the Chicago Community Land Trust has been doing
business
as the Chicago Housing Trust. It is a not-for-profit or
nonprofit corporation. It was established that way by the, the
ordinance in 2006. It's governed by a volunteer board of
directors that is, uh, appointed by the mayor.
And in December of 2023, the board
began internal discussions among themselves, and ultimately with the
Department of Housing and the Department of Law, to decide what they were
going to do in the future, whether they were going to r- uh, es-
essentially step away from their dependence on the city and
become a separate self-supporting nonprofit
corporation, or whether they would be,
uh, become part of the Department of Housing's, uh,
Neighborhood Preservation Division.
Um, the CHT staff right now is,
uh, uh, f- has been since the very
beginning supported by the City of Chicago.
They are city employees. The executive director of
the Chicago Housing Trust is an assistant commissioner in the
Department of Housing. Uh, they u- are budgeted
for four staff total. They currently have one vacancy.
Um, the purpose of the Chicago Housing Trust was to create
permanently affordable home ownership through a
variety of means, ground leases, restrictive
covenants, or long-term affordability agreements with the home
buyers. And those agreements and those restrictive covenants would
roll over to new buyers every time one of those homes was sold,
and it would be sold for a sales price that
was determined by a formula in the agreement with the
restriction that it be sold to a certain income level that was
established at the first, at the beginning of this, uh, or the
original sale of that property. So currently, the
Chicago Housing Trust has a portfolio of over 200 units,
uh, 19 different wards. Uh, many of these, if not
the, the, the majority, in fact it is the majority,
are a result of the Affordable Requirements Ordinance, which
was actually passed, uh, shortly after the Chicago Community Land
Trust was established. In addition to the financial
support the Chicago, uh, Housing Trust has received from the city,
there's also in-kind support in the form of office space,
computers, other office equipment, a- and the support from other
DOH staff. So the staff of the Chicago Housing Trust are
literally sitting in the middle of the Department of Housing's other
staff. That includes the homeowner staff, homeownership staff, the neighborhood
preservation staff, some of the multifamily staff.
So they are there, and that's where they have been.
And over the years, as a nonprofit, the Chicago Housing Trust
has applied for and received modest contributions from various
foundations, uh, but it has not become financially
self-sufficient.So as I said, since, uh, December of
2023, the board has had many
discussions. Um, in, in their June meeting of
2025, they voted to end their
nonprofit status as the Chicago Housing
Trust and to become part of the Department of Housing's Neighborhood
Preservation Bureau. Uh, the day-to-day operations of the
Chicago Housing Trust are not going to change.
They will continue exactly as they are now with the same people doing
the same work that they have been doing.
Uh, the homeowners who are part of that 200-plus
home portfolio have restrictive covenants and affordability
agreements. Those will continue.
The obligations under those agreements and the resale provisions
will continue. These homes are going to remain as
affordable homes according to the terms of those agreements
far into the future, if not forever.
Um, over the time that the Chicago Housing Trust has been in
existence, they have acquired a, a few properties, um,
four homes, uh, that two of whom have been sold in,
uh, the Humboldt Park area. And that there are two others
remaining, one in, uh, Little Village neighborhood and one in the West
Woodlawn neighborhood. Uh, Chicago Housing Trust has also
acquired some vacant lots, I believe from the community, uh, Cook
County Land Bank, which they had hoped to develop.
Um, and things happened, you know, recessions and stuff like
that. So, uh, those vacant lots and two
remaining homes are still in the possession of the, uh,
Chicago Housing Trust. Again, that nonprofit
corporation. As far as, uh, impact, as I said, the
homeowners will not see any change in how they deal with the
Housing Trust. They will still have to provide their
annual certifications that they are owner occupants of the homes.
If they go to sell the home, they are still bound by the re- resale
restrictions and the sales price formula that is in their
agreement. Um, the staff of the
Chicago Housing Trust will be incorporated into the Neighborhood
preservation Bureau, and they will be working alongside
the same people they've been working alongside for the last number of
years. Um, the bureau will off- also
offer other opportunities that don't exist right now because of the
separation of a nonprofit corporation from
city government or city departments.
And Lisa Mischer from the Department of Law is here in the box to
answer questions and to talk about what that distinction is and, and h- what
the implications are of having two separate entities that are
essentially, uh, operating in two different ways.
Uh, we're not asking for any additional funding.
Uh, the funding that is in place is the money that the city spends
each year to pay the staff, to keep them in their offices, to provide the
other services that will continue.
So, um, we're asking for, uh, approval of
this amendment to this ordinance that was established
nearly 20 years ago so that we can move
forward. And this ordinance is really kind of the first
step in moving forward to dissolve the nonprofit
c- corporation and, uh, change its status from
being a separate nonprofit to being a department or
part of the Department of Housing. And we'll be happy to answer any questions.
We have Deputy Commissioner Will Edwards in the box, Jenny Fronsac, who
is an assistant commissioner and also the executive director of
the, uh, Chicago Housing Trust, Joy Arrighetti, who is the
board president of the Chicago Housing Trust and has been involved
as a board member with the Housing Trust from its very beginning, actually even
before its beginning, and, uh, Lisa Mischer from the Department
of Law. Did I get everybody? Yeah. Okay.
So we're happy to answer any questions.
Thank you. We have Alderman Espada, followed by Alderman Taylor.
Mm-hmm. Thank you very much, Chair.
I, I want to call out,
these are all things that I w- I wish we had done as part of this
ordinance a couple months ago. Number one, having staff from the
Housing Trust with us. Executive Director Fronsac, great
to see you as always, as ever. Having board
representations from the Housing Trust.
Joy, always wonderful, sincerely.
Um,
noting that this was a decision made by the
board of directors when, when that was shared with us in a briefing,
that, that was critical for earning my support because I, I know that
the board of directors is full of
housing leaders that I deeply respect who have done this work, I think in
combination probably hundreds of years of housing experience
represented on that board in total.
And that helped me to trust the decision that we're making
here today. Uh, a question that I would ask, and I know that there's
questions behind.
Oh, he's whispering to me.
(laughs) I only ask this one question.
So I, I know that it's been discussed and there's...
Whereas there's discussion for the
commissioner of the Department of Housing
to create an advisory body
for our continuing work as represented by the
current Chicago Housing Trust, um, do we know when
the, uh... The commissioner has stated that this body will be
created. Do we understand the timeline?
And I, I also understand that
previously when the Chicago Housing Trust reached
100 units, now 200 units, there was gonna be a resident, a
homeowner included on that board.
Do we know that if that is still the intent for the advisory committee?
Um, first of all, with respect to the advisory board, it's in the
ordinance. And if, uh, one of the exhibits, exhibit E to the agreement, it's
listed as one of the winding-up tasks.
Uh, this is not going to happen overnight. This is gonna take some time.
We have to dissolve the nonprofit status.
We have to change the corporate status with the State of Illinois.
There are, uh, contracts in place.
There are obligations that need to be paid.
There's, you know, other, uh, legal issues that need to be addressed.
So creating that advisory board initially, consisting
of members of the current board and others is, uh, at the
discretion of the, uh, commissioner to identify who those
would be is one of those things that we need to wind up.
With regard to your, um, second question, or the second part of your
question... I'm sorry, I forgot it already. I'm sorry.
Wha- uh, what was the second thing?
Let me... I will rephrase both. What is a realistic expectation for the
creation of the advisory committee?
Also, p- previously, when the housing trust reached 100
units-
Got it, okay.
... i- within its care, the aim was for the board to include
one of the homeowners who were part of the board.
Am I remembering this right? I, I, I see fingers, hands,
microphones.
Yeah.
I can chime in, um, regarding, uh, homeowner representation
on the governing board. The initial threshold had been 200 units.
200, sorry.
No, no, no, no worries. And, um, we were super excited to do that, had
intentionally been leaving, um, enough vacant spaces on the board to ensure that
one-third of the board would have been homeowners, at which time the board, um,
entered into the conversations regarding dissolution.
Um, hence we never officially rolled homeowners onto the board because
we didn't want to roll them onto an entity which was dissolving.
Um, there is absolutely all the room in the world to incorporate
homeowners onto the advisory committee, and I understand, you know, the board
looks forward to doing that.
I appreciate that. I, I look forward, uh, my, my
assumption will be at the earliest practical
convenience that the commissioner will convene that advisory
committee. I, I hope and I trust
that she will lean into the spirit of the soon-to-be dissolved
trust and will make sure that there's homeowner
representation. Thank you. Thank you, Chair.
Thank you. Alderman Do- uh, Taylor, and then, and then Alder
Wandao. Mm-hmm.
Thank you, Chair. Can you talk about the rationale for
creating and then now
un-creating?
Wow. Okay.
(laughs)
Um, more than 20 years ago, s- uh, because the ordinance was
passed basically about 20 years ago,
um, I'd say maybe 18 to 24 months before that, the
then commissioner of housing, uh, Jack Markowski, uh,
convened a task group, a task force to
examine the idea of having, uh, a housing trust, a community
land trust that would, uh, create affordable
homeownership and keep it affordable in perpetuity,
okay? Keep rolling it over. So that task force,
well, if I remember right, there were about 40, 50 of
us. Uh, Joy Arrighetti was part of that task force.
There were bankers, representatives from community-based
organizations, um, city
department people. I mean, it was a very diverse group.
We brought in folks from outside, even from Burlington, Vermont, who had a very
successful community land trust.
And, you know, there was a long period of, uh, explanation, training, et
cetera. And the rationale was that, uh, looking
at what was happening in the city and what was likely to happen in the city, that
affordable homeownership was gonna become a bigger and bigger challenge throughout
the city. So this was one approach, and it had worked in other places.
Community land trusts were not a new idea.
The first community land trust was established decades ago to,
uh, preserve, uh, for- farms and rural areas
to, you know, for the, the folks who were living there.
So that was the rationale for it. And, uh, the idea
was to create it as a not-for-profit corporation so that they would have the
capacity to go out and fundraise. Uh, but
recognizing that early on, they were not going to be self-sustaining
because they didn't have any money.
Um, and there was some initial grants to kind of get things off the ground, but
the city, in its, uh, enabling ordinance, committed
to supporting the staffing and the development of
this land trust. So originally, the land trust was f- uh,
budgeted for one staff and, uh, a few years later, there was
an administrative staff person added.
But it operated for, oh, probably about 14, 15
years with two staff. And now it has sis- since expanded
as the portfolio has expanded. But the rationale was to have a,
a mechanism that would allow affordable homeownership to
continue and to, uh, you know,
create, uh, generational wealth for the people who live there and
to provide opportunities for people who otherwise wouldn't be able to purchase a
home. Because land trust properties were sold below
market value, uh, because they were going into the land
trust.
And we're-
You-
... pulling back because?
Pardon me?
We're pulling back befo- c- because?
We're pulling back because the, the, the structure of this
nonprofit corporation and its relationship t-
relationship to the city is, is kind of fuzzy.
And, uh, as I said, the land trust has never
become self-sustaining, so it's been totally dependent
on funding from the City of Chicago, which gets, you know, approved every year
as part of the city budget. So, uh, I mean, that
puts, uh, it makes it difficult to go out and fundraise, to go to a
foundation and say, "Hey, we need money to operate." And the foundation
says, "Well, what's your budget?" And you, the budget is, well, the city gives us
several hundred thousand dollars a year to operate.
Um-
Right.
It's kind of like, you know-... cry in poverty when you're holding a bag of
gold, you know? So.
An alderwoman, uh, Will Edwards.
Uh, and then we also have Joy, uh, so please identify yourself and then, you know,
I know that from the panel, uh, we're gonna have also response for you, Alderwoman
Taylor. Joy, and then we'll go back to you.
Thank you.
Um, I'm Joy Arruguete. I'm president of the Chicago, um,
Housing Trust. And, um,
I, uh, so the land trust, as Jim said, was created to
make sure that the city's investments,
eh, into affordable, uh, for-sale housing were
protected along the long term, and so that long, affordability
wouldn't be lost. And I would say that we've
operated, taken in, uh, all, most of the ARO
units that were, uh, for-sale housing.
And, um, (clears throat) and
I think, uh, the reason for this change is not to
change the way that it operates in terms of its
programming. It is, we have always been
supported by the city, um, it, and we
needed to expand, and I think there was some concern about
expanding and supporting for staff, uh,
i- i- if, you know, in, in, um, i- to a
separate 501 (c) (3) . And so I think there was some
push for the land trust to make a decision about either
becoming separate
or staying, uh, or becoming part of the city.
And I think we deliberated on this for quite awhile
and, you know, the truth is, is that we're created to
take in units that were produced through city programs.
And, um, and that is, uh, I think we've
played a, a vital role. And, um,
but I think we've had a hard time convincing the foundation
community that they should be paying for that.
And so, you know, uh, the decision of the
board was really to become part of the city and, um, we
looked at becoming a bureau, we looked at becoming...
And so it took a long time to settle at what's being recommended
now. And, um, so I, I appreciate your question, thank you for
asking it.
Thank you. Um, please.
I was just going to ask Joy (laughs) to address the question, but also to say
that, uh, there is no pullback, Alderwoman. This is actually an expansion.
So as Jim kind of noted, uh, the trust started with one
person and, uh, a person assisting, and has grown to four
staff. Uh, those staff all sit in the Department of Housing as
City of Chicago staff and are paid by the City of Chicago.
And with this, with this, um, uh, collaboration,
uh, introduction to the new bureau, um, there's an opportunity
for greater expansion and other collaboration, as you know I'm a
fan of. And so, there will be opportunities for single family homes to
actually go into the housing trust as a result of the existing programs that we
have under housing preservation.
And so, we see this as a move forward, uh, as a benefit, as a
value-add, and there are also legal benefits that, uh, before it
even comes up I'll have Lisa kind of address relative to,
uh, the ability of the trust to
protect the covenants that we have in place in the over 200 units
that exist.
Uh, good morning. I'm Lisa Mishel with the Department of Law and I've worked with
the, um, wonderful Joy and the wonderful Jenny and the
wonderful Will for a long time. Uh, so the,
uh, legal benefits here are that the city will now be able to
represent the for-sale part of the
Chicago Housing Trust. We represent, um, the city with all of the
rental covenants, but because the, uh, units,
um,
uh, the for-sale units went, uh...
And, uh, the homeowners of the for-sale units entered into covenants with the
Chicago Housing Trust and Chicago Housing Trust was a separate 901,
501 (c) (3) . Um, the, the Chicago Housing Trust hired
outside counsel, and those, um, invoices
are very expensive and so there was not, um,
there, there was a real effort to m- to minimize the amount of outside
counsel that was used. And, and now, uh, the
Chicago Housing Trust employees, which are now, and were,
but really are wholly now City of Chicago
employees, uh, can call the law department for all of its
needs. Um, and essentially, or e- the, the, the
important thing is that there's no, uh, conflict of interest that we
have to be worried about anymore.
Will this change you all's relationship with the land
bank, and
how well do you all coordinate with the land bank?
Um, well, the land bank has properties that they've taken
because of delinquent property taxes.
Uh, it does, the land bank does provide an opportunity
to acquire property, land or
buildings. Uh, as I mentioned earlier, the Chicago Housing
Trust has acquired a, a couple of, uh, vacant lots that they
had hoped to develop. I b- believe they were all acquired.
There's three of them, I think, uh, that were acquired from the
Cook County Land Bank authority. Um, uh, other
city programs that we're involved with, such as the Chicago Rebuild,
uh, program, uh, has acquired properties from the
Cook County Land Bank for redevelopment by private developers
with, uh, city assistance and subsidy under the Rebuild
program. So, the land bank is out there.
They have, I don't know, hundreds, thousands of, uh, parcels.
A lot of them are vacant lots, which means, you know, that they're
expensive to build. You will know that very well.
But, uh, there are also homes that could be rehabbed, and we are focusing on
those with our Chicago Rebuild program.
And hopefully some of those might end up in the land, um, the Chicago
Housing Trust once they're, uh, rehabilitated and available
for sale to owner occupants.
Through the chair, can we get a list from the last 10 years?
I'm sorry?
Through the chair, can we get a list of properties for the last 10 years that
are on the, the CHT?
A, a list of the properties that have been acquired?
Mm-hmm.
Um, sure. I mean, there's, there's only a handful that have been
acquired. There were two single family homes that were
rehabbed and sold over in Humboldt Park.
Uh, 1430 something North Springfield,
1735 North Sawyer,
uh, one in West Woodlawn on South St.
Lawrence, and one in Little Village at 23rd and
Drake. Those are the four
improved properties where there were actually homes on 'em.
Two have been sold, and then there's the vacant lots.
Okay. Can you-
Yeah.
... yeah, could we also get a list of the 200 units that you all actually
own?
We don't own any, except for those I just mentioned.
All of the properties in the Chicago Housing Trust portfolio
are owned by the individual owners who live there.
W- the, the Chicago Housing Trust does not own them.
They, we have a regulatory agreement, an agreement with those
owners-
So they're all sold with this agreement.
... that when they s- when they purchase them and then when they sell 'em again,
they're bound by the terms of that agreement. But we do not own them.
This housing trust does not own them.
Um-
The city doesn't.
Yeah.
Alderman, Alderwoman.
Mm-hmm.
Uh, Will again. Uh, so
the benefit and value-add is that as these homes leave the housing
trust, right, and are sold to owners, which is coordinated by
CHT-
Mm-hmm.
... it's a matchmaking deal.
Mm-hmm.
Uh, as that occurs, we maintain a covenant and
monitor that to make sure they remain in home ownership.
And so, the value-add that Lisa just talked about is that as this number grows,
it becomes a burden, because it has to be monitored and it has to be checked with
the secretary, I mean, with any sale that occurs.
Uh, and so, uh, that is the function. The function is monitoring.
The city will not own that property.
Those will remain in home ownership, uh, as home ownership properties in
perpetuity.
So could we get a list of those sales?
Of course.
Um, my last question is, how are we
making sure that people know about the housing trust?
'Cause I sometimes feel like, of course, I talk to Will all the
time, but how do homeowners and people know that this actually
exists and this is another tool that we can use to push home
ownership? 'Cause I too often do think when we talk about affordable
housing, affordable home ownership is left out the conversation a
lot, and we're in a time where people want to own their homes.
I'm one of those people. I've rented my entire life and now I'm in a
space where I want home ownership, but I don't know where to go to
look. I don't, I, I don't even know, well, I do,
but a lot of folks who want home ownership don't know that these programs
in the city exist. And so, what are we doing to know that the housing
trust is actually working, it's a good tool for folks to actually
use, and it's something that people could actually acquire?
Alderwoman, let's, let's-
Let's let Jenny Fronczek
answer that. Yeah. ... let's ask Jenny to respond to that, because I think that's where her passion
for this space really shines. Thank
you. My name's Jenny Fronczek. Um, so we do, uh, reach,
outreach in a number of ways. Uh, we have an independent website,
chicagohousingtrust.org, where we list all of the available units as well as
information on how folks can, uh, A, learn more about the program, and B,
apply to purchase a unit. Uh, we also work hand-in-hand very
closely with the housing counseling agencies, the vast majority of which are
also, um, already partnered with the city as delegate
agencies. Uh, 'cause they're the ones on the ground working with homeowners to
ensure that their credit is, is being built and they're, that they're
well-positioned to sustain a mortgage over time.
Um, so we do outreach like that. Um, when inventory is such that
we are able to host a trolley tour and, like, get folks on the
bus right next to current homeowners that already went through the process and
share their inspirational tales, we love doing that.
Um, we coordinate open houses. You know, when we've got staff on place
and all the resources available to kinda shepherd folks through the process of not
only engaging with us, but also connecting with, um, one of the housing
counseling, uh, centers so that they do their pre-purchase workshop and get that
critical one-on-one counseling session just to make sure their financials are,
are as strong as they could be so they get the best possible rate and best possible
mortgage product.
Mm-hmm. I would be interested in hosting something with you all-
Oh, fantastic.
... um, in my community. I think you all should send this information to all
the alders and be willing to do this, because I think, um, home
ownership is the way that we have generational wealth and it's too
often not talked about. But a lot of us don't know,
um, a lot of... I call Will all of the time and I'm sure I drive him nuts with
my millions of questions, but it's because I'm not a homeowner.
But I also wanna make sure that I'm talking to homeowners and folks who are
interested about home ownership and what the city has to offer.
Thank you, Chair.
Mm-hmm.
Thank you, Alderman Taylor. Alderman Dowell.
Mr. Chairman, uh, speaking of generational wealth, um,
Jim, can you speak to what the covenant is?
So if I'm a homeowner and I have purchased,
uh, been lucky enough to purchase a home through this
program,
and I lived in my home for seven, eight years and
decide I wanna sell-
Okay.
... how, do I get any upside on the sale or
no?
You will realize some equity upon the sale, but you
won't get all of the equity, because that equity
essentially remains in the home to keep it affordable for the
next person. Um, I could explain it much easier if I had a
whiteboard. But anyway, um,
the home is sold for below market price.
Gotcha.
The home buyer i- has to be at a certain income level
depending on-... either the terms of the, uh, affordable
requirements ordinance for that particular parcel or whatever.
Usually 80% to 100%, occasionally
120% of the area median income. So their price is
set and at the time that the home is purchased, that
price is compared to what the market value is.
The delta between those two determines what
the equity share is going to be. So,
um, that's written into the contract.
It could be 5%, twen- 10%, 15%,
whatever. When that homeowner goes to sell in the
future, that market value has gone up again.
So we look at the difference between the market value at the point that they
originally purchased and the market value later, and then we take
that percentage and that is what the homeowner gets.
So if you buy a home today for $100,000 and the
market value is $200,000 and you sell it
in five years and the market value has gone up to
$500,000, the difference is be- between the two market
values is $300,000 and your covenant may say,
"Your, uh, equity share is 20% of that." So you will
get $60,000 out of the sale and at
the same time, it's priced based on the, uh,
affordability at that point in time so that the next home buyer
who is 80% or 100% or 120% of the
area median income can afford it and, and purchase it.
Uh, Chairwoman? Chairwoman Dowell.
Yeah, Will.
For, uh, additional clarity, um, as we entered into
these conversations and it was really robust portion of the
conversation that we had with the board, uh, we recognized that a lot
of the units that we were getting in gentrifying communities
were about people staying and remaining in place, opposed to choice, which would be
the difference in disinvested communities.
And so we came up with some different ideas around
how to ensure that we had generational wealth, we didn't take away the
opportunity for that individual who's buying a first home in Saint
Edward or Pullman or some other community where we're really trying to invest and
build up. Uh, and so we came up with a few ideas and I'll let Joy kind
of talk about that from the vantage of how we look at
different communities and the opportunity for wealth building,
opposed to the opportunity for remaining in the neighborhood of choice that
is absolutely going on.
Hello, Joy.
Hello. How are you?
Good to see you. Um, (clears throat) I think as
has been said, I think the, uh, idea is not to deprive
people of, um,
of equity. And people do have equity and I, I,
Jenny's got all kinds of data that she presented to the board regularly
on resales and how much equity people did get
out of the actual resales that took place.
The, the bottom line idea though is to make sure that the unit, that
affordability per- is preserved.
And so there's a backstop for sure.
And, um, but to, uh, and
so, but that doesn't mean that people aren't getting
money back at the time of resale. They are, even with that formula in
place. And there was a lot of thought did go into the formula.
And to, to get to (clears throat) , excuse me, Will's
point, I think, um, we,
early on, a lot of the homes we- I mean, we're really
in a position of, uh, working i- with other city
programs. And so if those pro- programs are
producing, uh, housing like the ARO
and it's for sale, then they're coming into where the mechanism for,
to, for them to stay l- uh, affordable over a long term.
No. I,
I- And so- ... recognize the balance that, uh, you have to
maintain between affordability and also a
person's desire and right really in this country
to, uh, have some upside, some
equity in- when they purchase a home.
That's one of the reasons why sometimes people purchase homes.
So I get that. Okay, you answered the question.
Section 3 of the ordinance, uh, Jim, talks about,
um, that the city is going to assume the
responsibility of all lawful debts and
obligations. So are you,
is, is are there going to be any transfer of
debt or other obligations to the city
from C...
I will, uh, let, uh, Lisa Mischer answer
that.
Uh, yes. The city is going to, uh,
is going to inherit any debt and any
balance in the bank account. Uh, I don't believe by
the time the Housing Trust is dissolved that there's going
to be much of either. Uh, the, the Housing Trust
doesn't have debt. Uh, it has invoices that it pays for
various services
and, uh, the goal is to have all of
those, uh, services terminate before the
city, um, uh, steps into,
um, the CHT's shoes. In other words, the CHT
dissolves and, and, uh, uh, the city assumes
any
debt liabilities, uh, or any balance.
I think the bal- there, the, the CHT currently does have some money
in its bank account, but I think most of that will be used by the time,
um, the organization is dissolved.
All right. Well, through the chair, can I get, uh, I want to know how much is in
that bank account.
Mm-hmm.
All right. Um, and then lastly, audits.
You guys have done au- audits on, on that and
that information is being transferred
to...... the Department of Housing as
well. Okay. Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you, Alderman Dowell. We'll make sure to get that, those questions through
the chair. Uh, Vice Chair Mitchell.
Thank you. Thank you, Chairman. Uh, a couple of questions about the program.
Um, when you talk about the formula, at any
point, c- is there, can that be negotiated between
th- the buyer? Can that be negotiated between it being sold
to a n- new buyer?
The, the formula is part of a binding agreement.
It's a recorded agreement.
Mm-hmm.
Um, we have not had an instance yet of
having to negotiate it because, uh, fortunately
for homeowners in the, uh, Chicago Housing Trust, values have gone
up. So when they sell, of course, they're getting the equity that they've
created by paying down their mortgage, plus they're getting a share of
the equity that resulted from the market value increasing.
Right. Right, if, if, uh-
So, uh, so we've not, it's... Uh, we've not had the op- uh,
the, uh, option of negotiating it
because it has not become an issue.
Um,
so I suppose given, you know, one-off sorts of
situations, it would be something open to discussion involving-
Okay. So it's possible-
... a lot of And then the Department of Housing.
But it's possible to negotiate that.
Yeah.
Because if I'm buying a house, and after the formula, I see that you're
only gonna give me, I'm only gonna get 5%, I'm, I'm,
I'm... Uh, go ahead. I see, I see some people
wanna...
Hi, my name is Jenny Fronczak. I'm happy to chime in here.
Um, so, um, uh, just to clarify a piece
earlier when the question was raised about, you know, what do homeowners walk away
with when they sell the unit-
Mm-hmm.
Um, to complement what was said, there's two things, right?
There's that massive differential upfront when they purchase the home, particularly
in a rapidly appreciating community. So you get that big discount upfront.
And then, um, a kind of i- in exchange
for, you know, not getting the m- full windfall when you sell it, you
get a bit more every month, right, because you're getting a break on your property
taxes. We heard earlier in the public comment, um,
someone had to file bankruptcy to try to hang onto their home that we, we hear so
much about folks, um, particularly those who, you know, are trying to age
in place, choosing between maintenance and, and upkeep of the
home or paying, keeping up with property taxes that are rising.
So that's a huge perk that we have for, for every homeowner.
And, um, uh, the formula in itself, it's recorded
when you purchase. So like, the mechanics of the formula do not change, yet it is
resilient enough to, um, acknowledge that the market is constantly
shifting. Um, so when the next person purchases
the home, we'll reassess what that differential is because the first
person might get a massive differential or massive discount, and the
second person might get a really great discount but not quite as much.
Therefore, when that second person purchases the home, the formula automatically
course corrects to ensure that they're getting a reasonable share of the
appreciation of the home, and that appreciation, um,
is, uh, based on the size of that upfront discount.
So the larger that upfront discount, the smaller the share of
appreciation because we are, in that moment, at least the market is, is
really trending up, right?
Mm-hmm.
Um, and, and we really want to protect the affordability for that homeowner so, so
they can remain in the unit, right?
Um, and conversely, should, um, the, the market
have leveled out and, uh, you know, they're either getting um,
a much smaller discount or a minimal discount, they are able to get up
to 100% of appreciation, like if we were doing
units further south, further le- west where, um, uh,
Will, Deputy Commissioner Will and the rebuild team are on the ground to actually
course correct the market, right?
Mm-hmm.
Um, so that it's really flexible and it is intentionally designed to ensure that
everyone is getting a fair and reasonable share of the appreciation
based on the benefits they're getting upfront which, again, is more
often than not a really huge discount as well as a break on property taxes during
their tenure in the unit.
And, and Alderman, and I know your specific concern.
Um, we've had discussions about the differences between the two
and happy to sit down and talk with you about those and how those
directly affect your community and your constituency and how we can address them in
a way that's beneficial. We hope to be able to combine the
benefit of maintaining homeownership in perpetuity that we both
are convinced that, uh, um, maintain safety and security in
communities but doing it in a way that does not hinder, uh,
wealth-building on behalf of homeowners.
Mm-hmm. Okay. Um,
can a homeowner, or can someone purchasing a home enter
that property into a trust?
I'm sorry, could you repeat that? I didn't catch it all.
Can a property, can a property be entered into a trust?
I purchased a property out of, out of this program and I put it in a
trust.
Well-
That's not a trust.
One of the requirements is that the owner of the home be an owner
occupant for the entire time-
Okay.
... that they own the home.
That's fine.
If they place it into
a, a trust, they still have to remain as owner occupant.
I got that.
Um, I mean, there's advantages to putting property in a trust obviously-
I know.
... to name beneficiaries, you know, et cetera.
Um, I don't believe the agreement
has any prohibition against that, but I think it may
require that they inform the Housing Trust and, you
know, get approval for it.
Okay.
So.
Okay. Because
one of the reasons I asked about the trust, well, two rea- well, it's a couple of
reasons. One,
to really, for a home to really
be realized generational wealth, it has to remain in
generations and p- and
appreciation.I- if, if it is entered into a
trust, one of the things I would do is to put some
language in there where I have step-up provisions where the next people won't
have to pay the difference in taxes on up, on the equity.
So that, that, that's why I'm asking that question.
H- h- how, how would this, how would all that, things like that be handled,
intricacies of that?
Well, to that, I would say there's a much simpler solution, and that is a transfer
on death instrument that any homeowner can execute-
Mm-hmm.
... and name the person or persons to whom they want that
property to go upon their demise.
Mm-hmm.
It's a recorded document.
Mm-hmm.
And it doesn't involve any transfer taxes, inheritance
taxes. It's a clear transfer of ownership
without question.
But if-
And you don't have to go to the c- through the cr- uh, process of creating a trust,
which has, you know, maintenance fees attached to it, a trustee.
No, I, I ... But, but tell
me where- But a TODI, a transfer on death instrument, is usually, and certainly
for senior homeowners, is a much more effective and for the
cost of a $57 to record the document, you, you
set it up so that the property goes to whomever you want.
Right. But because this program, and if you do this in neighborhoods
where you're going to, where, but where there's a lot of appreciation in
the, in-home values and home sales, a transfer on
death doesn't satisfy the tax obligation.
That's why I mentioned a trust and putting a step-up provision in it.
So that's ...
Well-
I don't know if all these have ever come to, to the table to even consider these
things.
Well, there's several paragraphs in the agreements talking about the death of
the current owner and f- family members who could step up and
become, you know, members of the housing trust and
still have that benefit of the reduced property taxes that go along with
the, the being, uh, a, a pro- a property in the housing
trust.
Okay.
So, I mean, it's
Okay, 'cause that was-
Not a ... It's a, it's a more complicated question than we can probably answer
here.
Yeah, that was my next question. What happens if a owner dies?
And Alderman-
There's-
Jenny, Steve,
you got it. ... many paragraphs in the, in the document about what happens and who it is.
What, what is clear is that whoever takes over the ownership of the
home has to become an owner occupant.
So-
I totally don't get
that. ... that, that's a clear thing. It's gotta be an owner-occupied property.
The, you know, the family can't say, "Oh, we're gonna rent it out." No.
Somebody in the family who's going to winn- essentially inherit it has to be the
owner occupant.
Okay. So if anybody can ... What happens if a owner dies?
I can chime in. I'm happy to chime in.
Um, so if an owner dies, their next of kin has a, a few choices
to make. As Jim mentioned, should they choose to retain the home,
one of them would need to live in it.
It is designed, again, for owner occupancy,
Does the next of kin have to be either on title or have to be part of a will
or a TOD?
Um ...
So.
It's best if they do the paperwork.
'Cause if they died, that mean it goes to probate.
Sure.
So-
So we do enter-
I might be getting way ... (laughs) But I just, all these are going to my mind
when, when you talk about this.
We do provide estate planning, uh, workshops for all of our
homeowners so they can work this out based on their individual situations and get
all the documentation in place. We recommend everyone have a TODI in place,
a transfer on death instrument, uh, executed for sure,
uh, and have their wills and, and everything in place,
um, it, to avoid probate. If the homeowner has not
done that, then yes, it would go to probate.
Um, and, uh, it, whenever it's transferred to
the next of kin, like I said, if one chooses to remain in it, they're
welcome to. If not, they're welcome to put it up for sale.
Um, if the term has not expired,
um, most of our units are on a 30-year
renewable term. Some legacy units were on a 40-year term.
Oth- uh, others were on the 99-year term.
If that term still has not expired, they would be expected to,
um, sell it based on the, um, resale price
per the formula that we discussed earlier.
Um,
if, if the term has expired, the unit can be sold,
um, unencumbered at full market value.
Okay.
And Alderman, we ... There, there's something that's probably important to mention
here. Uh, through, uh, this program and others, we have
relationships for center, with Centers for Disability and Elder Law, which
really helps seniors, uh, get to an understanding around why a TODI
is so important, a transfer on death instrument is important.
Mm-hmm.
And we've supported over the past few years through the, uh,
MMRP program, CNRP program, uh,
financial support to be able to get out to communities and neighborhoods so
that not only do we provide home ownership opportunities, but we make sure
that, uh, a homeowner can remain in that home and has a good solid
transfer on death instrument in place to transfer that wealth to their,
uh, uh, their sons or daughters.
Okay. I, and, and this will be my last question.
A mortgage is created. Uh, the owner
dies. Two scenarios with, with the, with the mortgage.
Owner passes away, has a TOD, but they're not on the, the
mortgage. How do, how do we handle that within this program?
Because they're not, they're not obligated on the mortgage. So how does that...
So we don't control the mortgages. That's based on their servicer.
Um, we ensure that, um ... There is a, a list of participating lenders
who have agreed to the terms of our program.
But beyond that, uh, the program doesn't, um, regulate
what would happen on death. We just ensure that it's, you know, perhaps a 30-year
fixed mortgage. Uh, et ce- we have parameters, uh, like around DTI
and things like that, but we don't regulate that beyond whatever the
servicer would.
Okay. All right. La- the la- my last question is,
I understand that this is, we're trying to keep it as affordable as
possible, but any unlikely event it goes into
foreclosure, the properties will be owned by the bank. How does that ...
How do you handle that?
Uh, yeah. Actually, um, w- to date, we've
235 owner occupied units, many of which have turned over multiple
times. We've only had, um, one instance of a, uh, losing a
unit to foreclosure. Um, and that was exclusively because
despite the efforts of, of staff to reach out as well as our
housing counseling partners to reach out, um, the homeowner was
non-responsive. Um, in every other instance to date, we've
been able to mitigate the foreclosure, um, either through, you know,
getting a loan modification, um, or finding additional dollars to bring to the
table. And in part, it's because of the way,
um,
the, the servicers are, um, required to
serve not only the Housing Trust, also the Department of Law.
Uh, and a l- more often than not, they'll kind of mess that up, and that allows
us to restart the clock in court, which buys the homeowner more
time. And thankfully, you know, um, because all these things have been
working together, we've been able to mitigate, uh, every
other instance of foreclosure.
Okay. For the house that went into foreclosure, did, did the bank end up taking
possession of it?
No, um, the lender worked with us and sold it back to us, so the unit
is still in our portfolio. We have an income-
Okay.
... eligible homeowner in there.
Okay. 'Cause I was thinking if the bank took possession, couldn't the bank at that
time decide not to keep it in this program and enjoy all the, all the appreciate,
uh, the, all the equity or the appreciation of that house in that particular
neighborhood?
It is a life choice available to them that said, um, you know, they all
did opt in to be part of the program, so thankfully, to our
legal counsel and, uh, the, the wisdom of our board, we've been
able to negotiate to date and we've recovered that
property. Mm-hmm.
Okay. Thank you, guys, for indulging me in all those questions.
Thank you, thank you, Chair.
Thank you, Vice-Chair Mitchell. I, some committee members, uh, had to
attend another meeting, but there was a question that they left before.
Um, if they can be, you know, is related I guess to the, some of the policies
of the program, um, around any kind of home repair
program, um, and w- requirements of getting help for
repairs, back porch or roof repairs.
If, um, that, I think the requirement is sometimes to be living more than
50 years or more, uh, to qualify for the help, or is that, you
know, something that could be modified in this new structure?
I guess that's the question.
Well, if the homeowner is income eligible and they need repairs on the
home, there's nothing in the Chicago Housing Trust agreement that
prohibits them from getting assistance from a city program.
Uh, there is, uh, within the agreement, if they want to,
uh, do a major modification of the home that's going to
affect its value. So let's say they have a three-bedroom home and they want to
change it to a massive one-bedroom home.
Well, that's going to affect the value, it's going to affect the affordability in
the future. Uh, that has to be reviewed and approved
or not approved by the Chicago Housing Trust.
Uh, but if they're just, you know, they have to repair the porch or repair the
roof, whatever, those are normal maintenance things.
If they can qualify for a city program to get the, uh, a grant to do
that, they're free to do so.
Mm-hmm. Thank you. Um, are there any
more questions by committee members? Or Alderman Taylor?
My only question is it says, "Board may be established in the
future." Why does it say, "It may be," and why is it not n-
established on the front end?
Well, I believe that's how the ordinance is written.
That, uh, the advisory board, uh, is to be
established by the commissioner, uh, and initially
they're ex- uh, it's gonna consist of members of the current board,
um, but it can't be established until the dissolution of the
existing nonprofit. Right now you have a governing board of a
nonprofit corporation. Um, if you want to b-
create an advisory board, it would have to be different and they really can't
overlap. So that's why it's a
future thing after the board, the current governing board is
dissolved.
Can, can we see some time, um,
established on it? 'Cause what I don't want to do is dissolve that
board and then it's four or five years, 'cause they say,
"May be established." It doesn't say it's going to be established.
Alderman
Taylor, go ahead. No, Joy. Please.
Uh, Joy Adiguete. And (clears throat) so the, the
idea is that the board, uh, definitely
becomes part of the advi- advisory board.
Um, and that transition has been discussed, although
w- the, you know, there's a lot of details.
I think there's a, a commitment, uh, that we trust as a board
that, uh, by the Department of Housing and this c- the commissioner
that, uh, this transition will take place to an advisory body
and, um, this has been a topic of big conversation, as you can imagine
and, um, so we've been focused on the, sort of the
details and, uh, trying to make sure that,
uh, uh, we've planned well for the transition.
And then, uh, we looked at a, a variety of different
structures and I think that, uh, this body is the one that,
uh, uh, seemed to work the best and that everybody was
in agreement with and so, uh, the idea is
to create it shortly thereafter. And, uh, that
the, the people on the board now transition into that committee,
but then, and then new policies are set up for
bringing new members on, you know, uh, homeowners,
you know, and to work out the details of that body but rather than
trying to spend our time on that now, we've been trying to work out the details of
making the transition happen.
Go ahead, Will, 'cause I think you know what I'm gonna say.
Don't let us come back here.
Oh,
I, I, I understand.
Don't, don't let us come back here next budget.
All
right. And, and it's not done 'cause I'm gonna go back to this day-...
at 2:23 and say, "I said, let's make
sure that it's say, will be established, not say, may be
established." I just wanna see it happen.
I feel like we, the, the devil is in the details
and I want that detail to be because that advisory board, I feel
like it's something we need 'cause too often we don't hear from people who are
actually going through the process and who are homeowners and kinda need that help.
And so, I wanna be here next year. Thank you.
We appreciate your diligence.
Appreciate it. Thank you, Chairman.
Thank you, Alderman Taylor. Unless there are any questions, can I have a motion to
move in this item? So moved by Alderman Taylor. All those in favor say aye.
All those opposed say nay. In the opinion of the Chair, the ayes have it.
The due pass recommendation for this ordinance will be reported out at the next
City Council meeting on December 10th, 2025.
I appreciate everybody for coming and sharing this information.
Thank you very much.
And thank you.
Mm-hmm.
Item number three, and, uh, I think for the next, um, few
items, the next three items are from 2FM.
Item three is Ordinance 2025-002499,
renewed and amended lease agreement with LF, LFL
Properties Inc. for property at 4310
West North Avenue in the 46th Ward.
Merritt Solis from the Department of Fleet and Facility Management is present to
testify on behalf of this ordinance.
Thank you, um, thank you, Merritt.
Thank you, Chairman.
(clears throat)
And good afternoon, honorable Chairman and members of the Committee.
For the record, my name is Merritt Solis.
I'm with the Department of Fleet and Facility Management.
The Department is requesting authorization to renew the lease
agreement with LFL Properties
for the property located at 4310 West North
Avenue, for continued use as the Trina
Davila, uh, Community Service Center by the Chicago Department of
Family and Support Services. The property is located in the
36th Ward and Alderman Villegas has expressed his full
support. The lease consists of
approximately 4,115 square feet of office
space together with, uh, shared access to 18
on-site parking spaces for employee and
patrons.
The City has leased this property from LFL Properties,
uh, since 2015, as well as the adjacent
property, uh, since 1995,
uh, which serves as the Chicago Public Library's North Pulaski
branch, allowing for convenient wraparound services for
Cumb- uh, Humboldt Park residents and surrounding community
areas. At this location, uh,
DFSS proudly, uh, delivers the following services,
it's, uh, clothing, uh, and referrals to local food
pantries, uh, public benefit, uh, eligibility
assessments, um, shelter referrals, substance abuse
treatment referrals, veteran's services, um, among other
services. The renewal of this lease would allow for
the continuation of these valued services at the convenient
location. The proposed, uh, term
is for a r- uh, 10
years. Um, if approved by the
City Council, the lease will be valid through December 31st of
2035. The annual cost of this lease is,
uh, $98,001.24,
uh, w- which comes out to a monthly rent of
$8,166.77
with a 2% annual escalation for the duration of the
term. And I'm here to ask for your most favorable
consideration for the renewal of this lease.
Um, that concludes my presentation on this item and I'm happy to take any
questions.
Alderman Taylor.
Is Alderman Villegas still here?
He was, but a, and a few members.
How long have we been leasing this property?
Uh, since 2015.
So 10 years. And the proposed is for an additional 10
years.
How much were we paying? This is what we've always paid or has it went
up?
It, it, it went up by 2%.
Would've been cheaper for us to just buy our own building?
B- Buy this building or buy our, another building?
That building. Any other building.
I always, so let me say this, I struggle with us paying rent
instead of us having ownership of our own buildings, especially when we have
vacant school buildings, we have other vacant buildings, um, in
our community that we could utilize.
And I get it's, it's business, but it also,
how responsible is it to be a, and it's, say, for 10 years
times $98,000 is what we pay?
That's correct.
So you do the math.
No, I share your concern. I, I do. Um, and we have
the owner here present o- um, if he's willing to sell the property to
the City, um, m- more than willing to, uh, start those
conversations. I, I completely understand your concern and,
um, you know, maintenance for a, for a
facility is, is a lot and, and, uh, it's
... $98,000 for 10 years.
I ain't really no rocket scientist, but
we could have bought,
owned, bought several other buildings.
Um, is Alderman Villegas supportive of this?
You have a letter of support-
I do.
... from Alder-
Uh, we do, yes. He is in support.
Okay. I won't, but I, I, I want us to have
a real conversation 'cause we got a billion dollar budget
deficit and it's because we make decisions like this.
And we pay out a lot of money to rent spaces
when-There are plenty other spaces around the city that we could
repurpose and actually use. So I'm not gonna hold this, but I
want to get on the record that I say every time we rent a space
and spend money, we could be doing other things. Thank you, Chairman.
Thank you, uh, Alderman Taylor. I think the applicant may be here.
I don't know if, um, there's anything else they wanted to add.
But otherwise, any other questions through the chair, we can, we can make sure to
provide also, Chairwoman. Um, uh, unless any other
questions, can I... Uh, so I get a motion to move.
Alderman Taylor, um, all those in favor say aye.
All opposed say nay. And depending on the chair, the ayes have it, so what...
We'll make sure to follow up with you, Alderman Taylor, on those questions.
Um, the next one I go... Uh, again, is from, um, um,
2FM, uh, is item four is ordinance
2025.002522, renewed and amended lease
agreement with 4615 Homer LLC for property
at 4615 West Homer Street in the 36th
Ward. Mary Solis from Department of Fleet and Facility Management is here to
present as well.
Thank you, Chairman. Uh, the second item I have is
for, um, uh, lease renewal
for, um,
the property located at 4615 West Homer, uh,
Street for the continued use as the Chicago Department of Street and
Sanitation's, um, Division 3A District
& Ward Sanitation Office, which services, uh, Wards
30, 31, 38, 28 and
36,
uh, at which city personnel are working diligently to coordinate local
garbage pickup, sanitation code enforcement, uh, snow removal
operation, uh, as mu- as, as, as well as, um,
other services. This lease expired on
December 31st of 2024 and has been on a month-to-month tenancy
beginning January 1st, 2025. The property is
located in the 36th Ward as well, and,
um, Alderman Villegas is in full support.
The leased area consists of approximately, uh,
2,268 square feet of office space
and 15,618 square feet of
garbage, um, sorry, garage and warehouse space,
for a total of approximately
17,886 square
feet of indoor space with adjacent, uh, vacant land, which is
used for, uh, loading, um, as well as parking for
refuse trucks and salt spreaders.
This site is ideal for the Department of Streets and Sanitation's operations
as it allows for convenient deployment of the servicing
wards. And the property is on a dead-end street
in an industrial area and has a very large garage.
Uh, and such locations are difficult to find in the north side of the
city. This renewal would allow for, uh, the
continuation of the critical city, city services at this
location. The proposed term for this renewal is 10
years
and if approved by City Council, the lease will be valid through December 31st
of 2034. The annual cost of this lease
is
$142,826.16
with a 4% annual escalation for the duration of the term.
And I'm here to ask for your most favorable consideration for the renewal of this
lease. And that concludes my presentation on this
item. Happy to take any questions.
Any que- Alderman Taylor?
I would like to see every property that we rent
is it's, um, how much we're paying for it and how many years
we rented that space for the la- I just wanna see the last
10 years.
Mm-hmm.
This... So this is $142,000 for 10
years. That's what we pay a year?
Yes, that's the annual, uh,
lease.
Again, we, we,
we...
Y- and you have a letter of support from the aldermen?
We do, yes.
Yeah, okay. Not gonna, not gonna go against it, but
we, we are going to have a real conversation 'cause I guaranteed you this
is why we a billion dollars in debt 'cause we, we're paying for
buildings we're renting from folks when we got our own buildings that we
could repurpose. I'm just saying for the record.
Mm-hmm.
Point well taken, Alderman Taylor.
Yeah.
We'll, we'll make sure to take this, um, back to...
Yeah, we need to have a real conversation about this 'cause we wouldn't be in debt
if we did some responsible spending and this is not
responsible. I have six vacant schools in my ward and we want
to repurpose those buildings and some of the times when we repurposing those
buildings, those city services will help the community.
And so we need to think outside the box, but also thinking about...
'Cause right now we're fighting about who we gonna tax to cover this billion-dollar
budget and it seems like we always go after the people in our
community. And while I love that we were able to rent from
these businesses, but what is the incentive for the city?
What do we get out except for a building?
Do we pay for maintenance in these spaces? What...
And I wanna see what the con- what the, what the basic contract says because in
some of these spaces that we rent, if something goes wrong, we're
responsible for paying for them. What am I renting for then?
I might as well own if I'm gonna be responsible for the
upkeep. And so that's a real question that I have.
Yeah.
Yeah, no, for th- for this specifically, the owner does take care-
Okay.
... of the maintenance.
Is it for all of them or for each?
There are, there... Each lease is different.
Okay.
But for this one specifically, these two, last two, the owner does take care of the
maintenance.
Yeah. I wanna see us be responsible and make sure that people we're
invested in 'cause these, they've made millions of dollars,
what have they given back to the city other than a space?
Are they renting to a neighborhood school? Are they supporting a business?
What, what are they doing other than collecting rent from the City of Chicago and
the taxpayers?That's all I got.
Yeah.
Mm-hmm. Thank you. Thank you, uh, Alderman Taylor.
And definitely as a committee, we will definitely... Uh, we have had...
Tried to have these conversations and I know every alderperson
has, um, uh, their, um, their
preview, you know? So I appreciate you not holding back this, but I think it merits
a conversation more broadly, right?
So that we don't hold items, but never- nevertheless, we also address it.
So, um, with that further ado, and I appreciate Alderman Taylor for your, your
consideration. I'm gonna have Alderman Harris, in this case, having motion to move
on this item. Um, and all those in favor say, "Aye." All opposed say,
"Nay." In the opinion of the chair, the ayes have it and the due pass
recommendation of these, um,
ordinances will be reported out at the next city council meeting.
Uh, Mr. Chairman, I know that we have just, um, voted on this
and I've, I'm happy to approve this.
Um, but I do agree wholeheartedly with Alderman Taylor,
Alderwoman Taylor, that we need to really take a deep dive and
look at how we're spending our dollars, um, with the
city, um, and where we can go and we can
purchase. We need to figure that out as a city and use some of our
own city-owned properties wherever possible.
Thank you.
Thank you, uh, Alderman Harris. So we'll definitely take it on 2FM and
the Housing Committee to have a, a discussion.
Uh, definitely include Alderman Taylor and Alderman Harris and anyone else,
um, who's willing. Thank you so much, Alderwoman Harris.
Um, so we'll do... We will report out this, um, on the
next City Council meeting on December 10th, 2025.
Item 5 is Ordinance 2025-0020518, Second
Amendment to Right of Entry Use Agreement with Columbia Yacht Club
for Renewed Access to City-Owned Parking Lot located
under northbound lanes of South...
DuSable Lakeshore Drive, north of East Randolph
Street in the 42nd Ward. May I read again to present this
item?
Thank you, Chairman. Uh, this is the last time we have for...
The department is requesting authorization to extend the current Right of Entry
agreement with Columbia Yacht Club, uh, for the use of city-owned
parking lot located underneath the, uh, northbound lanes of
DuSable Lakeshore Drive, immediately north of Randolph Street.
The parking lot is located in the 42nd Ward
and Alderman Riley is in support.
Uh, this proposed extension would give the Columbia Yacht Club continued access
to parking amenities near their ship on Lake
Michigan. Historically, the Yacht Club leased the entire
lot, uh, until earlier this year where we had
to, um, uh, reduce their
footprint to facilitate, uh, designated parking accommodations
for key municipal services. Um, the
entire city lot consists of approximately 16,300...
Uh, 320 square feet, of which
8,160 square feet is being utilized by the
Columbia Yacht Club. And the remaining
8,160 square feet, uh, was recently allotted to the
Chicago Fire Department to accommodate for operations of the
Chicago Safety Station's Marine Unit located at,
uh, five... I'm sorry, uh, 250 North Breakwater Access
Road. Um, the Yacht Club is a non-for-profit
club that has been an icon of the Chicago's lake fr-
cityscape since 1892. Um, and just to give
a little bit of, of a background, um, the club started in a
one-year... Um, sorry, a one-room shed, um, in an 18
by 35-foot barge, which was replaced by
larger vessels, um, as the membership grew over the
years. The Yacht Club offers a variety
of educational programs, including Learn-to-Sail for both
children and adults. They also, uh, host local and regional
high school and college sailing teams.
Uh, many of Chicago's boat tour, uh, captains have
also earned their license through the Columbia Yacht Club's captain's
class. Uh, they support the Alliance for
the Great Lakes, which works to protect health, um, of the
Great Lakes. And, um, the Yacht Club is home
to Sea Scout Ship 5111, which is part of the Boy Scouts of
America with a focus on water-based activities for all
genders, uh, aged 13 through
20.
Uh, they support numerous charities highlighting that they've
raised $6., $6.5 million for Leukemia and
Lymphoma Society in a little more than a decade.
The membership is granted on a non-discriminatory basis without
regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation,
gender identity, national origin, disability status, veteran
status, or any other characteristic protected by law, and they do
not re-, uh, record or track this information.
Uh, the Yacht Club does not c- currently charge its members
for parking and it does not intend to do so for the duration of the right of
entry. Um, uh, the City of Chicago entered into a
lease agreement with the Yacht Club on September 18, 2006,
for the use of the parking lot and have since, uh, occupied and maintained the
space. The proposed use fee for,
uh, this space would be
$26,683.56
for one year, uh, which is the duration of the proposed
extension term.
And I am here to request your most favorable consideration in the renewal of this
right of entry.
Mm-hmm. Alderman Taylor?
Who paying $26,000? That's what they pay to us?
Yes.
How many parking spaces do they have?
It's roughly about 30 parking spaces.
Uh, through the chair, they, they have all those programs.
Where do those young people come
from?You can get it through
the chair. I'm sure you don't have it. They got a list.
So for every list of organizations that they say they work with and they
use, a, a tally of race, age, and
where those young people actually come from.
They don't track that information.
Uh, I did ask, um,
since this came up the last time we brought the, the right of entry.
Uh, they don't track that information.
Um, one thing that I could ask, you mentioned where do they come from.
You mean like what community area-
Mm-hmm. ... and service? Um, I can definitely, uh, go back
and, and see where, where those, um, where that youth
is, is located.
Okay. Can, can we hold this item until we get that information?
I don't see why not. So, um, Alderman Taylor motions to hold this
item until that information is provided, um, if that's okay,
uh, with other committee members? Yeah.
So...
I think there's a, there's a-
Yeah, that's 100%.
Yes. There's a motion. There's a motion by Alderman Taylor.
Can I get a second to hold this item? By Alderman Moore.
So, um, we will hold this item until we receive that
information. Mm-hmm. All right, so
we, we're gonna, we're gonna hold then and then by the, by
next... I, I think we should be able to have that information by next, next Housing
Committee meeting.
For sure.
Yep. Thank you so much. That's all we have for 2FM, and appreciate Mary for,
for the information.
Thank you, Chairman and members.
Thank you. Thank you, Alderman Taylor.
Um, the rest of items of agenda are Department of Planning.
They're two items from the Fourth Ward, and then the last two items are in the 20th
Ward. So I appreciate Alderman Taylor and all the members, um, e- staying with
us. Um, the next item, item number six, is Ordinance
2025.00.2975, sale of city-owned property
at 515 East Bowen Avenue to Landex Holding
Company, LLC in the Fourth Ward. Thomas Baleno from the Department
of Planning Development is here to present on this item.
So he'll, he'll help on the presentation. Mm-hmm.
Uh, good afternoon. Uh, I'm Tom Baleno from DPD, uh, here requesting approval
for the sale of vacant city land at 515 East Bowen
Avenue, listed in Chi Block Builders April 2025
round. Um, the, the parcel is
located at 515 East Bowen in the Fourth Ward, and we have
a letter of support from Alderman Robinson from October
31st. Um, it's in the Grand Boulevard community area in the
Southeast Planning Region. The market value of the lot is
$86,860. And the applicant, who is
Landex Holding Company, um, is, uh, offering
$90,000 for the lot. Uh, and the total development
cost is, uh, about, uh,
$806,582. So here's some,
uh, context for the site here. Uh, you can see it's located at the
corner of an alley, uh, and Bowen Avenue.
Um,
uh, yeah, there's no zoning request to change.
Um, so they're proposing construction of a three-unit, three-bed,
two-bath, uh, rental masonry building, and surface parking for three
cars. The lot dimensions are close to a standard city
lot but not exactly, 27.7 feet by
121.1 feet. Um, and the
architecture firm is SKI Architects.
Um, there's a detailed project budget if anyone has any questions about that.
Um, here's the site plan here. Bowen Avenue is on the left, the
alley is at the bottom.
Um, these are elevations, uh, of the north elevation,
which is the front, and the east elevation, which faces the
alley. Um, at the request of our DPD
Design Review Committee, um, the, uh, applicant has
agreed to have that parapet at the roof turn the
corner, um, just, uh, so you know that that change will be
made. Um, so the, the facade, the front facade will
turn the corner around to the side so that there's not just, you
know, a flat brick wall sticking out.
And this is the rear elevation and the west
elevation. And these are the floor plans of the units, which are all
gonna be three-bed, two-bath. So happy to go back, uh, to reshow
anything or answer any questions.
And we do have, uh, David Fleischman from,
uh, the, the applicant firm, uh, here to answer any questions
that I may not be able to.
Mm-hmm. Uh, are there any questions by committee members? No?
Oh, Alderman Taylor. Mm-hmm.
Um, you own other properties in the ward?
I think we own just one other property in the Fourth Ward, Alderman.
Oh. Where? Do you have any other...
Do you own other land across the city or just this-
Yeah, we own some land. We own wa- land in the 20th in Woodlawn, and we own land
in, uh, some in Lincoln Park and some
in, uh, North Lawndale, and a few parcels in
Washington Park.
Okay. That's all I got.
Any other questions? Uh, c- for a motion by Alderman Moore,
all those in favor say aye. Those opposed say nay.
The opinion of the chair, the ayes have it.
The due pass recommendation of this item would be reported out at the next City
Council meeting on December 10th, 2025.
Item seven is Ordinance 2025.00.2974,
sale of city-owned property at 4018 South Ellis
Avenue to 4020 South Ellis Condominium
Association in the Fourth Ward. James Michaels is here from DPD
to present on this item. Thank you, Michael. Uh, thank you, James. Sorry.
Good afternoon, Chairman and members of the board.
This item is a Chi Block sale for the unapproved city-owned parcel located at
4018 South Ellis Avenue to 4020 South
Ellis Condominium Association, the adjacent property owners at
4020 South Ellis Avenue. The property is zoned RM5 in the
Oakland community area. The parcel will be used as an, uh, side
yard. The appraised market value is $65,000, which takes into
consideration a utility box on the property, which may impede development of the
lot. And the sale price is $65,000.
The vacant lot dimensions are 20 by 180, or 3600 square feet
approximately. In addition, the applicant has performed environmental
activities on the parcel, and the department has obtained
A-S clearance on the parcel.The pars...
The department has also
had recent support from 4th Ward Alderman Lamont J. Robinson.
This concludes my presentation on this item.
Any question? Alderman Taylor?
Is it being de- developed on it?
Uh, they're using it as a side yard.
Oh, it's gonna be used as a side yard.
Right.
Okay. No further questions.
No questions? All right.
Uh, can I get a motion then to move on this item? So moved by Alderman Taylor.
All those in favor say aye, all oppose o- oppose say nay, and the opinion of the
chair, the ayes have it. Um, the next two items are in the 20th
Ward. Uh, item eight is Ordinance
2025.00.2978, sale of city-owned property at
514 through 516
East 15th Street to Walton Street Builders LLC in the 20th
Ward. James, again, to present on behalf of the ci- or
DPD.
This item is a shy block builder sale for the subdivided
unimproved city-owned parcel at 51416 East
50th Street, the rear lot of 4952 South
Forestville, to Walton Street Builders LLC, the adjacent property
owner at 4952 South Forestville Avenue.
The property is zoned RM5 in the Grand Boulevard Community Area.
The parcel will be used as parking.
The appraised market value is $28,773.84 and
the sale price is $28,773.84.
The vacant lot dimensions is 31 by 34.42
or 1,066 square feet approximately.
The department has obtained AS clearance on the parcel, and we have support from
20th Ward Alderman Janette B. Taylor.
Th- This was a lot we had subdivided, the city subdivided and
into six separate parcels, and they offered, uh, each separate
parcel to the adjacent owner for alley
access and parking.
That concludes my presentation on this.
Any questions on, on this item? Anyone s- can I have a motion to
move? Oh, oh, go ahead Alderman Villegas, please.
What's, what's the, uh, the building that's on the corner there?
The Forestville and then-
Uh, so basically there's six parcels when the subde- city subdivided-
What, what's that building that's on the corner there?
Uh, the one on the corner? Uh, sure, that's an apartment building, I believe on the
corner there.
Thank you.
Mm-hmm.
Any, any other questions? So, um,
so moved by Alderman Villegas, all those in favor say aye, those oppose say nay,
and the opinion of the chair, the ayes have it.
The due pass recommendation of this item will be reported out at the next city
council meeting on December 10th, 2025.
The last item is the sale of city-owned property at
6118 and 6122 South Stewart
Avenue to Rita Woodward in the 20th Ward.
James, again, to present on behalf of DPD.
This item is a shy block sale of the port- sale of a portion of
unimproved city-owned parcel located at 6118,
6122 Stewart Avenue to Rita Woodward, trust the adjacent
property owner at 410 West 64th Place to clear up an
encroachment on city land. The property is zoned RS3 in the
Englewood Community Area. The parcel will be used as a side yard.
The appraised market value is
$10,118.50, and the sale price
is $1,012, which is 10% of the market value.
The vacant lot dimensions are irregular or
2,891 square feet approximately.
In addition, the department has obtained AS clearance on the parcel, and we have a
recent support letter from 20th Ward Alderman Janette B. Taylor.
So the applicant's house is, uh, 410 West 61st.
They'll be buying parcel one. The city has subdivided and that's what they're
selling, 2,891 square feet. That concludes my
presentation on this parcel.
Thank you. James, any other questions on this?
Otherwise, can I have a move by Alderman Villegas? So move.
All those in favor say aye, all oppose say nay, and the opinion of the chair, the
ayes have it. The due pass recommendation of this ordinance will be reported out at
the next city council meeting December 10th, 2025.
There being no further business before the committee, can I get a motion to
recommend approval to adjourn? So moved by Alderman Taylor.
All those in favor say aye, all oppose say nay, and the opinion of the chair, the
ayes have it. The meeting on the Housing, on Committee on Housing and Real Estate
is officially adjourned. Thank you so much, and you have a great
night.