But
like I said ,
okay. But it is the
most up-to-date. Those X's right
there.But you also-
You can take a look at the PDFs.
Right.
Their PDF financial.
It just depends on which one you use. And we got 30 minutes.
Okay. Yeah, we got some time. It should be in the mail.
Without
leaving.
I think that was me. Okay, Sophie.
Yeah. Thank you so much. So,
Jonah, Tim, Matt.
That way I can help
them.
Good afternoon, everyone. Good afternoon. Buenas tardes.
And welcome to the Committee on Housing and Real
Estate on the City of Chicago. The time is
12:41, and
the meeting is called to order. But before I start, I
want to welcome some special guests that we have today.
We have some students from the eighth grade class from It Takes a Village
Leadership Academy in the Fourth Ward. So if you can please...
That is fantastic. Thank you so much for joining us.
It's always good to see our
kids here in the Housing and Real Estate. So thank you for your visit.
Welcome, and we're very excited to have you.
Today, we have 10 items in
the agenda, and we're going to start with a roll call.
We'll now have the roll call to establish quorum. Vice Chair Mitchell.
Not present. Alderman Espada.
Not present. Alderwoman Harris.
Not present. Alderman Quinn.
Here.
Present. Alderman Moore.
Not present. Alderwoman Tavares.
Here.
Present. Alderwoman Scott.
Present. Alderperson Fuentes.
Present.
Alderman Burnett.
Present. Alderwoman Rosana Rodriguez Sanchez.
Presente. Alderman Villegas. Not present.
Alderwoman Clay.
Alderwoman Clay present. Alderwoman Anna Happenworth.
Present.
And Alderwoman Hadden.
Present.
That give us
10, including me, that give us quorum.
We have a Rule 59 request from Alderpersons Dowell, Robinson,
Taylor, Quesada, and Metz to participate remotely.
Can I get a motion to allow them to participate?
So moved by Alderperson Rosana Rodriguez Sanchez.
All those in favor say "Aye." All those opposed say "Nay." In the opinion of
the chair, the ayes have it. Now we are recognizing, I
know
Alderman Taylor and
Quesada are already there, and we wait for the other members to join us.
Today we have 14. Is it 14?
14 public comments. We're just going to extend
a little bit the public comments. We're going to add an extra 10 minutes or a
little over 10 minutes so we have everybody
able to speak.
Each speaker will be given three minutes in all items on the agenda.
And we're going to start by
welcoming one of the students from It Takes a Village Leadership Academy,
Jahzara Hobbs.
Thank you, Jahzara.
All right. Is the mic on? One second. Let me make sure that your mic is on.
Good afternoon, members of the Chicago City Council.
My name is Jahzara Hobbs, and I'm here today on behalf of my eighth
grade class of ITAV LA.
We are currently working on a grassroots campaign focused on addressing
homelessness in our city. After reviewing the city's five-year
homelessness plan led by Mayor Brandon Johnson, we appreciate the
commitment to a housing-first approach and the focus on prevention and support
services. It is clear that there is a strong vision in
place. However, we believe that for this plan to truly be
successful, two things are critical, clear funding and a
defined timeline. First, we would like to better
understand how this plan will be funded, what specific resources have been
allocated, and are there additional funding sources being considered to
ensure every part of this plan can be fully implemented?
Second, we would like to ask about accountability.
What is the timeline for key actions within this five-year plan, and
how will progress be measured and shared with the public?
As students and members of this community, we care deeply about making sure
everyone in Chicago has safe access to
stable housing. We believe that transparency, urgency, and
community involvement are essential to making this vision a reality.
We also want to know how young people like us can be involved in supporting these
efforts and continuing this work beyond today.
Thank you for your time and for your commitment to the people of Chicago.
We look forward to working with you.
Thank you so much.
Thank you for such eloquent
testimony. Next, we have Eliana from Access Living.
And if we can please pass her the mic.
Mm-hmm.
Maybe.
Yeah, we're going to move
the whole thing.
Yeah. And I would also recognize Alderman Harris, Alderman
Mitchell, Alderman Laspada, and Alderman Moore for the
purpose of the quorum.
Testing, testing.
Make sure.
Oh.
I think it's kind of-
Testing. Hello, hello. Okay.
Oh.
Shall I begin?
My name is Iliana Haven. I'm the housing community organizer with Access
Living. I help uplift the voices and concerns of disabled residents
of Chicago through our housing rights coalition.
While members of my community face homelessness, they struggle to navigate the
little resources available to them to find accessible and affordable
housing. There are insurmountable barriers in navigating various
wait lists on one's own. Folks have had a great difficulty searching for
where the available housing is and waited to get to the top of many housing
waiting lists they applied for. Many of them have been bumped
off of the waiting list with little to no communication as well.
We are here today to share a critical need.
We need a coherent, transparent, and anti-racist housing system where the
brunt of finding a place to live is not on those struggling to survive the
day. A pilot program would allow for organizations such as Access
Living and elected officials to assist in getting people housed and in
monitoring where the affordable housing is and who receives them.
This program would not only help connect those searching for housing to appropriate
places that cater to their needs, it would also address the outrageous
number of unit vacancies in public housing.
We need to come together to fight to preserve our fair housing
rights through critical public policy solutions such as this. Thank you.
Thank you very much, Iliana. Next, we have Tiwon Sims.
All of these.
Well, thank you. I know she messing your mic stand up.
Tell her get off your mic. No.
Good afternoon, committee. Good afternoon.
My name is Tiwon Sims, spelled T-I-W-O-N
S-I-M-S.
And since 2024,
I've been speaking at this mic to that individual back there, Byron Sigio
Lopez. So for the
young lady in the wheelchair,
your concerns are falling on deaf ears.
To the young lady who spoke, and I'm glad y'all here advocating for homelessness.
Since 2022, the homeless population has been activated
what, three times. I'm one of those people.
Do I look like a homeless individual? I'm sure I don't.
I shouldn't be in this situation considering that since 2024,
200 and something individuals who they call undocumented
have been housed here in Illinois, but all throughout Chicago.
I'm a 45-year-old, I'll be 46 years old July
24th this year. I'm a 45-year-old lifelong resident here in
Chicago who has not been given any consideration
nor help. But I will tell y'all what they did to me. They jailed me.
They jailed me illegally. April
16th what, 2025, when I was coming here for the joint
committee on the green housing for affordable housing,
the scam y'all was running,
and instead of inviting me or allowing me to come in and speak,
they jailed me downstairs,
kept me out of this building for one whole year under illegal enforcement.
This is the regard we get from that chairman, Byron Sigio Lopez.
So, though you all will come in and speak, and prayerfully note that y'all on
record, note that it counts, and it was beautiful what you said, and it was on
point and concise. But for to have it fall
on those ears makes it questionable if it'll even be helped or heard.
And to the lady in the wheelchair also, if it'll even be helped or heard, because
I haven't been helped or heard.
But I had representatives running to hospitals in regards to the
undocumented, right?
These individuals have advocated for everybody but the American citizen.
And so we see the American citizens riding in the red line, using it for
refuge.
These are Black Americans, foundational Black Americans.
That population that has been activated.
Ask me the number of or percentage of Black Americans.
76%.
And to stand in this box
and speak countless times over and over, right, Danny
Laspada? An open racist, that man right there with the silver hair.
So that y'all be able to recognize that these individuals are not truly allies to
us, and so that y'all never be used.
Use y'all voices strongly, proficiently, but use them to
benefit your people.
Thank you. Next, we have Katherine Sponholtz
for the
PPTCA Condo Association.
And Alderman Villegas recognized for quorum.
Good afternoon. My name is Katherine Sponholtz, and I'm a 35-year resident of
Chicago, with all of those years being spent in a high-rise
community, 20 of which has been in Park Place Tower, which is at
Irving and Lake Shore Drive. In 2024, I became the condo board
president for Park Place Tower, and the single biggest issue that our
management and maintenance team face in the spring and summer
months is the temperature changes and navigating the Chicago Heat
Ordinance. As such, in 2024, we decided
to try and make or basically influence change, and that's why I'm here before you
today. We created a petition that was on change.org,
which gathered 1,074 signatures in
favor of changing the Chicago Heat Ordinance.
Additionally, we partnered with Angela Clay, our alderperson, and hence the
reason I am here before you today.Yesterday, I sent an email to the
committee outlining the need for change, specifically in two-pipe
buildings such as Park Place Towers, along with the signature
statements in support of this proposed change.
Through our partnership with Alderperson Clay, I'm asking you, basically
begging you, to advance the proposed changes to the Chicago Heat
Ordinance. It really is an issue with the
climate change going into play. It can be a difference of 20
degrees from the north side of our building to our south side of our building, and
we are still pumping heat into our residential units
due to the requirements of the Chicago Heat Ordinance.
So I'm asking you to advance the proposed changes that we
partner together with Alderperson Clay and several other alderpeople,
so that it can go before a city council vote next Wednesday. Thank you very much.
Thank you so much. I also want to recognize Alderman Robinson.
He also, I think he's joining us, or he is about to join.
And Alderman Dowell.
Mm-hmm. I think they have just joined us.
Next we have Jessica Jackson.
Good morning. And first thing I want to say is I want to commend this young lady.
You did a good job. You did an excellent job.
And I'm glad to see you all down here, because it's not
focusing on teen takeovers and negative things
like that. You all are representing something very positive here,
and so I want to commend you all for that. You stay in school.
No matter what, stay in school.
I know the school system sucks in a lot of
ways, but it's the best that we got.
So you use it as best as you can. You did a good job.
Now with that being said,
this committee right here, that's housing and real estate, I want you all to
understand, they're not advocating for nothing for you all, not for Black
kids. They got you all in here talking about housing and all this and
that. Do you all understand that this same committee, and
particularly that middle row, where it's Hadden, Clay,
Fuentes, and Rosana Sanchez was right there.
She got up and left because she don't want to hear us talk.
She don't want us to tell you all that they've taken all the money
and given it to illegal immigrants.
You all better understand that. They took all the money and gave
it to illegal immigrants. They're not building no housing for you all.
Not at all. Everything that they're talking about doing, they're doing it for
illegal immigrants. Let me tell you something.
We're in these meetings all the time.
We're here three, four times a week in every single meeting,
and we've been doing it for three years, ever since they've been putting these
illegal immigrants into Black neighborhoods.
We've been fighting for them to get them out of our neighborhoods.
We need our resources.
Our parents came from the South
and set up shop in Chicago and made Chicago what it
is today. Not nobody from across no border.
And they're taking everything that we got and giving it to illegal
immigrants. They're stealing our real estate.
They're stealing and telling you all about how you can get affordable housing with
vouchers and stuff. No, you all want to own property.
You don't want no voucher. You don't want to be on welfare.
You want to own. You want to own businesses.
You want to own property. You want to have families.
That's what you want. You want that for you.
Ain't nobody going to fight for us but us.
And if you all think I'm lying about anything, Monique Scott,
she'll tell you. I've been down here for three years because they've been trying to
steal real estate on the South Side and West Side of Chicago,
including my own mother's probate estate. You ask her if I'm lying.
We got all the voting and how they voting.
They done gave our money to illegal immigrants.
You all stay in school.
Thank you. Next we have Amy Masters from
BOMA Chicago.
Good afternoon, Chairman Sigcho-Lopez, Vice Chairman Mitchell, and
members of the committee. My name is Amy Masters.
I'm the Director of Government and External Affairs for BOMA Chicago.
Our organization represents about 240 large commercial
office buildings here in the city.
I want to briefly acknowledge the broader market conditions our members are
navigating. Six years after COVID, just over
half of office workers have returned, and our average
downtown office vacancy is approaching a record high of
30%. Combined with high interest rates and
rising operating costs, these pressures have driven down building
values, often dramatically, with many in financial distress,
impacting jobs and property tax base.
In this environment, any measure that helps reduce cost for
buildings and their tenants is especially important, which is why
thoughtful, collaborative policymaking matters so much.
We would like to thank Alderwoman Clay for proactively reaching out
to stakeholders and inviting feedback before advancing the flexible heat
ordinance. We sincerely appreciate your openness and your
willingness to incorporate our recommendations.
From our review, we do not see that this billWe do
not see this bill creating any negative impacts for commercial properties.
While only a small number of BOMA Chicago buildings use shared systems
for heating and cooling, the proposed change appears helpful to
those buildings that do. We also appreciate that Alderwoman
Clay, along with the Department of Buildings, accepted our proposed
edits to clarify that office buildings are not
occupied around the clock,
and to ensure the ordinance reflects the sustainability practices of our
buildings that they implement during non-work hours.
Chicago's commercial office buildings lead the nation in
sustainability, implementing strong energy reduction practices to
lower emissions and cut energy operating costs.
These efforts don't just benefit building owners, they directly reduce
costs for tenants, many of whom are small businesses that rely on predictable,
manageable expenses to stay competitive.
Thank you again for the opportunity to provide input on the flexible heat
ordinance and for your continued partnership to support a healthy, sustainable
built environment.
Thank you so much.
Next, we have Zoe Lee.
Good evening, good morning, good afternoon.
My name is Zoe Lee, and I'm the founder of Chicago Flips Red.
I founded Chicago Flips Red because the City of Chicago
unlawfully demolished my family's building in Auburn Gresham,
and I couldn't get any help. Me and Ms.
Jessica Jackson have been coming down here since 2023.
I started protesting outside for 17 weeks.
Brian Sichel Lopez, who is now running for 4th District
Congressional for the Congress,
watched me outside and did not do
anything. I even went to one of your fundraisers.
I donated $50,
and
no results. So also, I
could tell you everything, but if you look me up on Google me online,
you can go to my Breakfast Club interview, and I break down how much of
a scam they are. I call them the Disgrace 50.
It's 50 aldermen. We have 20 Black aldermen who are an
absolute disgrace to the culture.
Then we have the Hispanic KKK, who
actually do not care, but they will be out here fighting for illegal
aliens because many of them are ran by the cartel.
So this is what we're dealing with. This is one big scam.
So that's why I use Young Miami's new song, "Spend
It," because this is one big scam. All they do is steal
money.
If you go follow the money,
just go back from
COVID. Look at all of the money that was allocated to
this city for homelessness.
Where is the money? Then go back and look at
why $1.1 billion in
epidemiology money was laundered in
public health, and they don't speak about that.
They don't speak about none of this money. The TIF money, that's a big scam.
Now, all these people right here about to come in here and get some TIF money for
some affordable housing that we're never going to see, never going to get.
And at the end of the day, the issue is you're going to have to
vote these people out. That's what you're going to have to do, because we need
policy and legislation,
and they don't understand policy and legislation because as a
taxpayer, we are paying their salaries.
We're paying every one of their salaries. We're paying their personnel.
We're paying for their cars. We're paying for anything.
And for some reason, the 20 wards, predominantly
Black wards, that's the most blighted, so they get the
most TIF money, still look how they look in 2026.
But if you go to Lincoln Park, if you go to any majority Hispanic wards,
they look nothing like the 17th Ward, where
David Moore, my alderman, let the City of
Chicago knock down a building that was a business
for 43 years in the community.
That is
what we have in Chicago.
Thank you. Next, we have George Blakemore.
I'm happy, elated to see these young people here.
The miseducation of the Black man, the
miseducation of our children.
The miseducation, Carter G. Woodson says, and
the young lady earlier brought up illegal
immigrants. What is legal and what is
illegal? Our people was brought over
illegal, in chains.
In chains, as
slaves. They didn't choose to wade
across the Rio Grande or come over from
Europe. They had no choice.
They came in chains, and today, a lot of our people are
still in chains because the mind is a terrible
thing to waste. Illegal immigrants. What are you talking about?
People that do not go by the law. In a few
minutes, when my minute is up, they'll say, "Mr.
Blakemore, we have rules here. You have to move." But
they have no rules in America anymore.
They are bullies. These people first came
from Texas, and they were just living, sleeping in the
police station, busloads of them coming over
and getting jobs, goods, contracts, and services, things
that the Black people have never received.
But guess what?
In politics, I'm going to educate you.
They have Democrats, they got Republicans, they got liberals.
All of these people are a member of the same
party. What party is that? The Democrat
machine.All of them. No checks and balance is
like a home that you have all daddies and
no mamas. It's like a home that you have all mamas
and no daddies. We need check and balance here.
We need mamas and daddies. We need Democrats.
We need Republicans. We need liberals.
All of these people are part of the same machine.
There's something inherently corrupt here.
There's something un-American here.
And to have Black faces in high places selling our
people out. Selling them out. The
miseducation of... And she's jumping up, "Oh, this man is
loud." The miseducation of Black people.
The miseducation, Carter G. Woodson says, when their
children are reading on level and the Black children
are reading on fourth-grade level.
There's something inherently wrong with all these Black
faces in high places selling Black people
out. So I'm glad to see you. Now, I try to make it
separate. You don't want to have a house with all mamas
and no daddies. You want a balance.
You want mothers and fathers.
Miseducate. I'm tired of miseducating our Black people.
Thank you. Next, we have Damika from Access Living.
Maybe we can...
Oh, there's the mic. Thank you.
Hey, y'all.
Okay. My name is Damika Bennett.
Yeah.
My first point is-
Passed away
... my mom passed away in August-
2003
... 2003.
Then got a separate-
My brother moved me in at Heather's.
I had a second
caretaker.
Hospitalized, got housing after discharge.
I
became hospitalized, sought housing after
discharge.
South Village.
Got connected to a group home in South Village,
and subjected to mistreatment there
for a year.
Father on the third floor.
And I moved in with my father on the third floor.
Which was inaccessible.
Village social worker transferred my case.
And South Village social worker transferred my
case
at, towards social worker at Leader Services School.
Skokie.
Where I currently reside in Skokie.
Need safe and accessible housing.
I'm now currently on a wait list, but I need
safe and accessible-
As soon as possible
... as soon as possible.
This is why I support accountable housing waiting list.
This is why I support,
uh-
The accountable housing
... the accountable housing waiting list ordinance.
There you go. Thank you. Thank you so much,
Damika. Uh, next we have Reverend Linnell McGee Sr.
And I want to thank all the students, too.
Thank you so much again for coming. Thank you, thank you.
Thank you for coming.
Hope this shame must be standing up for y'all.
Let me sit down.
We'll figure something out.
Good morning to the council.
Uh, I'm Pastor Linnell McGee. I pastor Eureka Missionary Baptist
Church at 540301 through
05 South Halsted, and I have been advocating
for the neighborhood for 43 years.
Uh,
we have elevated, we've been feeding the hungry.
We feed the hungry twice a month. Uh,
we're not a part of the feeding program.
Uh, we have fellow, uh, worshipers and
ministries that, uh, support us, and we feed from
our end. The reason that we don't have our own program is
because we don't have enough room, uh, to
stock, uh, what we can receive. So what
we do is we feed about 75 to 100 people
twice a month. And so we, I advocate for
expanding here so we can have enough room, uh, to put the
refrigerators in so we can help the people in the neighborhood.
And in the meantime, we also want to
expand, uh, so we can do some, uh, other
things in our neighborhood for our children.
Uh, we want, uh, these lots that we are advocating for,
and we want to put a playground back there.
It's right behind our church so that our children can, uh,
after school, have a place to play right around there
where they live. And so, uh, we are here today to,
uh, thank the council for the opportunity to speak.
Uh, we are still doing ministry in the neighborhood.
Uh, we advocate, we work, uh, with
and without. We feed what we can,
uh-I'm grateful to have some friends that's able to
feed 400 or 500 people a week, and I certainly thank God
for them. And I bless God for their work.
I don't have a problem with them. The people I have a problem with is the
people that can feed 400 or 500 and won't
feed anybody. So we do our best, and we
come to the council so that we can expand and continue our
work in our neighborhood.
Thank you. Thank you, Reverend, for your work, and
appreciate your comments. Next, we have Sean Mills from the
AHAD Coalition.
Hello. Hi, everyone. My name is Sean Mills.
I'm a representative here working with AHAD
to promote our ordinance on
affordable housing.
And what I can best represent here are our interests on the technology side, as
I'm kind of advising the coalition on that side of things.
So our current state of affairs for affordable housing, as many people know
and have discussed their personal grievances or just know
from being around the city,
much of what is currently available is largely unusable or random.
You go to the site on the Chicago's website, and it's basically a
s****y Excel web
sheet that you can kind of scroll through, see some addresses for, but there's no
real
system there. And the ones that are there are disparate
and largely unusable, again, like I said, or informational.
So this ordinance basically really
proposes a full,
I guess, a full
just breakdown of the ordinance. It's in full support of it.
So it's not just we're trying to pass legislation and that's it.
We want to pass it and then really follow through with it.
So this would create a centralized waiting list portal where people can
really go see their profile, log in, see where they stand on
things, see why they were denied on things,
see various housing in different neighborhoods to maybe move across
neighborhood that might suit them better, and things like that.
So that's really what this is all about, is matching the technology of
our city to where it needs to be, and
it's extremely doable
from my standpoint.
That's pretty much what I have to say on that.
I'm happy to answer other questions on it as well later on how this tech can be
done.
The other quick thing I want to say is no one is illegal,
especially on-
Yes.
This is my time.
I didn't talk on your time.
Please.
I was very respectful during your time.
We all heard each other. He has the mic right now.
Please
go ahead. Sorry.
No one is illegal on stolen land.
If you knew history, you would know this.
Yeah.
Thank you.
What you should be doing instead of focusing on people
that are lateral to you-
Okay,
please. You can address it to me. We're
going to suspend the time for a second.
No one is illegal on stolen land, as I'm sure many people here know.
And
I wish the kids were still here to make up their own minds.
And when you're confused on who to blame,
on who's to blame in a society-
Yeah.
When you're confused about who to blame in a society, it is never
going to be the people that are equally as repressed as you are.
It's always g-
Say s****y. We couldn't say it.
That's right.
He got to cursing everything. Come on.
He got to cursing everything.
You got other Black people that get up and advocate against you.
Well, who-
But we've personally felt the abuse from these people.
So there's no way to minimize it. We understand truly
what's going on here because we've experienced it for the last two years.
One year of illegal enforcement, they blocked me up in a coffee
myself. I came here and spoke to them about being homeless, my
children. We're not-
Look, we were-
So thank you for these individuals who they have put everything,
preferential treatment, financial, all the needs of Chicagoans.
And to who? So you don't get up there to advocate for what?
Sergeant of arms, please.
Cut it out, man.
Please, if you can help us restore the order in the meeting.
I will try to demonize something. Don't compound us our words.
They're demonizing the truth.
We speak up for Honan. They don't just want to benefit us.
They talk about them.
Vice, on what-
They talk about us.
Right here.
I'll see what I can find.
The guard that's throwing us in jail.
That's your racism. It ain't no racism.
You made a mistake.
Well, we cannot continue the meeting until
we allowed everybody to speak. We respect everybody's
opinion. Everybody listen to the comments that were made,
in despite of not being in agreement with them,
and we ask for the same respect. If that is not going to happen, we're
going to ask the people who are interrupting the meeting to either leave the
chambers or they will be removed.
And this is the final warning. The sergeant of arms and the
officers are here, so I want to be very clear.
We tolerated a lot of the bigotry and the racist comments.
All right. I'm assuming everybody who is staying is going to listen to the comments
just as we did with the other comments.
We respect freedom of speech.But we're also going to
have the quorum when we speak to one another.
Next, we have Ms. Etta Davis.
Hello, my name is Etta Davis, and I'm here to just speak on behalf of the
AHAD ordinance, which I think is a wonderful ordinance.
Back in the day, when I was looking for public housing,
affordable housing, the only
way that I could find out about housing was through word of mouth.
And so, if you lived on the South Side, everybody was telling you about apartments
on the South Side, and vice versa if you lived on the North Side.
So everybody stayed concentrated in their different areas,
North Side or South Side. And so with this ordinance,
it's going to have this portal where it has a
listing of 3,700 units
that are all over the city of Chicago, where you can fill out
your information, and you can go to
certified registration sites, such as, you ask your alderman's office,
or perhaps they'll also certify libraries or
computer labs or whatever, and they can help you out with this information.
People
with limited incomes, such as myself, we don't have the money to go
from one housing development or whatever to look for
another housing that might be available.
You just don't have that type of money to go looking from house to house.
And then if you do have the money, you don't have the time to
jump around and look for place to place.
And so this ordinance, with this ordinance, I think that it's very
good in the fact that, as I say, it would have all of these
listings, and then it could just spread out your information and just
save a lot of time as well as money. So, I think
that people should vote yes on the AHAD ordinance
now. Thank you.
Thank you so much, Ms. Davis.
Next, we have Qushona Harris.
Thank you.
Thank you, Chairman. My name is Qushona Harris.
Good afternoon. And I am developing a new initiative
establishing a sanitation center here in our city.
I want to be clear about its role. We will offer private shower stalls,
hygiene supplies, clean clothes if needed.
Our daughter facility will be located in Bronzeville, just across from the
Chicago police headquarters. It will serve all communities, acting
as a model blueprint in a dignified and structural way, making
individuals not only feel humane, but wanting to take the next steps towards
stability. Housing is a key factor in this stability step.
We recognize that our city faces a significant rate of displacement,
and we
cannot effectively rehouse individuals first without addressing the
de-housing. By
this intake at the
hygiene center, we create a pathway to rehouse, ensure
individuals are assessed, supported, and connected to the resources they need in
a timely way. This
intake assessment will function like a case management service,
guiding each individual as they navigate their path, whether it's towards
stable housing, workforce, job readiness, other
community support.
This holistic approach will ensure that each person
has a clear supported route towards
lasting stability. By ensuring a structural intake process, we
guide individuals smoothly into assisted living, subsidized living, and
transitional housing, ensuring that they are placed with dignity.
This approach protects the value of properties and safeguards
the future stability of each person in our community.
I humbly ask for your support today in
taking the next critical step towards housing stability, dignity,
lasting opportunities for our city. Thank you very much.
Thank you so much. And last, we have a speaker from Life Beyond
Limits.
If you can also state your name for the record as well.
Yes, sir. Greetings to everyone that's on the platform
today and all the organizations that are here.
I did want to shout out all of those young people that were here on
today, being actually in these rooms at young ages.
I wanted to really address housing, and one of the reasons why I
wanted to address housing, I do CVI here in the
city of Chicago, and so I do violence prevention.
And so this is an issue with housing.
I just have to address it, and I want to be honest.
A lot of these housing programs that we have, I work with a
lot of young men that are in the streets that are
active when it comes to gang violence.
I work with a lot of men that come out of the prison system.
And one of the things I want to say about housing, we have to do a better job.
A lot of these young men and men coming out of prison, they come out
of places that look like hell holes.
And a lot of these programs that we have that they're sent to, they
don't look any
better. I was always taught that the product that you
produce is based on basically the
atmosphere. And so if you put someone in an atmosphere that they're not
able to thrive in, where it's still poverty, where these
individuals are put in hell holes, how do you expect them to really be
rehabilitated? I work with young men right now that are
active, and I'm going to just say this, they're active in the street.
A lot of them are in the street, known for gang
affiliations. But when they come home, guess what?
Everybody's going to be back in the same places doing the same things.
And so I'm proposing to the city of Chicago, we need to start really looking
at public safety and housing and really start talking to
peoplePeople like myself that know that when
this young man come out of jail, he going to go to a halfway house.
There's probably not going to be a lot of resources that he's going to get.
Then he's going to wind back up on 79th or 63rd, and
the probability of him basically staying alive,
it's not
really a likely probability if you really know about streets.
And so I'm asking because a lot of the people that are in
position, a lot of the people
like you guys that sit on panels,
you guys are not in the street like that.
You're not really in the communities to really know firsthand a lot
of the things that are going on. And I'm just tired of seeing people come
home to reentry programs that get millions of dollars of
funding, and then these people put on a show when the mayor
come, when the politicians come. They clean up the programs, and as soon
as you guys leave, it's back to square one, where the people
are mistreated. They're living in hell holes, and nobody is
doing any follow-up. And then when you complain about things like this,
you're seen as the enemy. So I'm saying to you guys, we got to do a better
job of holding people accountable and not just
paying people that's your friend.
People lives are at stake out here.
There's too many people dying, and it's not enough accountability.
I'm just saying to you all, the money is being put in the hands of people
that really want the best interest of the community. I'm Dr. Sandy K.
Norman, Life Beyond Limits. Thank you for extending my time also.
Thank you.
This concludes our public comment, but I do want to address a little bit.
I know the young kids left a little earlier, but I do want to
address, especially as you mentioned, there are
certainly really difficult times out there, and it requires all of us to
work together in collaboration and without dehumanizing
anyone. Housing is a human right, and in this committee, as we see,
we extended the time. We hear every single comment, and we will do
everything is within our power to address all the issues that we have in front
of this committee. Housing is a human right.
That is how we see this issue, and I ask all of us to
make sure that we're always
thinking about our young kids. As a father of triplets, I tell you
it's very important that we lead by example.
Hate has never been a recipe for solutions.
So I want to thank you all for coming in here, and I
appreciate everybody's comments and time.
In the committee, we also have received 18 written
public comments.
In one of the
items was the number one, eight
letters for the item two, five for the item three,
and four asking for the eviction moratorium.
That is not in today's agenda, but I want to also refer to that as something that
we need to discuss with the state and county partners.
And definitely, we just came back from Springfield.
Even though it's not in the agenda, we're happy to follow up on that as well.
The written comments were emailed and included in your packets for today for
all committee members. Thank you so much, and this concludes our public comment.
Our first order of business is the Rule 45 report from April
8th, 2026, which was also emailed and handed out to committee
members. Can I get a motion to recommend approval of this report?
So moved.
So moved by Alderperson Anna Hafenworth. All those in favor say aye.
All oppose nay. In the opinion of the chair, the ayes have it.
The Rule 45 report has been approved, and now we will move on
the items for the committee.
Item number one is an ordinance
2026.0024O22, amendment
to Municipal Code Chapter 2-4 by adding Section
2-4-130 regarding the annual
report on homelessness and affordable housing.
First Deputy Mayor for Health and Human Services and Director of
the Mayor's Office of Homelessness, Jonah Anderson, is here to testify on
behalf of this ordinance. He's joined by Matt Stern, the
Deputy Commissioner of DOH, and Kimberly Howard, the Senior
Director of Family Support Programs at
DFSS. So we're going to start with
Jonah, and thank you again for being here in front of the committee.
Of course. Thank you.
Excuse me here.
Dear Committee on Housing and Real Estate and esteemed Chairman Sigcho López,
it's my honor to sit before you today to introduce myself and produce,
excuse me, and present the proposed amendment of Chicago Municipal Code Chapters
2-4, 2-44, and 2-50.
My name is Jonah Anderson, and I serve as the First Deputy Mayor of Health and
Human Services within the Office of the Mayor.
Additionally, as of early this past April, I also serve in a dual appointment as
the Director of the Mayor's Office of Homelessness.
I'd like to start today by extending a big thank you to City Council, former Chief
Cindy Soto, and all of the city departments, sister agencies,
constituents, and elected officials who have advanced the work of preventing and
addressing homelessness to date.
I'm humbled
excuse me, I'm humbled and grateful for the opportunity to continue advancing this
work in collaboration with each of you.
Turning to the ordinance presented to committee today, I want to first provide a
bit of history. In past years, federal guidance through the United
States Interagency Council on Homelessness or USICH,
provided resources and a framework for effectively coordinating responses to
homelessness nationally.
In 2023, this council amended the municipal code, making it a
requirement for DFSS and DOH to publish an annual report on
homelessness based on, hmm, the USICH principles.
Three reports, excuse me, have been published to date, in
2023, 2024, and 2025.
In April of 2025, the Trump administration directed the elimination of
the USICH, rendering national strategies and shared guidance across
departments muteAnd leaving cities and states without federal
guidance for the work. In contrast, the City of Chicago, through the
establishment of the Mayor's Office of Homelessness and the advancement of the
Five-Year Blueprint initiative, has developed a more robust and inclusive
network of homelessness services and providers, which our reporting structure
should now reflect.
The ordinance before you today,
02026-0024022,
would repeal the existing municipal code sections
2-44-070 and
2-50-085, requiring
DFSS and DOH to publish together, but without the support of any
other department, an annual report on homelessness, and will establish a new
section, 2-4-130, putting
into effect a new requirement for the Mayor's Office of Homelessness to coordinate
the development of an annual report that's informed by the blueprint and with
contributions that span the whole of city government.
To put this simply, we're keeping the annual reporting requirement, but shifting
responsibility for its production to the Mayor's
Office of Homelessness, and framing future reports based on the blueprint
rather than the USICH, which is now defunct.
This approach will allow the city to better highlight the work underway from not
just DFSS and DOH, but also across all city departments and sister
agencies. By bringing these efforts together in a single coordinated report,
the city will more clearly demonstrate the full force of government working
together to address homelessness and housing instability.
To ensure transparency, continuous learning, and course correction, on
August 31st of each year, the Mayor's Office of Homelessness will present the
annual progress report to the Committee on Housing and Real Estate.
Additionally, the report will be made public on the Mayor's Office of Homelessness
website within five business days of its submission to the
appropriate city council committee.
Chairman Sancho Lopez, members of the committee, I'd like to thank you very much
for your attention to my report
out today, and for your concern towards the matter of homelessness and housing
instability in our city. I look forward to working with you all going forward.
Thank you again for your time and consideration.
Thank you.
Are there any other statements by the presenters,
or do we want to start with maybe questions from-- I know
that we have had briefings with members of the committee, but this is an
important-- I know that there's some members of the public who came in
to talk about this. So if any committee members have any
questions about this.
Alderman Espada.
Thank you, sir. So
grateful for the presentation,
supportive of the ordinance. I'm really happy for the Five-Year
Blueprint, and I'm really glad for the annual reporting.
I want to
take a moment to speak something that is
at once a bit tangential, but also could be applied to any number of items
on our agenda today. So our municipal code, these reporting requirements,
are only as effective as our application of them.
I want to take a moment to call out that the city, by ordinance as
well, is supposed to have a five-year housing plan.
Our last five-year housing plan expired in 2023.
The value of that plan, and at the time, the quarterly reporting that goes with
it, is keeping us accountable on affordable housing
production and maintenance.
I would like to be provided, through the chair, an update
on the development of the next five-year housing plan, because at this point,
it's been three years since we last had one, and it is,
in my opinion, time to rectify that.
I want this ordinance to succeed, and that's partially why
I'm calling this out, is that reporting and ordinances
that create reports are, again, only as effective as
us making sure that they are consistently put into practice.
And I hope, Chair, that that's a fair comment.
That's fair.
And we'll make sure to have that answer through the chair.
Thank you, Alder.
Unless there's any comment from the department. Are you good? Mm-hmm.
Well taken.
Thank you.
Are there any additional comments?
Otherwise, can I have a motion to approve?
So move Alderwoman Clay. 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 on May-
Chairman, I got my hand up.
Oh.
Sorry, we didn't see. How long is the...
All right, Alderman Taylor. Sorry, we didn't see you on the screen.
Go ahead. Sorry about that.
Thank you.
Can you talk about, in the report, how you all are
going to connect with CHA and HUD
around vacancies? And also talk about
what is in the housing plan to help some of these
shelters that have--
They're not that clean. They got bedbugs.
How are we connecting them with community orgs to help people get
employment? Can you talk a little bit about that?
Yes. Thank you so much, Alder. Please give me a second here.
I want to make sure I'm addressing everything you pointed out.
So
to start,
the blueprint is very much a collaborative report.
So we are very much seeing this as
our office convenes our partners at the state, local,
county levels to ensure that we're providing
the appropriate services to people when they need them throughout
the housing continuum. So I believe
I did mention when we had a chance to pull up on this, Alder,
I'm very much working with DFSS, along with our partners at the
state and local levels, and county levels, to ensure that we have systems
alignment. So
I will go through the chair, if possible, to be able to get specific details for
you through those processes and give you an update on where we are
with that.The shelter situation
is, I also mentioned this when we were doing briefings, so understanding
that there are some areas left to be desired within our shelter system.
I'm working with DFSS directly on doing
individual basis
visits. So I have already started working with Commissioner Green and
her team over there that does this work.
We're going out to visit shelters so I could get a first-hand account of what's
going on. We're also pulling up with each one of our delegates to make sure that we
are addressing any sanitary issues, any concerns
that we have on file from our agencies who
are currently working in the shelter system.
And then we're launching, as needed and as appropriate, individual
investigations. And I was able to share with you that there are
some of those that the commissioner and I are currently talking about, and one
in particular that's underway.
And then the employment piece is, so within
the blueprint, we very much talk about
our pillars work. So we're dividing this work with seven pillars.
Those
pillars will be emergency services, housing, healthcare, employment,
education, community cohesion, and systems alignment.
So the education and employment pillar will specifically
focus on employment from the traditional sense, right?
So people who are looking for employment to prevent
housing insecurity. But in addition to that, we
are also ramping up efforts to ensure that we have employment
programs within the shelter system.
We found it in the blueprint then that less than 5% of our
respondents are currently receiving employment services as they're within the
shelter system. So that has been highlighted as an area of
improvement on our behalf and also a key initiative as we move
forward.
Is there some conversation, I know we have a couple of city shelters, is
there some conversation about the city getting into housing, or is
that ever a conversation or recommendations?
Because I feel like people are in shelters, and they're in there longer
than there should be because we don't have available housing
or enough landlords to actually get people out of
shelters. I know that the goal is to get folks out of
shelters, but is there conversation about the city of Chicago
actually having its own housing so that we can get folks out of shelters?
So I'm going to defer that question to
a representative from the Department of Housing today.
But I will say, coming out of the blueprint, we
have highlighted a couple of things that could be key in that initiative, such as
developing a proactive rental registry,
working and facilitating anti-eviction work
groups, and also
we're very much committed, and these are things that are underway right now,
developing a renters' rights work group where we will have
resources and also policy that we plan on coming out of that.
We're also really looking into figuring out how to work
more directly and more proactively with CLIF so that we can
provide independent landlords
housing subsidies to be able to assist with the housing crisis.
I think that you're right in alignment, right?
Homelessness is a housing
problem.
And so we are working, I cannot speak directly to whether the city
plans on building, but this is very apparent to
us. And so we're trying to figure out how we can make sure we have more
partnerships between public and private entities
to increase the housing.
Yeah, the
CLIF numbers have went
down in a bunch of wards. And so
is there conversation about how do we raise revenue
to add more landlords to those programs?
Because they, I want to say in '20 and in '05,
those numbers have dwindled a lot.
And so I know in the States, they made
some mistakes with the legislation, thinking they were helping, and they
actually hurt. And so
how are you going to connect with the state and the county to
reassure that the stuff that they're implementing doesn't hurt
what we're actually doing in the city?
Yes, ma'am. So also in the blueprint, that'll come out of our
systems alignment pillar. So that pillar,
myself will be chairing that. I've requested a number of elected
officials. I'm very open to all elected officials who are interested in
joining that pillar to join that. I'm also in that pillar with
Chief Haley, representatives from county,
representatives from the state, so we have a senator on there as
well. And so we are going to be, as
priorities come out and initiatives come out of the
blueprint, we're going to ensure that across the entire system.
So, everyone who you just mentioned, we will be in alignment in terms
of how the rollout will happen with initiatives and
making sure that the feasibility and viability are there prior to
implementation.
Is there somebody from the Department of Housing there?
I've been working with the commissioner at the Department of Housing.
I heard your
feedback the other day, and so I will be emailing the commissioner again
today to follow up. Our schedules just have not been in alignment,
but they are identified. That group will not move forward without a
representative from the Department of Buildings and Housing.
Because there was some information that they gave us a while back, and I don't know
if folks on the housing committee remember, about 49,000
vacancies. But those 49,000 vacancies weren't broken up
until, what are they market rent? Are they CHA, they're HUD?
And so that is some of the work that needs to be done to figure out those
49,000 vacancies and where we could actually put
people at. And looking at all the programming, that's another
issue I feel like... something that you all need to take on.
There are millions of programs that people don't know about.
They don't know how to take advantage of them.
We don't, and so I'm excited about this
list that folks are putting together, but that also needs to
include you all in that work. Thank you.
Thank you, Alderperson. And I think that my colleague, Matt
Stern from Housing, wanted to comment as well.
Thank you, First Deputy Mayor. Thank you, Alderwoman, for the question.
For the record, Matt Stern, Deputy Commissioner with the Housing Department.
We certainly agree and affirm with many of the
data points and calls that you made in your comments, Alderwoman.
Obviously, getting folks into housing is
critical to alleviating pressure on the shelter system, and it's something that we
work with the mayor's office and DFSS with on a very regular basis.
To your question specifically about the city producing housing that
can serve as an outflow. Traditionally, of course, our low-income
housing tax credit and CDBG-funded pipeline of affordable housing
developments has been that program.
I will note that the Green Social Housing program, which
was passed by Council last year,
is also working very actively on
establishing itself and will be another opportunity for units to be
created. And I also want to specifically call out the work that the
Housing Department has been doing over the last couple of QAP, Qualified
Allocation Plan, cycles, to make sure that we are
prioritizing the funding and development of permanent supportive
housing.
Which very specifically serves as an
opportunity, both from a services perspective and from an expected
income perspective, for folks currently residing in shelter and
transitional housing to move into permanent housing, and thus create space
in the shelter system for additional folks.
So I'm happy to further elaborate if you'd like, but I appreciate the question.
Yeah, I appreciate that. I want to make something very clear.
We are building affordable housing.
The problem is, once that affordable housing is done, the folks
who are managing them don't do a good job in making sure
that we do good outreach, that people actually who've been on waiting
lists forever actually gets on them.
And so you find people who just lucked up or happened to come to a
community meeting or find a flyer will get
housing before people who've been waiting forever.
I spent 30 years on a CHA waiting list, and I
came up on the list,
what, three years after being an alderman.
And while I thought it was the sickest thing ever,
it was funny because it's like, now I'm going to always need
affordable housing because we don't have rent control in the city.
And so imagine
getting called when actually you can't use it because of your income.
And so we got to do, and I hope that you all
work very closely with CHA and HUD
because we know the plans for transformation failed,
and we still have folks who have not got housing,
or they don't even live in the city of Chicago no more.
And so I'm grateful that you
came up
with this five-year plan, but I want to see it executed
yesterday. Thank you, Chairman. Thank you, all.
Thank you, Alderwoman Taylor. We have Alderperson Manar Happeworth,
followed by Alderman Villegas, and then we have Alderperson Mitz
as well. Alderwoman Manar Happeworth.
Thank you, Chair. I want to say welcome, Jonah.
I missed the briefing. I was not in town, but you
have a huge job ahead of you, and I want
to say that the 48th Ward is here to help.
I actually spent the morning at Margate Park.
Today, there was a scheduled cleanup, and so we had
all the people out,
and I walked with
Chicago for Homelessness, they were there too,
to oversee. There were mutual aid groups there, and
I had a chance to talk to
many of the residents in the tents,
especially the women. And
I want to say that it's very basic what they want.
They don't want shelter, actually.
If there is shelter available, they don't want to move out of the neighborhood that
they created a community in, and they want to help their
neighbors. They want to help their neighbors that are suffering from
opioid and alcohol
abuse and dependence. They want social
services. They want healthcare. They want mental
healthcare. And
they're not getting that. They want restorative justice.
They just want a safe place to live, and to lock their doors,
and to have their clothes dry.
So I just want to say that
these folks actually have jobs. They
sit on the board of
nonprofits that are in the neighborhoods because they
want a better neighborhood for everybody, including themselves.
And
I
want to say that as a chief sponsor of the Green Social
Housing
Ordinance, which I'm so proud that we passed,
it's not fast enough.
People need help
right now.
So I just want to say that I'm here, and we have to
accelerate what we're doing. Thank you.
Thank you for that, Alder.
Would you like for me to just expand on what we're doing right
now or... Okay. So,
this is heardI'm actually a member of the 33rd Ward,
and my order also
has a very community-based approach on how they
approach the encampment work. When I
accepted this role, I believe it was on the April 1st,
and on the 2nd, the Commissioner Green and I at
DFSS had a
meeting specifically about how we approach our encampment
work.
Hmm.
I will be
the first to admit that
the narrative that exists right now with us having this
Whac-A-Mole, top-down approach for what we're doing
is not acceptable.
Commissioner Green and I are both in agreement with that.
DFSS as a team are both in agreement with that.
Prior to expanding on this, I'd also like
to credit the DFSS team and
the street outreach program for the work that they do.
So, at a lot of Ronan Park is the encampment right now that I'm dealing
with. We have delegate agencies out there five days a week.
We are making sure that things like wound care is there,
services are there.
This morning, we launched a citywide response for the
care team, which is our behavioral healthcare approach to people who
are in crisis when they need it. So we have lots of programs from across the city
that we are already activating, we are already working on.
I also will admit that it's not enough.
And so Commissioner Green and I are working really diligently to ensure
that we develop an encampment strategy that is, one,
very human based, right? That
provides safety and dignity
for everyone who is involved. And again, it'll be very much human
centered. So
our goal is to move away from
what has been referred to as the sweeps or shutting down encampments, and
really integrating what we find is
working in terms of our current social services and
healthcare outreach. So we'll be launching a couple new initiatives that
are listed within the blueprint around behavioral healthcare,
around social supports, around housing placements, and even
really how we do that type of work. So that is something, I guess I'm saying all
this to say that's something that has been noted that we're currently working on.
Very much looking forward to working with your office, and your
offices to get feedback in terms of...
Because I also understand that this is all different work from ward to
ward, right? The level of community involvement, the things that are being required
of us and our delegate agencies is all going to be very
individual. But the approach that we want to take towards it
will be cohesive, it will be human centered.
I come from social work, I come from crisis
assessment, I come from violence prevention, so my job is to make
sure that we're bringing this back to really humanize and allow
people in the city to see the humanistic approach that we're taking to
this. But very much a priority. Thank you so much for raising awareness on it,
and happy to work with you and the ward, and constituents within your
ward as we do this work.
Thank you, Alderwoman. Alderman Villegas, followed by Alderwoman Metz.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
I'm glad that green social housing was brought up because there's actually two
components to green social housing, right?
So there was the component around creation of the board, new construction, and the
second component, which is the part around
existing infrastructure that you can ultimately
rehab and get online quicker. So while we're
waiting for the green social housing, the board, and all
of that other infrastructure to take place, what are we doing around
the other part of the green social housing, which was
negotiated, that allows for
existing buildings that are vacant to come online at a
reduced cost, which are maybe a third to half the cost of
building affordable units. So where are we at with that process? And Mr.
Chairman, if this is not the venue to get that response, I would request that at
some point we could have a hearing around where we're at with green social housing,
given the fact that there's a $1.25 billion bond that was
passed, as well as
the need to get people in heads and beds quick.
So if it's appropriate, I can get a response.
If not, I'd love to see if we could have further discussion around this, Mr.
Chairman.
Yeah.
Do you want to just-
Sure
... add, and then we're happy to have a-
Thank you
... a more expanded conversation. But go ahead.
Thank you, Alderman. Again, Matt Stern, Deputy Commissioner of the Housing
Department, for the record.
So yes, we're very excited about our progress on the social housing program.
The board was seated last year and has been working to establish the beginnings of
the nonprofit.
And we are just beginning to hire and actually
launch the organization as an independent organization.
So we're expecting to see developments progress this fall.
The
new construction and the rehab and acquisition authorization
under the ordinance are both authorizations for the
nonprofit to work in. And so
the
movement of any potential acquisition rehab project,
like any new construction project, also hinged on the establishment of the
organization and the hiring of staff. So that's the short answer.
Both elements of the program remain
so authorized and directed by council for CRIF to pursue.
And we're hoping this fall begins some pursuit
of properties in earnest.
Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Thank you, Alderman Villegas, and we're happy to report back as we move along with
the green social housing. We have Alderwoman Metz next
Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
First I would like to be added for the purpose of the quorum.
Yes, putting you added on the quorum.
Thank you.
In my hearing of the briefing that we had,
can you talk a little about
how this process,
in terms of consolidating all the effort, and
where do people call if they're looking for affordable
housing, and what line?
Is that going to be with 311? If you can explain that for me.
Yes, ma'am. Thank you so much for the question, Alderperson.
So the numbers will still be the same in terms of
operations. So we're not changing the entry
points for the way that people are
currently utilizing entry points
into our
housing system. So that number will still be the
same. With the Mayor's Office of Homelessness now being in
origination, we do get quite a few constituent
concerns on a daily basis. So we're also
establishing ourself as an entry point, and we can coordinate.
But in terms of operationally, we're still working across
the full entirety, the totality
of the systems that we have in place, and the full force of
government is behind this. So the 311 entry system is
still going to be the number that we want to call, and there are variations of it.
So sometimes that'll come through a connection with
CPD. There will be times where people are working directly with
DFSS. So all of those venues will still be
open. And additionally, I have to continue to highlight
this, but with Care
going citywide today, that'll also be another area where we
have an entry point into this.
And for
the youth,
how are we going to be addressing
youth homelessness, as we're talking about homelessness?
Is that going to come through
this agency now working with DCFS?
So we will still be able-- Thank you for the question, Alder, we'll still be able
to bring them in through DFSS. I'm actually really glad that you
asked that because something that I've been working on as well is
establishing specific CPS schools as entry
points, and so this is something that we're discussing in terms of
piloting right now. But we found
that
with the disproportionate number of youth and students who are facing
housing instability and homelessness in our city, that
there's a lot more work to be done in terms of our partnership
with CPS and also our community colleges.
So we are having conversations with them right now in terms of
creating a
navigation system within CPS schools that
will liaise essentially with DFSS, they'll be trained on
our HMIS systems, so that when appropriate and when
necessary, representatives
from within the school will be able to get families on the wait
list for housing.
So that is something that will be piloted hopefully later this year.
We're finishing up the details right now on it.
Help me understand if I'm correct, that there's no
amount
attached any different? These are departments working
across lines to implement this program.
A dollar amount.
You're asking about the dollar amount?
Yes.
So
it will be a combination of both. So we currently do have over
100 programs,
to the tune of roughly $340 million doing this work.
So we're investing significantly in these programs right now.
Some of that will be the reallocation of our current resources
to support initiatives that are coming out of the blueprint.
But also understanding that this is a very large, multi-layered
problem. We know that the budget and additional
cost is going to be a concern to people.
So as we approach the pillars work and our work groups are coming up with
initiatives that we will be piloting in years two through five,
throughout the five years of this process, we're also identifying corporate
partners, we're identifying grants that will allow us to pilot.
And philanthropy is actually on the table, and we're still
pursuing dedicated funding to support
with this work. So we will be working with electeds,
our partners in the community, our partners really everywhere doing this work
to make sure that as we
develop interventions and
pilot them, we're also connecting those to appropriate funding
streams.
That may or may not be a reallocation of current funding or
a new line of funding that we've developed within our pillars
work groups.
Right.
One other question I have, and that is
regarding
landlords, homeowners who are renting
their property.
At some point in time, I understand that you're going to be
trying to...
They have to come online, and
you'll be looking into
if any discrepancies is being
givenIn the selections of tenants.
Can you explain that?
I'm so sorry, Alderperson, I didn't catch.
You said at some point in time I'll be facing-
Well, at some point in time during this process of the pilot
program, you're looking to expand it, correct?
To include more of
homeowners that
are offering
lower rent.
I'm not sure. Are you-
Are you not
... are you potentially referencing AHAD right
now?
Yes.
Alderwoman, I think that is the third item.
Okay.
So yeah. We'll get to that. Sorry for the mix-up.
Okay.
We're just finishing up the
homelessness report.
Okay. Very good. All right, thank you. That'll be it for me.
Thank you so much, Alderperson. I appreciate it.
Okay.
Thank you, Alderperson.
If there's no other questions, can I renew the motion from Alderperson
Manapapantworth? Or there was... Oh, Alderwoman Clay, sorry.
No, you're okay?
Okay. So renew the motion by Alderperson Manapapantworth
to move on this item. All those in favor say "aye."
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 on May 20th, 2026.
Thank you, Joanna, and the members of the DOH for your report.
Thank you so much.
We'll follow up soon.
Next, we have a substitute for the next item.
Changes to the ordinance will be explained by the lead sponsor.
Copies of the substitute have been emailed or handed out to committee members in
your packets. Item number two is an aldermanic introduction from Alderwoman Clay,
Substitute Ordinance
2026-0024086,
Amendment of Municipal Code Sections
14X-18-08-802.2.2
and 14X-8-82-3.2,
to modify dates for
minimum temperature requirements in dwelling units, sleeping
units, and indoor occupiable work spaces.
Can I get a motion to accept the substitute?
So moved by Alderwoman Rosana Rodriguez Sanchez.
All those in favor say "aye." All those opposed say "nay." In the opinion of the
chair, the ayes have it, the substitute is before us.
The briefings on this item were held also last month, and all committee members
received a one-pager via email in your packets today.
Everybody has that on your packets. Otherwise, let us know.
We'll have the lead sponsor, Alderwoman Clay,
who will speak on the item, and then we'll also be joined by Grant Ulrich,
Managing Deputy Commissioner of DOB,
to answer any questions.
Alderwoman Clay, are you going to start us?
We're checking on you often.
There we go. Thanks for checking on me, Chairman.
And thank you so much to my colleagues who sit up here.
Also, thank you to the audience. I know every time we have another committee
meeting, it turns into more than what you bargained for.
But that's democracy- ... right? So appreciate you all for being a part of
the process. And what I'm proposing today is
basically that our neighbors came to us.
My ward, you all, for some of you who do not know, is in the 46th Ward.
We are one of the densest wards in the entire city of
Chicago. My largest, highest building has
50 stories. Right?
And so as you can imagine, living in some of these units
as we are encountering
climate change, that's also heavily affecting the
livability in some of the units of these buildings when it comes to the
temperatures changing. And a lot of these buildings along the lakefront and
other parts of the city are really historic.
Some of them over 100 years old. And so their heating and cooling
system is interconnected, right?
And because of that, we currently require you to have
the temperature set in a unit at a certain
degree, and all we're trying to do, you all, is give a buffer to that.
So we're trying to be a little bit more flexible, open the period to when you
have to have it at that minimum temperature in the spring by a month, and
then in the fall going into the winter months by two weeks.
And I know you're like, "Wow, two weeks." No, that's a huge deal
because as our temperatures change, people are in their homes,
some of them who are our elders, living in really inhumane
conditions because of the heat, right?
And so we're trying to be as
thoughtful as possible and take into account people's livability and the
climate's changing, and also collaborating.
We did a really extensive outreach to our lakefront alders.
We included our neighbors and our business
partners. BOMA was especially crucial in this because we wanted
to talk to the building operators. I want to talk to my engineers.
I know the folks who will be pulling the plug on this, so wanted to get their
feedback, and they were thoroughly supportive of this.
So, here for any questions. It's called the Flexible Heat
Ordinance. It's my first legislative
passage.
So really excited about this and really hope that I
can gain your support.
All right. Alderwoman Hadden?
Well, I wasn't going to say anything, but since it's your first- ...
your first legislative effort,
I want to commend Alderwoman Clay on this
difficult but meaningful work. So I know there were some comments from
the public comment as well, and for those listening in the audience
Sometimes the problems that we're called upon to solve as
legislators
don't necessarily seem like the big ones, right?
We're here, we're talking about solving for homelessness and housing.
But I'll say that this is meaningful.
And it's
great work to bring together so many of the stakeholder groups to do
this.
In 2022, we
worked on some legislation that touched on this a little bit, but mainly from the
other side.
And giving the flexibility around the heating, particularly
for these two-pipe systems, is going to save
lives. Right? We lost three senior citizens in a
building in my ward due to a heat wave in May.
Which, as we are here in May, and it's been chilly all this week,
it's hard to think about. But climate change is real, and this is having a
huge impact. So I'm really excited to support this.
Thank you for bringing this up. Thank you for taking all the time to work on this.
And knowing that
Grant and DOB is well-versed in this, but
also to my colleagues and I guess residents
in the community,
things are continually changing.
So what we've got before us is going to be the thing that works
for us now. But there's a reason why we have jobs and our code
evolves. And I'm really glad that,
and it speaks a lot about you as an alderperson, that your community members
were facing a problem and brought something to you.
All that to say, in two or three years, we don't know what the
climate's going to be, but you guys might have to come back to Alderwoman Clay
again for any amendments. But this is fantastic,
and just happy to support this. Thank you for doing this. Thank you, Chair.
Thank you. Any other alderpersons?
Otherwise, can I have a motion to move on this item?
So moved by Alderperson Fuentes. All those in favor say aye.
All that oppose nay. In the opinion of the chair, the ayes have it.
And congratulations, Alderwoman Clay.
The do pass recommendation of this substitute ordinance will be reported out at the
next city council meeting on May 20th, 2026.
And Alderman Clay, actually, you had perfect attendance today.
So you actually bring the good items in front of us.
Keep bringing them on.
Thank you so much. We have a substitute ordinance for the next item as
well. Changes to the ordinance will be explained by the lead sponsor.
Copies of the substitute have been emailed and handed out to committee members in
your packets. Item number three is an aldermanic
introduction by Alderwoman Hadden, Substitute Ordinance
2024-0012422, Amendment to Municipal
Code Title 5 by adding new Chapter 5-30,
entitled Centralized Listing Portal Working Group Ordinance.
Can I get a motion to accept the substitute?
So moved by Alderperson Anna Appenworth. All those in favor say aye.
All those opposed say nay. In the opinion of the chair, the ayes have it.
The substitute is now before us. All committee members were
invited to attend briefings last week on this item.
We also have received a one-pager via email in your packets.
You're all going to see that today.
We'll have the lead sponsor, Alderwoman Hadden, give the opening remarks,
and Emily Coffey from the Chicago Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights,
Don Washington for Chicago Housing Initiative,
to also add to this important
ordinance. Sean Mills from
AHAD Coalition and Edwin Ortiz Reyes,
Director of Planning, Research, and Development for DOH also
are here, and Donovan Harvey, Director of Housing from
the mayor's office, also here to respond to any questions
by committee members. So we start by the chief sponsor of this ordinance,
Alderwoman Hadden.
Thank you, Chair.
I hope we
are as maybe brief as item number two.
Maybe we don't need to talk too much.
So I want to thank the committee for considering this item.
What you have before you in the one-pager,
the Substitute Centralized Affordable Housing Listing Portal Ordinance.
You heard from many public speakers.
So I'll start with
SHY, other community organizations,
individuals. For years, including our
own Alderwoman Taylor,
we've all heard
the issues with how difficult it is to
find affordable housing in Chicago and to navigate
the multiple systems of wait lists.
So where we started with this
ordinance
predates this term even, right? But solving this issue.
So we are using public funds through LIHTEC funds, through
ARO units to support
affordable housing throughout the city.
We want to have, I think, what was it? Heads in beds was the term, right?
We're trying to get people in the units.
As an alderperson, you all know residents call, they come
into our office,
and they're looking for housing. Whether it's, hey, their building's been
purchased, somebody's rehabbing, they have to leave.
Their living situation's changed. They're aging in place.
They need a place that's accessible.
There are many reasons why, in our lives and what we see in our
offices, constituents need help finding housing.
And right now, the tools we have available to us vary
drastically. Do you have a nonprofit in your
community that, like we do, Northside Community Resources, that works with
us to manually call apartment
buildings and landlords and see what's available?
Do you have a large development with a lot of ARO units?
It's really the experience that you have, as you heard from some of the public
speakers, really depends on where you live,
and that shouldn't be the case.You also heard from speakers,
the frustration, right? In how much money we put towards
housing in trying to develop and maintain affordable
housing, and how for the money that we're putting out, sometimes our
constituents feel like they're not seeing
the output of that. Right? They're not benefiting from it.
So what's before you today is what we believe is the best way to
solve this issue.
Working with Ida, working with the Department of Housing,
we plan to use an existing portal. While it's a little
clunky, it's not our favorite, but Illinois Housing
Search,
Ida's website currently already has 3,700
affordable units listed.
Working with the department and talking to some of the housing providers, we've
also recognized there are a lot of systemic kind of
procedural things that make it
bureaucratically difficult to go from our affordable units
to matching things easily with residents.
We know that what we eventually want to provide is a really user-friendly,
multilingual, accessible tool that any one of our
constituents can easily use to find the housing units
that are available. But it's going to take a little more than
fantastic
tech partners,
like Sean, to create the tools. We need to also work with the
departments and all of our stakeholders in order to figure
out the process problems that are going to allow us to create
that portal that really makes people's lives easier.
So,
thanks to Ida for agreeing to work with us in this portal.
We'll be able to use an existing tool without any cost
to work with willing stakeholders, from
people who've been looking for housing and community partners to
housing providers who work with LIHTAC and ARO units,
the Department of Housing, CHA, and Ida,
in order to kind of figure out our process.
So this working group would work over the next two years, we look for them to
start in August, to solve these problems, work out the process
issues, and come forth with a recommendation on the portal
that could also streamline that application process for the units.
So, this is what we're seeking to do.
I appreciate those who attended the briefings.
And Chairman, I know that my lead co-sponsor, Chairman
Villegas, also wants to say a bit about this work.
Go ahead, Alderman Villegas.
Thank you, Chairman, and thank you, Chairwoman Hadden, for leading on
this. My interest in this is, as someone
who grew up in Chicago Housing Authority and
my mom was a renter for over 20 years.
Making it easier for folks in the city of Chicago that want to find housing,
especially affordable housing, is the right thing to do.
My other reason for getting on board with this is, as a veteran,
it's that community that's often spoken about when we talk about homelessness, and
I want to thank my colleagues in this council for earlier
this term passing an ordinance that took a look at setting
aside 10% of affordable units for veterans for 30
days in order to capture some of the VASH vouchers there.
And so as veterans are coming back and are transitioning from serving our
country, I think it's incumbent that they have the opportunity
and an easy way to access units that are available,
especially for those that have VASH vouchers.
And so I want to thank my colleague from the 49th Ward
for putting forward this compromise
and getting this working group put together so that way we can finally
get something done. But I hope it takes less than two years.
Because the reality is that what we're seeing here in government
is that we have these big issues, and there isn't a sense of urgency from
government. And so I would hope that this mission gets accomplished
quicker. But I do want to thank my colleague, as well as the
working group that brought this initially to Alderwoman Hadden and I,
because this was a great initiative and I'm glad that we're finally at this point.
And at the proper time, Mr. Chairman, I would hope that all our colleagues support
this. Thank you.
Thank you. We're going to start first with,
I think Don and Emily for
remarks, and then we're going to open it up for questions for the rest of the
panel. Or Leslie?
Good afternoon.
Oh, sorry. Leslie first.
Hi, Chairman. Sorry. My name's Leslie Perkins.
I'm Chief of Staff and Policy Director for Alderwoman Hadden.
I do have a short presentation. I know the alderwoman covered most of
it. I'm not sure if tech can help us. Thank you.
Yeah.
And for those who were able to attend briefings, thank you.
This is going to be
a little redundant for you. But just to kind of give a little
bit of a 10,000 foot view of what we're trying to
accomplish here with the substitute ordinance.
With that, I am going to pass it over to Don Washington from the Chicago
Housing Initiative.
Hey, folks. Good to see you all.
I want to apologize. I have a little bit of a chemo brain, so my mind is full of
steroids, so I'm a little
emotional today.
That being said,
let's get this where it actually works here.
So what we have here is we talked about what was it that made us do
this?
This is a civil society public policy initiative, and it
started with input from frontline
CBOs, community-based organizations, and alders, like some
of you alders, called my office saying, "I don't know what to
do. Do you have housing?" I'm like, "You're the alder." So we had to
develop a program, right? So people have hurdles.
Right now, the stress is on people who are at their
worst moment looking for housing.
They have to do all the work. It's an uphill battle for them to find what
they need.
You don't have a tool to help them unless you have somebody that's immediately in
your catchment of relationships.
And you may not have relationships outside of your ward to get them the housing
that it's available.
And finally, the person just gives up. They're exhausted.
So what do we do?
We design this ordinance. It's got a pilot program that's on its
feet, like Gil said.
So there's a pilot program that's on its feet.
It's going to be doing things in real time,
that'll be taking input from the working group.
So you'll see it's an interactive process
happening in real time on the ground.
The pilot program is connecting people.
It's finding problems in process.
The working group is coming up with solutions.
The solutions get applied to the field. The field sees if it works.
We decide it does work, or if it doesn't work, we stop it, we start it, and we
find ways to have this be an interactive process where it's
helping people in real time and solving problems in real time, the way the
government is supposed to work.
It also shifts the dynamic from people looking for
housing to us, the system that's supposed to help
them find it.
We're also working with a number of philanthropic organizations, and
they believe that we have found a way that will create a system that can
transform this into a revenue maker for the city of Chicago, not
just under the service that we should be providing already.
Finally, this creates a tool that will provide the city council, this city council,
but more importantly, in the future, there'll be people sitting in these chairs
that will not be us.
They will need a tool to help them help people in the same kind of
situations. So we're creating a tool for the future
for those folks that will allow you, the city council, to track every
dollar of affordable funding that's being used to create every unit of affordable
housing in the city so that you can see how effective each individual
program is. If this is not what you need, then you're in the wrong
work.
I'm supposed to be nicer today, but like I said, steroids have got ahold of me.
So last thing I want to say is,
I want to thank also Alders Lampada and Taylor, who
took this on in the darkest days when no one would talk to us, and
they fought really hard to make this thing happen.
And we've passed it along. It's changed, but I don't want
to forget the people who took a lot of slings and arrows for us early on.
So I'm going to give the mic back to Leslie to finish the presentation, but
my work here is done.
Thank you, Don.
So as you've heard, this ordinance, the substitute ordinance, does two things.
The first is it creates a pilot program
that is ready to launch right away.
Our Department of Housing has collaborated with
the Illinois Housing Development Authority
in order to strike an agreement that will allow our
city to use ilhousingsearch.org
to launch that pilot program right away.
And immediately, there are over 3,700 affordable units
that will be listed.
Looking forward, all future affordable units that receive any city
financing will be required to be listed on there.
So if you're getting LIHTC funds, CLIF funds, our Green Social
Housing Program, those will all be required to be listed on there.
And then through the rulemaking process, ARO units will also
be required to be listed on there moving forward.
It is not a portal to list CHA units, but there will be
buttons and links and whatnot in order to redirect and
connect people to CHA's website.
So what is the portal and the pilot program, and what it is
isn't. So the city is not going to act as a property manager here.
Housing providers are still responsible for maintaining
their own processes on screening and application.
So there's still a lot of autonomy and agencies afforded to our housing
providers. The city is just simply providing this tool where it will make
it easier for them to list their available units and to connect to prospective
tenants.
For tenants, it's going to really reduce the number of
obstacles that Don just described that they have to look, and
they will be able to go to one website, see what fits their needs and what part of
the city. They'll be able to see what sort of leasing
preferences there are, maybe disability preferences, maybe veteran
preferences. Maybe they need a family size unit, right?
They'll be able to see all of that. And the city here,
again, they're not the property manager, but they are providing the
tool in order to connect these two parties to each other, and they're
going to make sure that the database remains secure.
And we also have Sean here if you have any technical questions.
He developed a website at afarhome.org.
It's a really great interface, super user-friendly.
He has already spoken with our Department of Technology and
Innovation about opportunities to
work with that code that he developed to improve the interface and the user
experience while still drawing from that API from Ida's
website.
All right. The second component that you heard about is the working group.
So during our briefings, I want to note that this
list has not been updated, but we did update it to
include aldermanic representation.
So we'll have representatives from our Department of Housing, the
Department of Technology and Innovation, our Chicago Continuum of
Care, the Chicago Housing Authority, Ida, Philanthropy,
affordable housing NGOs, so those that
are property managers or build or develop affordable housing, and then
community-based organizations that work with tenants trying to find affordable
housing.
And then we'll have aldermanic representation on there as well with the chair
to the committee on housing and real estate.
And the
working group will also have to consult with at least five aldermen from
different regions of the city to make sure that they are
getting a diversefeedback and
experiences in navigating our affordable housing web.
They're going to make recommendations and explore a bunch of different needs.
So starting with budget and staffing, right, top of everyone's
mind always. They're going to see what the long-term costs are,
both for the technology as well as the city side
for any sort of maintenance that the city needs and
administrative work.
But a part of that, as Don mentioned, is they might also explore opportunities to
generate revenue or defray costs through
philanthropic and civic partnerships.
We've already been in touch with Metropolitan Planning Council and Great Cities
Institute, and they're excited to
explore that with the city here. They're also going to see
what it would take to make the permanent portal and what sort of information we
want listed on there, so leasing preferences, accessibility
features, wait list period,
eligibility and requirements. They'll also explore
what sort of reporting we want from our
Department of Housing as well as property owners.
So,
what sort of data? What sort of demographic data?
What sort of occupancy rates, vacant unit turnover time does
the city need? And how frequent are we looking to get that?
And what that's going to do ultimately is that's going to give us more
data as a city to see how effective our affordable
housing funding decisions are and be better prepared to make those
moving forward as well.
And then they'll work on a universal
application to further reduce some of those
barriers that tenants have. And then work with
delegate agencies that can serve as registration sites.
As Alderwoman Hadden mentioned, many of us have nonprofit organizations
in our ward that help
tenants already. So how can we go through a process to make
sure that people know where to go other than an alderman's office
to get help in getting connected to affordable
units?
So the working group, once
the ordinance is passed and published, it
will be established 45 days.
And then once it's established, it will meet about approximately
30 days after that. There is a minimum, so this is the floor, not
the ceiling. They'll be required to meet a minimum of three
times during the first six months, and then once every six months
thereafter. Of course, they can choose to meet more frequently.
They will be observing the pilot program,
making recommendations as needed, and also looking at the data that they get from
it in order to make their final recommendations.
We already talked a lot about the purpose, so we know this is to
just connect people to the existing units that
we have that can be really complex to identify
and locate. At the end of the two-year
period of the pilot program, the
working group will submit a written report outlining its recommendations to this
committee and the Department of Housing and DTI.
So just looking at a timeline. We had briefings on May 8th.
We're here today for committee.
We're hoping you guys will favorably consider this.
And then if this passes this committee today, it will go before city
council next week.
That pilot program is ready to go live immediately.
Early July, we'll have the working group established.
Early August will be their first meeting.
In June 2028, the pilot would sunset, and then October
2028, that final report will be due to this committee.
So that is our presentation. I will open it up, and I'm happy to go back and forth
between slides if need be.
Thank you. So we'll start with Alderman Burnett,
followed by Alderman Clay.
Thank you.
Oh, no.
Oh, follow me. It's Scott.
Sorry about that. I'm just following the...
We keep calling Alderman Clay. Alderman Burnett followed by Alderman Scott.
Thank you. First, I want to say thank you to Alderwoman Hadden
and her team for doing the work to get
this to the stage. I'm a little jealous.
I would've loved to be the one to introduce something like this,
because it's so important. As Alderman Vegas noted, there are so many issues with
our system in order to get, whether it's veterans, disabled folks, or
anyone who's, to your point, at the moment of crisis,
a house or a place to live is really challenging in our system.
And it shouldn't be as hard with the amount of technology that exists in this
world, but we all know how bureaucratic systems can work.
So this is a great first stage in order to get a system in place in order
to simplify a lot of these processes.
And in my ward, we have a ton of ARO
units that no one really understands how to get
into. And it ends up being the same cycle of
individuals who switch between new
units as they continue to become developed, which isn't the full
purpose of what this housing is for.
And so I just want to ask some questions just so that we know as this program
continues to go on and we do the pilot, that we are
including the stakeholders in the process of
learning how to engage with this tool as well.
And making sure that developers who are housing a lot of these
ARO units have a understanding and
education on how to upload their units, how folks
can engage with their, I don't
know if it's their property management system or whatever they use in order to
actually rent it. But even more so, how do we simplify and
work with the Department of Housing on making sure
folks who are qualified for these units go through one check and one process?
And so I just want to ask questions about what is the...
And I know this is still early because there's a whole process and a couple year
framework in order to get this study going.
But how much thought has gone into the engagement
between the private development community and
our-... city departments in order
to make sure that they're engaging together on this process.
Thank you, Alderman. So yeah, we wanted to make sure that there is
a seat at the table for the working group for our
developers, so they will have representation there.
Another thing that we heard as we were engaging with various
stakeholders in the development of this was some of the
bureaucratic obstacles that housing providers face in
getting tenants approved sometimes.
So part of the working group recommendations is also going to be to weigh in
on how to streamline that ARO approval process on the city
side. So, that is something that wasn't in the original ordinance that we
added to the substitute.
Awesome. And if we can go back to the timeline piece, and I appreciate
this, to understand when the pilot launches and the reporting,
the establishment of the working groups.
To the point you just made about the bureaucratic processes, there are going to be
some stages of this where we're going to have to change the way that we engage with
our Department of Housing. So I would implore you to come back to us earlier
than not, where you're hearing or seeing that there's major hiccups, so that if
there's anything the council could do in order to write it into ordinance
to make this an easier process for this system, please do.
I want the feedback earlier than not. This is going to be an iterative process.
No disrespect to any developer out there, but the engagement portion of this,
and understanding how we deal with the most vulnerable people,
it's going to take time for us to get that right.
And so if there's things that we can do from a city perspective to
ease that process, and we're not, to Alderman Villegas's point, waiting two
years down the road realizing that we have to structurally change
the way that our departments engage. I would prefer that to happen first.
I think I appreciate that, Alderman.
And I'll say, I think to Don's point,
our goal for this is to be able to have some of that real-time
data. And then just one more thing I'll say
is,
if you are an alderperson interested maybe
in being on the working group,
please let Chairman Sigcho-Lopez know.
And similarly, if you're working with developers or
housing providers, especially working with LIHTC or ARO units and you're
in conversation with them,
we don't have a list of people for the working group already, and I think
we've tried to been encouraging people to start thinking about some
recommendations for who should be in some of those seats. That would be helpful.
Well, I'm happy to be involved on both sides.
So,
Chairman, please write me down for that list. And thank you all.
Noted. Thank you. And Alderman Scott.
You were on-- Okay, fantastic. Now Alderman Clay.
For real this time. I just wanted
to say thank you to my colleague for putting this
together because
I feel like particularly in our neck of the woods, we deal with neighbors from
all walks of life. But the one thing that we hear
consistently is, "Where can I find affordable housing?"
And
as a young college student at DePaul, graduating soon and
googling, "Where can I find affordable housing in the city of Chicago?"
And trying not to get scammed, right?
Is a huge lift. When you factor
in accessibility, when you factor in
disabilities, it makes a huge difference to just
have one place that you can have reliable data,
not something that was there from 10 years ago and the phone number doesn't work.
And accurate listings, right? Because a lot of the places that we
are seeing don't match the photo.
Right? So this, when we talk about saving
lives, this is going to save so many lives
because people will have this data accessible to them.
I hope that we translate it in multiple languages. I have so many ideas.
So Chairman, I hope you put me down on that working group, because I think that
this is going to transform accessibility to not just
affordable housing, but quality housing in our neck of the woods.
So kudos, Chairwoman.
Thank you, Alderman Clay.
Any other questions?
Otherwise,
can I get a motion? Oh, Alderman LaSpada. Sorry, I didn't see you there.
No, it's less a question than a comment and-
Mm-hmm
... a thanks for the work that went into this, for the time that went into it.
Because you're not just solving this for renters,
as you pointed out. For our staff, when people come in,
now we have a tool to be helping them.
And I can tell you
almost as much as I hear from renters, you do hear from
landlords and housing providers, particularly with the ARO units, who say
consistently, "The biggest challenge for us
is finding tenants who are approved in a timely
fashion."
And I just want to take a moment to go back to
public comment,
because
government can be really cynical.
Sometimes, and sometimes in a justified way, there can be
cynicism
in the comments that are made. But to hear,
particularly
our guests and our constituents from Access Living,
told that their comments and their words
fall on deaf ears,
I hope some of them have an opportunity to listen to this after the
fact, because that is a demonstrably false and
cynical statement.Your words, your advocacy
matter. Your ability to live safely and
affordably and comfortably in the city of Chicago
matters. And
regardless of what they heard or were told in
this room today, I hope this legislation that is
passing today and will pass again on Wednesday is
a rebuke to that kind of cynicism.
Thank you very much. Thank you for your work.
Thank you, Alderman. And with that, we make a motion, Alderman, to move on this
item, but enthusiastically by Alderman Espada, and
actions do speak louder than words. So thank you so much for...
And all the advocates, I want to congratulate you for your perseverance.
I know that persistent advocacy is
something to be admired. So I want to thank every single one of you for coming, and
I want to congratulate you by Alderman Espada moving to pass.
All those in favor say aye. All opposed nay.
In the opinion of the chair, the ayes have it.
The do pass recommendation will be reported out at the next City Council meeting on
May 20, 2026.
Congratulations, everybody, again.
Item number four is ordinance
2026-0024945,
sale of city-owned property at
4321, 4323,
4324, 4327,
4329, 4333,
4335, 4339, 4341, and
4343 South Langley Avenue,
and 724, 736, 738, and 744
East 44th Street
in Ubuntu Village to Sunshine Management LLP
under the Tribe Block Builder and City Lots for Working Families in the
4th Ward. Brian O'Donnell from the Department of Housing
is going to be presenting, and we're just going to allow a few minutes for the
transition.
Yeah. So we got Alderman Ben Accenworth, Alderman Clay, Alderman Burnett.
No. Mm-hmm.
All right.
Thank you so much.
Oh, there we go.
All right. Thank you. So we have the item in front of us is
Brian O'Donnell from Department of Housing to talk about this Tribe Block Builder
and City Lots for Working Families in the 4th Ward.
Mm-hmm.
All right. We all ready, Brian?
All right.
Good afternoon, Chairman Sergio Lopez and committee members who stayed.
For the record, my name is Brian O'Donnell, representing the Department of Housing,
Home Ownership, and Neighborhood Preservation Bureau.
Also present on my left is Bonita Harrison of Sunshine Management
Limited Liability Partnership.
We are here today to ask for your favorable consideration for the sale of
lots to facilitate the construction of Ubuntu Village under the City
Lots for Working Families program,
City Lots hereafter for the sake of brevity, in the 4th Ward.
At its essence, the word Ubuntu highlights the interdependence of
individuals, asserting that one's humanity
is defined through relationships with others.
The word embodies values such as compassion, generosity, empathy, and
mutual respect, promoting the well-being of the community.
Here is a list of the 14 lots which are to be sold for $1 each,
as called for under the City Lots program.
The total land value is just over a million dollars,
and the sale will result in the construction of 14 buildings
as 11 three-unit buildings and three two-unit buildings, which are
proposed.
Thirty-nine three-bedroom dwelling units would be the result of a
successful build-out.
The lot values in the valuation column, which are higher than
$64,000, would trigger a 30-year recapture
mortgage for the home buyer.
Things lower than that, the values are forgiven over five years.
But those values do not trigger any reporting requirements
for the developer.
Last year's City Lots program amendment adjusted the
triggering values
for the mortgages and MBE/WBE and city resident
hiring for inflation and allow the values to be
adjusted annually.
Here is a map showing the lot cluster.
Most of the lots are on the 4300 block of South Langley,
with the remainder along 44th Street.
Under the City Lots program as amended last year, up to half of the
buildings could be sold at market prices,
the other half sold at prices determined to be affordable for households at
120% of the area median income.
Under last year's program amendment, the home buyer income can go as high
now as 150% of the area median income.
Prior to the amendment, the buyer income could be as high as
140% of the area median income.
But there's been no change in the pricing.
That would just set at 120%
AMI.This graphic is
useful as it indicates the buildings A through K will be three
flats,
with units marked L, M, and N on the bottom being the
two flats.
Were home buyer closings to occur today, the below market two
flat prices would be about $674,000,
while the below market three flat price would be about
$822,000.
Of course, the earliest we might expect home buyer closings is 2027,
and maximum prices would be calculated then.
Over the last two years, 47 building permits for three-unit
residences have been approved by the Department of Buildings and Grand Boulevard,
represented here with red dots.
23 of these buildings have been built.
Eight were sold as condominium buildings, and 15 were
sold as three-unit buildings.
The average market prices for the sales of three-unit buildings have been
$1.13 million, with the median price
slightly higher.
New construction two-unit average prices are difficult to come by, but a
recent sale was for $699,000.
But that only hit a two-bedroom rental unit, not a three-bedroom unit.
The estimated affordable prices are shown there in the bottom left of this
slide.
The current estimated total development cost for Ubuntu Village is
$10.4 million.
Each two-unit building TDC is estimated at
$571,000, and each three-unit building is
estimated to cost $767,000.
As you recall, other than the sale of land for $1 and building
permit fee reductions, the city provides no financial
assistance to developers under the program.
But we do offer BANNA subsidies to the buyers.
The applicant has letters of intent from CIC and
CCLF.
DOH policy is a simultaneous closing of the RDA with the
construction loans.
The remaining slides, which I'll go through relatively quickly, show the
variety of designs that will be built,
including this one, which is a corner lot at 44th and Langley.
Again, we are requesting your favorable consideration for the sale of 14
lots for $1 under the terms of the City Lots for Working Families
program.
If there are any questions, Bonita or I will try to answer them.
Thank you. This concludes the presentation.
Any questions by committee members? Alderman Mahan. Alderman Mahan.
Thank you so much for the presentation. This looks very exciting.
Mainly my question is because I was outside for most of your presentation, so I
apologize. I'm done with our victory lap.
I understand.
If you could, just for me, what's a bit of your
timeline, right? So, let's say this step is done.
What are your best hopes on the timeframe?
And with 14 lots, are you looking at phases of
development?
Yes, absolutely. Thank you so much. Hello, council.
I appreciate you guys. Yes, we would do basically three
phases. And so we typically take them in tranches of five.
So the first five would start, say, day one, day zero.
It normally takes us about 90 days to 120 days for a complete
construction. At that point, we're pretty much
finalized with that first phase. Second phase would
start at that point as well, and then the third phase.
So the absorption time for these units are less than 30 days on the market
at market rate. We've already pipelined 42 buyers.
We've been working with community organizations, Kenwood Oakland Community
Organization, and It Takes a Village School.
So we've already pipelined our buyers for this, so we expect our process to go a
little bit quicker than normally.
So it will happen in three tranches, so five, five, and three.
Thank you.
Alderman Clay.
There we go.
Just wanted to get more clarity on who you're using for
construction and trades. Obviously, this is a huge project,
and wanted to make sure that we have equal representation across the board,
especially in our community. So if you could share a little bit more information
about that.
Absolutely. Thank you. Well, we are a vertically integrated
company. So I have a general contracting company, which is Third Eye, so
we would lead the construction of this.
We've worked with our trades for over 20 years, and all of our trades
are either Black or brown. So we have great representation in the
community. So 100% of
our trades are from the community, including our architects
and surveyors are LR PAS, so they're
also of the community.
Structural
engineer also is Black guy, so we
have a lot of representation that represents the actual
community.
Thank you for that. If you could get a list of that through the chair, only because
I'm developing in other parts of the city and want to make sure that we are
collecting as much data on who's out there, who can we depend on,
to also continue to build in other parts of the city.
That was my question, Chair.
Okay.
Thank you.
Any other questions?Just a clarifying question.
Is this about three units per lot, more or less?
We have 10 three-units and three
two-units.
Okay.
11 three-units.
11. I'm sorry.
11. Okay. Just for the sake of clarity. That's all.
Thank you so much.
If
there are not any questions, can I have a motion to move?
So moved by Alder Womack-Hadden. 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 these ordinance will be reported out at the next
city council meeting on May 20, 2026.
Thank you so much.
Thank you very much.
Thank you all.
Thank you, and congratulations.
Item number five is Ordinance
2026-0024951, sale of city-owned
property at 4225 South St. Lawrence
Avenue to Jacob Da Builder Inc., under Chi Block
Builder in the 4th Ward. Thomas Bellino from the Department of Planning and
Development is here to testify of this ordinance. Thank you, Thomas.
Thank you. Good afternoon. For the record, my name is Thomas Bellino, at the
Department of Planning and Development.
I have two items today. The first one is requesting authorization for sale of
city-owned land at 4225 South St. Lawrence
Avenue.
It is located in the 4th Ward, and we have the support of
Alderman Robinson. This is one city-owned lot, and
the applicant is offering market value price, which is
$70,470.
The applicant is Joseph Doschay, who runs Jacob Da Builder
development firm.
And the total development cost of this project
will be 680,000 approximately. So I'm going to present
two separate land sales that are basically identical,
but they are separate, so we have to go through it twice.
But you can see there,
the street view of the current
condition. On the left is the one that we're discussing now,
4225 South St. Lawrence.
The zoning is RT4, and there is no proposed change.
This proposed project complies with that zoning district.
And an overview of the project is a construction of a three-unit rental
masonry building and garage parking for three cars.
The lot dimensions are 25 feet by 135 feet.
For land disposition, net area of
3,375 feet, and the development area will be a
little over 4,000 square feet.
There's some detailed project financials there.
And this is a site plan here with St.
Lawrence Avenue on the left and the alley and proposed garage on the
right.
These are the elevations, the front-facing, the street-facing
one being that upper left,
and the sides and the rear being on the lower right.
You can see the face brick is being extended
relatively far down the side of the building at the request of
DPD and the alderman.
These are the floor plans here.
And the third floor plan. The
basement and first floor are one unit, and then the
second floor and the third floor are each one unit as well.
So that's all I have on this one. Happy to go back and answer any questions that
you might have.
Thank you, Thomas. Any questions by committee members?
No questions. Otherwise, can I have a motion to move on this item?
So moved.
By Alderman Espada. All those in favor say aye.
Aye.
All those opposed say nay. In 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 May 20th, 2026.
Next item is item number six, Ordinance
2026-0024952, sale of
city-owned property at 4231 South St.
Lawrence Avenue to Jacob Da Builder, again, under Chi Block Builder in the
4th Ward. And Thomas Bellino again to present on this item.
Hello. Good afternoon. Thomas Bellino again from Department of Planning and
Development,
requesting authorization for the sale of city-owned land at
4231 South St. Lawrence Avenue.
Again, this is in the 4th Ward, and we have the support of
Alderman Robinson. The applicant is offering
market value, which is $71,617.
There is the current condition, and now we're discussing the parcel on the right,
4231 South St. Lawrence.
Zoning is the same, RT4, and the project complies with
that zoning district. So there's no change proposed.
And again, it's the construction of a three-unit rental masonry
building and garage parking for three cars.
Everything I stated in the previous
item applies here as well.
This is the site plan again,
the elevations,
and the floor plans.
So I'm happy to go back and answer any questions.
And I should have mentioned that Joseph Doschay is here,
if you have any questions for him specifically.
Thank you. Are there any questions by committee members?
No questions.
Can I get a motion then to move on this item by Alderperson Anna Happenworth?
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 on May 20, 2026.
Item seven is ordinance 2026, and thank you, Thomas.
Thank you.
Item number seven is ordinance 2026-0024948,
sale of city-owned property at 1147 South Independence
Boulevard
to Rosede Property LLC under the Chi Block Builder
in the 24th Ward. Meg Gibsonson from the Department of Planning is
here to present on this item. Thank you, Meg.
Thank you everyone. I have a fewIn a row here.
My first one is a market-rate land sale.
This is located at 1147 South Independence
Boulevard.
It is the sale of one PIN for full market value at
$17,511.
This is the zoning map. You'll see it outlined here in red,
and the aerial.
The car wash exists, and this would expand
their
footprint.
They're also currently in for a zoning change concurrently.
Or, yes, concurrently. Here is the site plan.
You'll see the parcel to the top of the
site is the expansion,
and we have the support of Alderman Scott.
Here's the support letter and an outline of their
budget.
I also have the applicants here if there are any detailed questions.
Thank you very much.
Thank you, Meg. Are there any questions by committee members?
Or Alderwoman Scott, anything to add?
299 last
count.
Oh.
Can you give her the mic? Yeah.
And so,
thank you. They opened a month ago, and so that extra space is needed.
And like I said, it's filling up the vacant lots that we currently
have. And so, thank you.
Thank you. So, I have a motion to move by Alderman Espada.
All those in favor say aye. All those opposed 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 on May 20, 2026.
Item number eight, ordinance
20260024949, sale of
city-owned property at 6800 and 6802
South Hermitage Avenue to Wood Street Collective LLC,
under Check Block Builder in the 17th Ward.
Meg Gustafson again from DPD to present on this item.
Great. Thanks very much. Meg Gustafson, Department of Planning and Development.
This land sale is for urban agriculture.
It's located at 6800 through 6802 South
Hermitage. It's two pins. Under the urban agriculture
type, we sell these
pins for $1 per parcel.
The market value for both is $12,000.
This is in Alderman Moore's ward, and he is supportive.
Here it shows the zoning map,
and the context photo.
The budget that Wood Street Collective
has presented is about $28,000. You can see their site
plan on the right. This is going to be a fruit and nut tree
orchard mostly.
And they have a $99,000 grant from the Morton
Arboretum.
I have a photo here of a previous land sale
from about a year ago at 6234 South Wolcott.
Just for context, they're doing good things
with gardens.
And there is one of their greenhouses.
I can now take any questions. Thank you.
I'll go back to the site plan.
Thank you, Meg.
Screen. Oh, thank you.
Is there any questions by committee members?
Great.
Alderman Espada?
I mean, so many questions. Is this going to be
indoor greenhouse? Because I struggle to figure out peaches growing
in Chicago.
Great question. I don't think I have anyone from Wood Street.
Oh, there they are.
Maybe Wood Street could answer some of these questions.
Would you guys like to come up?
Yeah, if you can please come to the front and just...
Yeah. Please have a seat.
You're welcome to come, or we can pass you the mic. Don't worry either way.
Yeah, and it's always good to see
the faces behind the names.
Oh, yeah.
Oh, sure.
Please go ahead. If we can pass her the mic.
And growing peaches. I actually lived
over there.
Oh.
And I had the biggest, the prettiest, the sweetest
peaches in Chicago.
Very well.
I'm waiting on your,
I'm waiting on it.
Please. Please.
Sorry.
Thank you so much. That's alright.
We just want to collaborate.
That's alright. That's the best advertising I got in all day, so
Go ahead. If you can just please say your name and for the record.
Yeah. Thank you all for having us today.
I'm Martel, the executive director of Wood Street Collective.
Wood Street Collective, we have been around for about two years.
I'm actually a native of the Englewood community.
Just being a part of the civil engagement, just being
young.
Yeah. Me and my friend, we actually found
our inspiration in wanting to build these green spaces just
starting off in these vacant lots, hosting barbecues, spoken words,
and open mics, and we like, "Hey, let's get serious." And with a collective of
our friends, it was by the grace of God and our community, we able to pull this
thing off. And yeah, as
a Black man myself,
these, I would say
urban spaces or green spaces were very unfamiliar to myself, but I
meditate in these spaces now. I
feed birds in these spaces now. And
I would say the more
our
community members and us as an organization coexist in these
spaces,
we able to share
relationships and our likeness. And we have folks from,
I would say, Chicago Line, from the back of the yards, from West
Englewood, from Englewood itself, come to our site
and able to share just different diverse backgrounds, and that's what
it's about, and that's what Chicago has been built on, so
That's awesome.
I really love it. I'll just close. I love it. I appreciate it.
When y'all are set up, let the chair know, because we would love to come
down and check it out. And after the first harvest, maybe we'll all make some pies
together.
Yes. I wanted to give a thank you shout-out to the Department of
Planning. They actually shouted us out on their website, so
thank you so much. I really appreciate it.
Alderman Hadden.
This is just more informational questions here.
This is a great plan.
I see the water access cost.
What kind of water access are you guys going to be able to get?
I know the hydrant's pointed there, but are they going to have some dedicated built
into this water access for what you need?
I'm going to actually give that question to my DOP. So you want to?
Hi all. I'm Nathan Haefelin, Director of Operations with Wood Street Collective.
Thank you all for having us today.
So we put forward this plan, I think about a year ago when we made the
initial block builder application.
So, we only had wanted to speak on the confirmed
funders that we had at that time. I can say that we have a few
pending grant applications that we feel very
optimistic about. So that water access budget line item is
based on the,
yeah, tapping into a hydrant, just having a seasonal permit to do that.
But pending some of these successful grant applications,
we are looking to fundraise for, yeah, a municipal water hookup.
Those run upwards of $30,000, but would be a huge
asset. It's something that we did previously at our other site.
So, we worked closely with an Englewood plumbing
company, and they gave us a great price, and we were able to move forward
with that in a previous, yeah, Chicago Growers work.
So yeah, if funding permitting, we would love to do that.
And then my last thing is really just a comment.
So would love contact information for you guys.
Up in Rogers Park,
we have a
city-owned park, Triangle Park, where we, community members,
started, I think it's probably been 10 years now, an apple orchard.
So we have a small apple orchard community members tend and
manage on some parkland. So yeah, Alderman
Tejada, we don't have peaches, but I'm excited about that.
So would love to connect you guys also with neighbors in my community
who've been doing that work as well. Thank you. Thanks, Chair.
Thank you, Alderman Hadden. Unless there's any other questions,
I've got a motion to move by Alderman Hadden. All those in favor say aye.
Aye.
All those opposed say nay. Any opinion of the Chair, the ayes have it.
The due pass recommendation will be reported out at the next city council meeting
on May 2026. Congratulations, and we'll be looking for
those peaches soon, and everything else you produce. We're looking forward to it.
Oh, man.
Very exciting.
Coming.
Yes, please invite us.
Going to your country.
Very inspiring. Thank you so much.
Please. Somebody was there for the '90s. Yeah.
All right.
Moving on.
Item number nine,
ordinance 2026.0024950, sale
of city-owned property at 1150 and 1152 North
Mayfield Avenue to Sewed Up Farms under the Check Block
builder in the 29th Ward. Meg Gustafson again from
DPD to present of this item. Thank you, Meg.
Thank you. Meg Gustafson, Department of Planning and Development.
This is an open space land sale at 1150 through
52 North Mayfield. It's two pins in Alderman Tallia
Ferrel's ward, and we have his support.
I have Shamika Jones here, who is the
founder of Sewed Up Farms, a non-for-profit.
This will be sold at 10% of market value as an open space,
which is $4,354.
You can see the location here at Division in Mayfield.
And
Shamika
plans to do
15 raised garden beds and is working with
Austin Coming Together and the Chicago Botanic Garden.
Here are some site photos. This is actually an older site photo.
We have been working with Green Corps,
who cleared the site and has put up a new fence.
Here is a little bit about Shamika and Sewed Up Farms.
And here is the site plan. There will be an ADA-accessible bed,
a wash and pack shed, or ADA-accessible
beds, and then the production beds are in the middle.
Here is a rendering, and then below is what the fence will look
like that I think just went in last week that Green
Corps put up for us. The total
project cost is about $96,000, and
a lot of grants have been applied for and awarded.
And I'll let
Shamika talk about more of this if you have detailed
questions.
There's my letter of support, but that concludes my presentation for Sewed Up
Farms. Thank you very much.
Thank you. Do you want to say your name and title, please?
Hi, yes. My name is Shemika Jones, also Shemika Moore.
I got married, sorry. Sorry, hubby.
But yes, I am the owner and operator of Sewed Up Farms. We actually are for-profit.
I apologize for the confusion-
Sorry about that
... but we collaborate with other non-for-profits that I
work with personally and also connect with in the community.
So right now, we are operating out of
the Legend space on 43rd and Federal, which used to be the
Robert Taylor homes. We are a full-scale production doing specialty crops.
I do not do chickens and goats, even though you can in the city of Chicago, but
that is not my forte.
So right now, we operate off of one-fourth of an acre over in that
space. Last season, we were in about five farmers
markets. We do wholesale, retail, and direct to consumer.
And then this season, there was a hiccup with land access over there because that's
Chicago Housing Authority land, so we actually lost all of our production space.
But because of the relationships that we have with other community organizations,
we were able to work with Neighbor Space
to be a part of the FarmWorks Chicago site on
Kedzie and Fulton, which we've now reactivated, and that is also
full food production community garden site.
And so we've got about an eighth of an acre over there, and then we got the old
farm back over at Legend, so we have a fourth of an acre there.
And so the addition of this space would put us at right about of an acre,
which could produce a whole lot of food.
So just to share the impact this will have on the community,
I am a part of the Austin Town Hall Farmers Market.
I do live in Austin, and this land is in Austin, so it's five minutes from my home.
It makes production a lot easier, and it's also great because I get to
work with the neighborhood, I get to work with the children.
I'm really big proponent on sharing knowledge.
So we are working with the organization which I'm the development director on,
called Austin Garden Collective, in conjunction with Austin Coming
Together, to make sure that we are not
only doing food production, which is a necessity in the neighborhood of
Austin as the biggest geographical neighborhood with the lowest amount
of grocery stores.
And with the introduction of Forty Acres, we'll be working to make sure that we
have hyperlocal produce, but we also have a skill set introduced to the
neighborhood so they can understand actually what's happening and how to appreciate
the space and respect the space and maintain the space.
And we're also going to connect that with our existing community gardens,
and all the different infrastructures and organizations that are there.
We were very fortunate to be able to work with Green Corps for the development of
this project, so our site has actually expanded from the originally
proposed 12 raised beds. We were able to get 24 raised beds that are four
foot by eight feet, and then we have four ADA compliant raised beds that
are four feet by four feet. I'm a really big component of ADA.
I used to work for the Parks and the Disability Policy office, so in and out ADA.
Every space has to have ADA. My grandmother was also a paraplegic.
She was paralyzed from the flu shot.
So my whole life, I was raised by somebody who was disabled.
So it's a really big component in what goes into our site.
So we have those already up and running. The fence is there.
I'm happy to report that the neighbors are really ecstatic.
They're already asking me for the wintertime collard greens and all the good
stuff. And we're putting together programming to make the space work,
not only for food production, but for the community as well.
There was some loitering that was happening before.
We had some homeless people living on the lot.
The lot has been vacant for about 15 years, if I'm not mistaken.
Day two, everyone was gone, and everyone's like, "What's going
on here?" The neighbors are so happy, and they're just really
excited to see the space reactivated.
So thank you guys for listening to all of that. I really appreciate it.
And yes, I am the owner, the operator, sole owner.
It's operated by myself, my three children who are 5,
10, and 13. This was their idea. I had no idea I was going to be a farmer.
Went to school for architecture, so totally different.
And my wonderful husband, who's also in healthcare, specializing in behavioral
health right now. So we're really working to connect the gaps with holistic
wellness, getting kids interested in this early on, and just
changing the narrative about food.
Fantastic.
That's fantastic. Any questions, recommend-- Alderman Espada?
Just so that we're not just interested in peaches-
Shemika, you said not the chicken and goats weren't your forte.
What is your forte? What do you love that you make at Sewed Up Farms?
Yeah. So the easiest way for me to explain this, because we grow over 65 different
varieties of crops, is to say what I don't grow, which is corn, wheat, and soy.
But if you want that, I have a couple of friends who do grow that in the
city. We also try to work with other hyperlocal growers
because there is a lot of people out there who look like me, who have the skill
set. I was privileged. I went through the Windy City Harvest Apprenticeship and the
University of Illinois Master Urban Farmer Training Program.
So I'm a USDA acknowledged trained
farmer, or grower, as you would call it.
But there's a lot of safety features that go into this.
So we're small, but we're mighty when we work together.
So I could pretty much get you anything you want, even if it's purple grits.
Oh, cool.
Yeah. So yeah, we grow everything.
Wow.
I would say the community's favorite is these
beautiful tomatoes called Indigo Cherry.
They're a dark purple, but they taste like grapes.
And so at the market that I'm at, we have a lot of people
who can't eat stone fruit because they don't have teeth to be able to chew those.
And then in the fall, all you have is the apples and the pears.
The peaches are gone. Everybody loves the peaches, but they're gone.
And so those are a really, really good substitute, and then people understand why
tomato is considered a fruit.
There we go. Thank you so much.
You're welcome.
That's fantastic. So can I get a motion to move on this item?
So moved by Alderperson Fuentes. 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 these items will be reported out on the next city
council, May 20, 2026. Congratulations, and best of luck in your
endeavors. We hope to see you and visiting you soon.
Thank you.
Congratulations.
The last item.
This is the last item of the agenda.
Item 10 is ordinance
2026.0024953, sale of city-owned
property at 6515 South Aberdeen Street
to Janet Mosley Gaither,
6520 South Aberdeen Street to Justine Stephens, and
749 and 747 West 54th Street to Arica
Missionary Baptist Church in the 16th Ward.
Meg Gustafson, again, from the Department of Planning, is here to
testify on this ordinance, and we'll have also
some of the applicants here as well. Thank you, Meg.
Thank you very much.
Take us away.
Great.
The first two are both on Aberdeen, and I have the applicants
here. It's good to see you guys. The first one is
Janet Mosley Gaither.
That's me.
That's you.
6515 South
Aberdeen. This is
loosely, or definitely, connected to the Unblocked Englewood
initiative and group.
Janet lives on the block and
has the support of Alderman Coleman.
10% of market value for this lot is $623.
Here is the zoning map. You can see there's a lot of city-owned vacant
land in this area. Here is the
context photo
and a little bit about both of these lots
that I will let Janet and Justine tell you more about if you have
questions.
The total budget cost for 6515 is about $12,000,
$13,000.
They plan to fence it
and do native plants and a pathway.
And that concludes my presentation for 6515.
If you want me to do 6520, we can-
Yeah.
Great.
We can do it all together, and then of course, we'd love to hear from the
applicants.
These two together-
Yes
... because they are on the same block,
and they have the same site plan.
The second one is 6520 South Aberdeen.
It is across the street. Both of these are about 25 by
125. And this one at 10% of market
value is $839. Here it
is on the zoning map, and this is the site photo
for 6520 South Aberdeen.
I'd like to also add that the Chicago Bungalow
Association and Englewood Arts Collective is a
partner along with Unblocked Englewood.
The budget for this one is about $13,000.
It will include picnic tables,
native plants, and a pathway.
That concludes my presentation for those two.
I guess we could take any questions for those. Thank you.
Yeah, we can do those two. First, do you want maybe the applicants just introduce
themselves?
We'd love to hear from you.
My name is Justine
Mosley Stephens, and I'm trying to acquire
6520.
I am 77 years old.
I'm an ex-gang member.
I am a terrorist. I was worse than Bin Laden
when it came to Englewood, which I was reared in.
I helped destroy it.
My vision
was to put it back together,
and that's what I'm doing. That's what I'm about.
A lot of people,
the young people that was here today, I wish I had the opportunity to
talk to them.
We destroy,
and we destroy ourselves.
Nobody wants to admit that.
If we pick up, clean up, and put up,
our communities would not be in a disarray as they are
today.
65th and Aberdeen,
I have a young lady, where
here,
Amber and her organization, along with
Chicago Bungalow Association,
came to me
and offered,
and I said to them, "No."
They said, "The lady got to be crazy."
They came back a second time. I'm making a long story short.
I said, "No."
They came back a third time and said, "Why?" I said, "Because
I'm able to do my own work. I got a crew."
I had material, the whole nine yards.
I say, "But we have people out here that don't
have the monies, that don't have the skills."
My family, my siblings and I were raised
putting together, painting, doing, and the whole nine yards.
Mm.
But there were people that wasn't,
so they didn't know what to do with those properties that were left by the
grandmothers, the mothers, and they were falling.
So I said, "Let's get together
and let's help them, then you can come and help me."
And that's what happened. So the block of 65th and
Aberdeen is almost like the Gold
Coast.
We cut grass up and down from one end to the other.
We took those vacant lots. We had rats over there big as my head.
They're gone.
They're gone because why? We picked up the garbage.
We cut the weeds down.
We cleaned up those properties,
where now on my kitchen table, I have a list where
people are trying to get in there to rent.
I'm the biggest landlord on that side of town.
I own 10 propertiesI don't go
according to the market.
I want you to sit down, show me your check,
show me what you got coming in every month,
and then we're going to base your rent on that. Why?
So I don't want no excuse.
When the 1st come, I want my money.
Not the first chance you get to pay me, the first day of the month,
and I don't have no problems. So these vacant lots,
it's like a jewel to us in the 6500
block of Aberdeen. We don't have to worry about illegal
dumping-
Mm
... because we fence them off.
Mm.
And we watch. Every resident that's
available is security. Right now, we have
a contractor there as I speak, but we got
security watching our contractor so
won't anyone come in, rip him off for the trucks, the
material, and so on and so forth. This is what we have to do.
We have to come together as people, human
people,
and stop shifting the blame.
Mm.
You understand?
Mm.
A Section 8 calls me. "Miss Justine, well, we got a
tenant." "I don't care what you got.
Don't send them to me."
"Why, Justine?" "Because you give them move-in
papers to move in my unit, tear it up,
then you don't want to refund what they tow up to me,
and give them move-in papers to go and tear up hers." So I
stopped that.
You qualified. If you work, if you don't have a
job, I still go along with you.
I give you 90 days to find a job. I'm going to let you move in,
but you got 90 days to find a job,
because you're going to pay me. If I work, you work.
We give too much, people. We give
too much,
and we have to stop it
in order to make this thing in the city of Chicago
work.
They said
the rent is too high.
It's not the landlords. It's the tax, the
water bill, and the insurances. So we got to pass the
cost to somebody, but if you come out and help me, then I can
lower your cost.
And this is what we are about in the 6500
block of Aberdeen. I moved out of Englewood due to a
tax
problem I had
33 years ago. Nobody know I moved because I'm still there seven days a week,
including Sunday. I go to church right there,
and we watch that area. And I thank
God for the ART, Tamika,
Ambra,
Chicago Bungalow Association.
I thank God for them. And the people on that block
have got so involved, whereas they used to walk out their door,
wouldn't pick up a paper, piece of paper, sales paper.
They'd throw them, they'd leave them.
Now, it's like going to the Gold Coast,
and everybody is involved.
So what am I going to do with the lot?
What I've done with the other lots that I owned before this all started.
Keep them clean, cut, fenced.
When you want to have a baby shower, that's where you do it, because you won't do
it in the apartment. See, I don't rent banquet halls.
I want units for you to live in, and I don't want you on my front
porch.
Okay?
So this is what we are all about. Cleaning
up and fixing up. And these lots mean
something, not so much to me, but to that
block.
Mm.
Because it's security, it's safe, it's
clean, and we don't have to call out the rodents, people,
because we know what we're dealing with.
You understand? And this is what we're about.
I'm done.
Thank you so much. Thank you. Thank you very much. Any other...
Do you want to-
My name is Janet Gaither. Janet Mosley Gaither.
Her sister.
Okay.
But truthfully, the block, I moved out
of Englewood, and I think I was gone for over
20 years.
Mm.
But I always wanted to go back. That
neighborhood is like a village, truthfully.
When I did come back, they got blessed,
because the blessings come in when I come back.
The
work that's being done there, the organizations that came
in to do the work actually made the block
tighter. Instead of, "Hey, hey,"
there's actually
people coming outside and mingling together.
There are,
in some of the vacant lots, there's areas where you can just
sit and talk. We're two blocks from Ogden
Park, which I work for the park district, and the
park now, horrible,
but on the block, we can come out. What I want to do
with my lot is make a dog run
so the dogs in the neighborhood can have somewhere to
go. Run up and down freely, be fenced off,
and the owners have to stay with their dog, clean up behind
their dog, but a place for the dogs to go
and just be a dog.
That's all. Just be a dog instead of running the streets.
We do not have stray dogs. If we see a stray
dog, we call.We try
to keep-- Now, the cats are free, but the dogs, we do not
let run through there. We don't want dog poop all over
the place. We want the neighborhood to be clean.
And so far it is. And Justine's right.
There are no rodents. We cleaned them all up,
thanks to the
Streets and Sanitation. All we had to do was call our alderman.
Our alderman sent them out, and they just kept coming, kept coming,
until finally we have none. And then
individuals fought in their own houses.
So when they came in out the alley, if they made it
in, we fought them inside the houses, so there is none.
So it's pretty good. And it is a beautiful
area. I can't speak for other blocks because I go
home and stay home. But it's
beautiful. It's beautiful. It's like,
I don't know
Paradise. She won't tell you that the house she's in, I sold to her.
Oh, yeah, she sold it to me. She fussed.
She had some tenants. "I'm putting them so-and-so out.
I'm putting them out." I said, "You going to put them out?" "Yeah, I'm going to put
them out." I said, "Let me buy it." She said, "You want to buy it?" I
wanted to come back into the neighborhood.
So she said, "Yeah, you can buy it." So my daughter is a
real estate lawyer. She didn't know.
After she said, "I'll buy it," I called my daughter.
She going to sell that house.
I'd never seen the inside of the house.
Never seen it. She sold it to me. My daughter took care of the
business, and I got the house. And then the blessing.
That was-
I want to-
... blessing one
... I want to say to you-
Then the other blessings came.
I want to say to you,
city councils,
you all are doing a tremendous job.
I take my hat off to you. You're doing a hell of a job.
And I've worked with several of the older persons
myself.
Oh, yeah.
Closely worked with them. I headed up the Englewood
Back to School Parade for 25 years
nonstop.
And the 25 years before the parade, I took the children
in the Englewood community
away for the weekend to Cincinnati, Ohio,
for the entire weekend. Never had a problem.
And to know and understand politics,
you guys got a job.
And to take the abuse that you do,
I'd be in jail.
I'm done.
Thank you.
Thank you so much. If there's any questions by committee member...
Alderwoman Hadden.
Thank you so much.
Thank you for bringing this project before us. Thank you for sharing your story.
And my one question is, how do we get an invitation to come
visit
your block?
We're having a block club-
We're having a block-
... June 28th
June 28th.
At 65th
The block party. June 28th. Okay.
Please come.
We're asking all of you all, please come.
Please come.
Okay, what time?
All day.
The 27th.
It's the last Saturday of June.
Okay.
Last Saturday of June.
Please come.
Ever since this project started-
And bring your friends.
All right. Thank you.
Ever since this project started, we have had a
block party.
And it's not like a block club, it's a block party-
It is
... where we invite such as to come
out
And we have artists coming down our block
And it's amazing.
Yeah.
Oh my God, if you could see the
mural that was done by professional
artists.
And this young lady had to do this mural at night,
and she said, "I don't know how I'm going to do it.
I'm just going to come out and do it."
And the police department, Seventh District,
came out and asked me, "Miss, are
you Justine?" I said, "Yes." "What's going on?" Because
2:00 in the morning, you would've thought it was
2:00 in the day because of the
neighbors coming out, sitting,
eating chicken and fish, and we had some wine too.
To protect this young lady while she painted this
mural.
The workers feel good.
It's just awesome. We have professional cooks,
chefs, that comes out and
cater the food for us. We have vendors come out,
and the children. Bass School is at 65th
and May.
When the children get out of school, it's a pleasure.
They take that route because they want to see the block, and
you don't have to tell them.
They just don't do it anymore. No paper, no
nothing. It's amazing. So
art
brings out
more than we realize. So
personally, you all come out on the 7th of
June.
You can just ride-
And-
I just put it in my calendar. So I'm just saying, so I
show up.
Even the police department said, "What's going on?" They don't get any calls.
Not for that block.
It's a blessing, and it's something that should be
spreaded out-
Hmm. Okay
... over the City of Chicago. Anytime your gang
members, your drug dealers-
Hmm
... come and tell you,
"We done,"
you know it's something.
The music, if they playing music in the houses,
8:00, everything cuts offIt's really
quiet.
Oh, please come. Please come.
People are sitting out on the porch, just
chilling. It's beautiful.
It don't even seem like the heart of Englewood.
I call that area the heart of Englewood.
It's beautiful.
And it's spreading. It's spreading.
Yes, because we notice other blocks-
Yeah
... are cleaning up.
Yeah.
The adjacent blocks, they're cleaning up. They're fixing up.
They don't know we gave them-
People, let's go.
Oh.
Sorry.
Yes.
I'm sorry, y'all.
One more.
Thank you. So we got one more.
Yeah.
But thank you so much. We'll see you on the 27th.
I think that you... I think we're going to have one more, and we vote all of them
together.
One more.
On the seventh, that's right. 27th.
Here we go.
27th.
Okay, let's go.
Yep.
Thank you all.
Thank you so much, and congratulations.
What a blessing and-
It's 7:00
... and keep up the good work. Lead by example.
So
it's one more, right, Meg?
Great. This is the last one.
It's the last one.
It's grouped in the same ordinance.
They were all part of the same Chi Block Builder round, so law grouped them.
This one's also in the 16th Ward.
This is a land sale to Eureka Missionary Baptist Church, and I
have a representative here. He also gave testimony many hours
ago. And
here is the zoning map.
The church is just to the
west at 5401 South Halsted.
Here is the site. It's separated by the alley.
And they have a large master plan, but for the
purposes of this land sale, we're going to just talk about the first phase, which
is to fence the two city
lots, to fence them and do a path with planters and
some gates. So that first phase is about $23,000.
They have already spent money on their environmentals, and
we are set to close soon after this
approval, if we get your approval.
The larger second phase is a basketball court and
other types of uses. But for the purposes of this one,
we're just going to fence it. And we can answer any questions for you.
Thank you.
Thank you so much. Alderman Moore.
I just want to thank you for your patience.
I did appreciate your testimony earlier, so thank you for giving us background
about the church, about your mission, about what you're doing.
And so this looks like a fantastic use, so thank you for coming before us.
Thank you so much. Do you want to add anything else?
I know that you already spoken public comment, but you happy to add anything
else?
I just
want to say we really appreciate you all going through this.
Thank God for Meg for helping us out.
And I just want to say, I've been pastoring the church for the
last 42 years, so I'm used to being the last one
to leave.
So moved by Alderperson Fuentes. All those in favor say aye.
Those opposed say nay. In the opinion of the chair, the ayes have it.
The do pass recommendation on these three items will be reported out on May 20,
2026. Congratulations, and I commend you for your
leadership in your community. We need to see more of that throughout the city
indeed.
Thank you, Mr. Chair.
Thank you.
Thank you so much. And being no further business before the committee, can I get a
motion to adjourn? So moved by Alderperson Fuentes.
All those in favor say aye. Opposed nay.
In the opinion of the chair, the ayes have it.
The meeting on Committee on House and Real Estate is officially adjourned.
Thank you so much.