JCUA’s Rabbi Ali Abrams Speaks at Town Hall Meeting on Housing Rights

As part of JCUA’s support of the campaign to protect the rights of affordable housing voucher holders in Cook County, JCUA’s Rabbi Ali Abrams spoke at a Town Hall meeting on this issue on January 24, 2013. JCUA is committed to the struggle to ensure access to secure, decent, affordable housing in vibrant communities for all.

by Lauren Goldstein
Organizing and Advocacy Intern, JCUA

Today, in Chicago, we are fortunate enough that our city prohibits housing discrimination on the basis of a person’s source of income. Today, in Chicago, regardless of how an individual earns an income, they can use that income for housing. Our neighbors in Cook County outside of Chicago do not enjoy safeguards against discrimination.

The Cook County Human Rights Ordinance currently protects individuals from discrimination on the basis of a person’s source of income. HOWEVER, it specifically exempts people who hold Section 8 Housing Choice Vouchers. This means that a Cook County resident holding a Housing Choice Voucher may still be denied housing by a housing provider/landlord.

Unfortunately, we have seen that this is happening far too regularly in Cook County outside of Chicago, as many housing providers are refusing to rent to qualified vouvher-holding residents. This discrimination has become a proxy for other types of illegal discrimination based on race, familial status, and disability.

[Event 1/31] “Lawndale Conversations Series: The Contract Buyers League”

by Max Harkavy
Communications Intern, JCUA

On January 31^st at 6pm, the Hull House on UIC’s campus will be hosting an event titled “Lawndale Conversations Series: The Contract Buyers League.”  The Hull House is convening in partnership with the North Lawndale branch of Neighborhood Housing Services of Chicago (NHS), and the Jewish Council on Urban Affairs (JCUA) in order to raise awareness about the Contract Buyers League and the history of its neighborhoods, specifically North Lawndale.  North Lawndale has a rich narrative and many feel that in order to bring about change in the community this narrative has to be brought to light.

Contract Buyers League Protesters

The Contract Buyers League was a union of African Americans during the 1960s that fought the exploitative sale of homes to blacks through the selling of contracts.

“I think it’s really important to tell this story to make all the people that lived through it proud of their accomplishment, and to raise awareness among the younger population,” said John Wolf, an AmeriCorps VISTA volunteer for the NHS North Lawndale office.

Neighborhood Housing Services seeks to promote positive change from within the community.  Director Charles Leeks believes that, “In order to turn a neighborhood around, you have to recognize what the community has been.”  Leeks explained that sometimes people choose to ignore the community’s past, “if it is not convenient for them at any given moment.”  The goal of this event is to raise awareness of North Lawndale’s rich past and to foster pride from within.

Beryl Satter

There will be three guest speakers at the event.  The first is Beryl Satter, author of the book, “Family Properties: Race, Real Estate, and the Exploitation of Black Urban America” which tells the tale of the Contract Buyers League and the struggle against unfair housing practices that occurred throughout the 40s to the 70s.  Satter’s father was an attorney who fought for equal rights for African Americans during the time of the Contract Buyers League.

Clyde Ross

The second speaker will be Clyde Ross, who was at one time the co-chairman of the Contract Buyers League, and was recently named the recipient of the Neighborhood Heroes Award given to him by the NHS.  Ross still lives in the house he bought under contract.

Jack Macnamara

The final speaker is Jack Macnamara, a Jesuit seminary during the time of the Contract Buyers League.  He also worked as a community organizer that brought people together on issues concerning the Contract Buyers League in the 1960s.

“The image of community and the way north Lawndale is projected in the press is often negative but this event is a way of talking about positives from the community and one the biggest positives of North Lawndale is its history,” said Wolf.

Violence in Chicago: Why We Cannot Stand Idly By

by Rabbi Alison Abrams
Director of Organizing, JCUA

“At least 10 people shot Saturday”
“Chicago marks 500 homicides”
“7 shootings in 3 hours leave 2 dead, 5 wounded”

On a daily-even hourly- basis, Chicago is losing lives to violence, many of which are young people. The shootings are so consistent, that when I go to read the paper in the morning, the question is not whether someone was shot, but how many people were shot. Teens dying nightly? Innocent residents shot on their streets? This sounds like a scenario that belongs in a horror film, but it’s not, it is reality in 2013.

Those of us who live outside the communities most impacted by such violence might put down the newspaper after reading such headlines and go on with business as usual – getting to work, going to school, and so on. But there are many communities in our city where a young person dying as a result of violence is business as usual. Communities of families who constantly fear for their own lives and the lives of those they love.

Violence is a problem so overwhelming that some of us feel despair when we think about it. But despair is a luxury that none of us can afford if we are to live in a city that values all people, families, and communities.

At JCUA, we have always worked with the communities that are disproportionately impacted by racism and poverty. Pervasive violence in the city is a manifestation of these social ills. The violence we see is a result of oppressive systems that leave young people without prospects for decent jobs, quality education, and a hopeful future. Inspired by a tradition in which saving a life (“Pikuach Nefesh”) is reason enough to violate almost any Jewish law, we are called to respond to this reality.

Impacted communities are organizing and working to create meaningful change in their neighborhoods through varied and creative models of resistance. JCUA is exploring potential collaborations with our community partners, where we can have a meaningful and effective contribution in addressing these issues. Please reach out and connect with us as we find ways to enact our values and demonstrate our commitment to justice in the coming months. You can reach me at Alison@jcua.org.

Reporting on Recommendations for the Chicago Housing Authority

by Lauren Goldstein
JCUA intern

The Chicago public housing residents’ Central Advisory Council (CAC) recently published their recommendations to the Chicago Housing Authority. These recommendations shed light on systemic problems, and the need soar need for resident voices in the discussion about the future of public housing. JCUA’s Lauren Goldstein gives some background and explains the five main recommendations.
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Demolition at Cabrini Green

On November 30, 2012, a vast, diverse, and energetic crowd came together at the University of Illinois at Chicago Student Center to bear witness to an incredibly powerful presentation of a hopeful plan created by the Chicago public housing residents’ Central Advisory Council (CAC).

The CAC is a tenant organization recognized by the US Department of Housing and Urban Development that serves to represent public housing residents and provide resident input into the CHA’s policies via the participation of fourteen Local Advisory Council offices and seven mixed income communities.

The CAC presented their “Strategies and Recommendations Report,” which is a thorough set of recommendations for the Chicago Housing Authority to consider when moving forward with the Plan for Transformation 2.0.

This innovative report (which can be accessed here) was prepared by Lucas Greene Associates, LLC in partnership with Chicago Jobs Council, Heather D. Parish, Prim Lawrence Group, UIC Nathalie P. Voorhees Center for Neighborhood and Community Improvement, and We The People Media, but it was really made possible by the strong, persistent, enduring, and hardworking residents of the CHA who tirelessly work to have their voices heard, their needs represented and met, and their families, friends, and neighbors given the rights they deserve as human beings and fellow residents of Chicago.

What Happens to Displaced Public Housing Residents?

by Lauren Goldstein
Advocacy and Community Organizing Intern

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As part of JCUA’s work with the Chicago Housing Initiative’s “Lease Up!” campaign, we have been engaged in research on public housing in Chicago. Specifically, we are gathering data on where residents move when they are displaced from their homes due to demolition or redevelopment, and what those towns look like.

Given that part of the goal of the Plan for Transformation involves creating a less isolating environment for residents both racially and economically, we wanted to find out if these goals are being met. The question is: Where are Chicago’s public housing residents moving, and what kinds of opportunities exist once they arrive there.

The Facts

A study done at UIC shows that between 2000 and 2007, 55% of moves within Illinois of public housing residents occurred between the Chicago Housing Authority (CHA) and the Housing Authority of Cook County (HACC).  We looked into what towns in Cook County do have public housing developments in them, so that we could then paint a better picture of what life looks like in these new communities.

Chicago’s public housing residents moved to many different towns in Cook County, and we learned that many of them, over time, have in fact become racially segregated. Many of these towns…

Reminding Our Reps that Fiscal Health Requires a More Sensible Tax Approach

by Vadim Gershteyn
Advocacy and Community Organizing Intern

With Illinois deficit the worst in the nation, at an astounding $43.8 billion in the red, policymakers have to make difficult decisions about our nation’s fiscal responsibilities. Until recently, however, the responsibility has been shifted mostly onto the most poor and most vulnerable. On Friday, Nov. 9th, Jewish Council on Urban Affairs (JCUA) intern Vadim Y. Gershteyn joined Roots of Justice, IIRON, and others outside of Dick Durbin’s office in protesting proposed cuts to Medicaid and Medicare as part of the budget reduction strategy put forward by Congress. Medicare is a popular, highly-efficient program that remains solvent and fully-funded for at least twenty to eighty years. Medicaid is many people’s only safeguard against serious illness or even death. The efforts to privatize either of these programs (especially Medicare) would mean less medical coverage for our seniors and at-risk populations.

At a townhall meeting attended by Roots of Justice, IIRON, and other groups, our federal representatives Jan Schakowsky, Mike Quigley, and Danny Davis declared their commitment to blocking austerity measures in balancing the budget.  Senator Dick Durbin has not signed on to the measure, backed by Majority Leader Harry Reid, which bars cuts to Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security. In balancing the budget, there has been far less support for raising taxes on the very wealthy, who now pay only a 15%-20% effective tax rate, lower than the rate for many middle-income Americans. There has also been little Congressional support for a “Robin Hood” tax, which levies a tax on financial transactions that can regulate high-risk transactions and brings much-needed revenue to the federal government.

On the state level, we can help bridge the fiscal gap by supporting a Fair Tax initiative in Illinois that will shift the burden from the poor and middle-class to the very wealthy (read more about JCUA’s position on the fair tax initiative).

The responsibility for the economic collapse caused by the banking and financial industry cannot be levied on the very poor and the powerless. We cannot stand idly by as the people most hurt by the 2008 financial meltdown make sacrifices to balance the budget while corporations and the very wealthy do not pay their fair share. It is a commitment that dates back to our prophets, to take care of the poor and make sure the burden of social responsibility does not fall on the most vulnerable. Sen. Dick Durbin should join our representatives in saying no to cuts to our social safety net and no to austerity.

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Want to intern with the Jewish Council on Urban Affairs? Click here for more information.

People Responding to JCUA’s Social Media Anti-Hate Campaign

On Wednesday, Nov. 16, 2012, JCUA responded to anti-Muslim ads posted on CTA buses by launching a social media campaign titled “Not in My Chicago.” Since then, JCUA’s response has been covered by many media outlets (see here for full media coverage).

But perhaps most inspiring have been the responses in the community, of Jews and non-Jews alike. We thank you for your support. Here’s are just a bit of your comments:

Thank you for your support and commitment to our work!

Remembering Bobbie Johnson: A Fearless Community Advocate and Partner

by Judy Levey
Executive Director, JCUA

Judy Levey reflects upon her encounters with Bobbie Johnson, a fearless community advocate on Chicago’s south side, who recently passed away.

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Bobbie Johnson z”l

On Saturday, 11/3/12, I attended the memorial service of Bobbie Johnson, a woman I was honored to be able to call my friend.

Bobbie reached out to me in 2009 in my former role as the Director of Community Development at JCUA. Bobbie re-introduced me to the Rosenwald, a historic building in Bronzville on Chicago’s south side, which I was familiar with through my previous work on affordable housing preservation. She taught me about the history of the building, what it was like to live there, why it was so hard to redevelop it, and how she had been devoting more than 20 years of her life to preventing its demolition. Bobbie was not your average activist – although in my experience, “average activist” is an oxymoron. She was truly extraordinary. She was relentless, pushy, funny, determined, and knew how to celebrate life. She was a mother and grandmother, nurse, historian, organizer, program director, social worker, grant writer, teen mentor, and a bible scholar. She was larger than life.

Our Jewish Response to Chicago’s Soaring Foreclosure Crisis

Judy Levey

by Judy Levey
Executive Director, JCUA

An article this week in the Washington Post called attention to the economic suffering of many communities four years after the housing bust. Near the top of the list for the most suffering is our own Cook County. The article states:

The list of worse-off communities includes places such as Cook County in Illinois, where home prices have fallen nearly 20 percent, unemployment has risen and the inventory of foreclosures has soared.

Responsive to poverty and community needs, JCUA’s work addresses this devastation through our housing advocacy work and our Community Ventures Program. Community Ventures provides zero-interest loans for the redevelopment and preservation of affordable housing. The program currently funds the rehabilitation of foreclosed homes in North Lawndale and neighboring communities through a loan to Breaking Ground, Inc., in addition to predevelopment costs associated with the rehabilitation of the Rosenwald Building to create more than 230 affordable units in Bronzeville (see more Community Ventures projects here).

My rabbi, Rabbi Kensky of Beth Hillel Congregation Bnai Emunah, spoke about the need for a Jewish voice in working to combat injustice in his Dvar Torah last Shabbat on the story of Noah. He generously shared his Dvar Torah with me and gave me permission to share it here. In it, Rabbi Kensky explained:

JCUA Joins Campaign Demanding the City Lease Up of Vacant Housing Units

by Lauren Goldstein, Community and Policy Intern
(2nd year student at the University of Chicago, Social Service Administration MA program)

As winter nears, it is evermore concerning that there are currently over 68,000 low-income families and senior citizens waiting for the Chicago Housing Authority to afford them a place to call home. What’s more, CHA has failed to lease over 2000 vacant units of public housing across Chicago. These units could, and should, be providing homes to the people who desperately need them. This is why the JCUA is a member of the Chicago Housing Initiative’s “Lease-Up!” campaign.

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Lauren Goldstein

It’s that time of year again here in Chicago – the leaves are falling, the temperatures are dropping, and darkness is falling earlier and earlier. Before winter sets in, it is of grave importance that the 68,000+ low-income families and senior citizens who have been waiting for housing from the Chicago Housing Authority (CHA) are afforded a place to call home. Given the CHA’s failure to properly and efficiently address the thousands of vacant units currently shuttered across the city and allow some of the 60,000 families who remain on the wait-list (as of March 2012) to lease these units, the JCUA has decided to join the Chicago Housing Initiative’s (CHI) “Lease-Up!” campaign. We firmly believe that housing is a human right, and have chosen to take a stand.