JCUA in Letter to Rahm: Keep Lathrop Homes Public

JCUA speaks up in solidarity with Lathrop Homes residents in a letter to city officials, stating: Keep Lathrop Homes 100% public housing, and lease up the hundreds of units at Lathrop that are currently vacant.

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Lathrop Homes

Sefer Hasidim (a 12th-century legal text) teaches that “if a community lacks a place of worship and a shelter for the poor, it is first obligated to build a shelter for the poor.”

Since 2010, JCUA has been working directly with residents at the Lathrop Homes public housing development, to empower the voice of the residents in the debate over the future of Lathrop Homes. The future of Lathrop Homes is critical for the following reasons:

• There are tens of thousands of families in Chicago on the waiting list for public housing.
• There are tens of thousands more who could not get on the waiting list since it was full and closed.
• Even with all this tremendous need for housing in Chicago, under 150 of Lathrop’s 900 units are currently occupied. Over 750 units of housing stand vacant in this development alone.
  

JCUA advocates for affordable housing protection in Cook County human rights ordinance

JCUA amplifies a Jewish voice in a campaign to amend the Cook County Human Rights Ordinance to make discrimination based on Section-8 housing vouchers illegal (read JCUA’s letter to Cook County’s Board President here).

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JCUA members and allies at a housing rally

Background

One important focus of JCUA’s work is to prmote access to affordable housing for low-income people in the Chicagoland Area. One such affordable housing option is through “Section-8″ vouchers. Section-8 housing vouchers allow low income families to live in privately owned buildings. Section-8 residents pay 30% of their income in rent (similar to public housing residents). In the voucher program, the program pays landlords the difference between that 30% and the ‘fair market rate’ for the housing unit (up to a limit).

JCUA Supports Affordable Housing Proposal in Humboldt Park

Over the summer JCUA’s teen activists interned at Latin United Community Housing Organization (LUCHA) (see blog post on that).

Recently, LUCHA has reached out to JCUA to endorse the organization’s proposal for an affordable housing development project in Humboldt Park, a predominantly Latino community on Chicago’s west side.

JCUA proudly supports this proposal, and has expressed this support in a letter to Alderman Roberto Maldonado (26th Ward). Click here to read JCUA’s letter to Alderman Roberto Maldonado. This letter will be part of the file LUCHA submits with its proposal. Now this proposal includes a Jewish voice for more affordable housing in a community that needs it.

JCUA Mourns the Passing of Public Housing Leader Barbara Moore, and Celebrates Her Legacy

Barbara Moore

The Jewish Council on Urban Affairs mourns the passing of Barbara Moore, a strong public housing leader and a valued JCUA partner. Ms. Moore passed away on August 10, 2012.

Barbara Moore graduated from Carver High School in Pascagoula, Mississippi, and lived in the Robert Taylor Homes on Chicago’s south side for over 40 years. Ms. Moore was the building president of 5266 at Robert Taylor Homes for over 20 years, was the vice president of the local advisory council of Robert Taylor “B,”  and was a board member of We The People Media.

Ms. Moore was also a leader and board member of God’s Gang – a youth run organization providing positive programs in public housing.  In the early 2000s, JCUA partnered with God’s Gang to fight for the rights of the residents and especially the youth who operated the activities of God’s Gang. JCUA assisted God’s Gang in successfully suing  CHA for displacing God’s Gang from the Robert Taylor Homes, thus ensuring the continuity of programs following displacement.

Jewish Teens Intern at the Latin United Community Housing Organization

Three participants in this summer’s Or Tzedek Advanced Activism session were assigned as interns to the Latin United Community Housing Organization (LUCHA) in Chicago. LUCHA was founded in 1982 by residents of Humboldt Park, West Town and Logan Square to combat displacement and preserve affordable housing in the community. 

Working on LUCHA’s campaign to develop 42 units of affordable housing in Humboldt Park with a wellness component, the Or Tzedek interns helped research the urban and community health of proposed sites.

Natasha Madorsky (from left), Elizabeth Barras and Hannah Kaplan.

By Natasha Madorsky, Elizabeth Barras and Hannah Kaplan
Or Tzedek Participants 

(Cross-posted from the Or Tzedek blog)

LUCHA hosted us as interns for one week in June through a new partnership with JCUA. The three of us were participating in Or Tzedek, which brings teens together to work for social justice throughout Chicago.

During our week at LUCHA, we explored the Humboldt Park community to survey prospective affordable housing sites and speak to local residents about life in the neighborhood. At the end of the internship, we presented our findings and ideas to LUCHA.

Many of our suggestions for LUCHA incorporated the elements of health and wellness into affordable housing programs. We visited Simons Park (In the Humboldt Park neighborhood) and spoke to visitors, as well as the park supervisor, about the wide variety of sports teams, camps and cultural programs offered at the park and community center. We feel that if LUCHA were to build in that neighborhood, fostering a partnership with Simons Park would be essential.

Our internship at LUCHA was certainly an eye-opening experience. We had the pleasure to explore an unfamiliar but vibrant community not too far from our own homes in Wilmette, Evanston and Cleveland, Ohio.

Approaching local residents and hearing their thoughts and concerns allowed us to develop our community organizing skills, as well as gain an insider perspective of what it might be like to live in Humboldt Park. Everyone we met was friendly and welcoming, yet they were very honest with us about the problems and struggles that they face.

» A few spots are still open in the remaining Or Tzedek sessions July 15-22 and Aug. 5-12. Learn more and register here.

When our surveying work was done, we were able to visit the park and enjoy the beautiful lagoon and field house. We all feel lucky to have had the opportunity to work with such an exceptional organization within a unique and culturally rich community.

JCUA to Invest in The Rosenwald; Will Help Revitalize Bronzeville

By Jonathan Lehrer
Communications Consultant to JCUA 

With the aim of helping to revitalize the Bronzeville neighborhood on Chicago’s South Side, The Jewish Council on Urban Affairs is investing in a housing development that has Jewish roots.

Through its Community Ventures Program, JCUA is making a$100,000 zero-interest loan to Rosenwald Courts, a $110 million renovation project that will create 331 new units of housing, with 323 affordable units and 18 market rate units. The Chicago Tribune recently reported that the Chicago Community Development Commission is expected to consider earmarking up to $25 million in tax-increment financing (TIF) to back the project at a July 10 meeting.

The Community Development Commission voted July 10 to allow redevelopment to go forward. The plan still needs city council approval. See WBEZ’s coverage here.

See the Tribune’s original story here. Registration on the Tribune site may be required to read the article.

The name of the building is familiar to South Side residents, as well as members of the Jewish community and Chicago history buffs. Julius Rosenwald (1862-1932), was president of Sears, Roebuck and Company, at one point investing $21 million to bail out the company in the post-World War I recession.

The Rosenwald as it looks today.

Architectural rendering of Rosenwald Courts.

Rendering of interior courtyard at the proposed Rosenwald Courts. The courtyard was one of the features of Michigan Boulevard Apartments as originally constructed in 1929.

Rosenwald devoted much of his life and more than $70 million of his personal wealth to philanthropy. Influenced by Jewish leaders, social activists and Booker T. Washington, Rosenwald became dedicated to improving the plight of African-Americans. He said this in 1911:

“The horrors that are due to race prejudice come home to the Jew more forcefully than to others of the white race, on account of the centuries of persecution which they have suffered and still suffer.”

Rosenwald invested $2.7 million in what was to become the Michigan Boulevard Apartments, a landmark 421-unit development that was built in 1921.(Rosenwald also was the major force behind creation of Chicago’s Museum of Science and Industry.)

Our Story: Or Tzedek Advanced Activism 2012

By Natasha Madorsky, Dan Lapidus, Emma Hultgren, Sophie Leff, Sarah Crotty, Elizabeth Barras, Madison Reisler, and Hannah Kaplan
Participants in the 2012 “Advanced Activism” session of Or Tzedek

(Cross-posted from the Or Tzedek blog)

Or Tzedek Advanced Activism participants, summer 2012.

While most of our peers are spending their summers at the pool or at camp, eight of us – teens from around the Chicago area (and Cleveland, Ohio) – came together to pursue social justice for the diverse communities around us.

The thing is, we all came from different communities and we all have different Jewish experiences. Some of us came from the city and some from the suburbs. Some of us go to Jewish day schools and some of us go to public schools. We represent a wide range of denominations of Judaism; we are Orthodox, Conservative, Reconstructionist, Reform and Unaffiliated. Although we may be passionate about different issues, we all want the same thing- JUSTICE.

In these past eight days, we’ve all driven down streets lined with foreclosed and abandoned homes. Until Or Tzedek, we never quite realized the gravity of the issue. Several of us spent the week interning at the Humboldt Park-based organization LUCHA (Latin United Community Housing Association), which works on affordable housing and related issues within the community. Through this experience, we were able to interact with neighborhood residents and deepen our understanding of how affordable housing affects individuals and communities.

» A few spots are still open in the remaining Or Tzedek sessions July 15-22 and Aug. 5-12. Learn more and register here.

Later on in the week, we spoke with residents of Lathrop Homes, a public housing development. The restrictions placed on access to housing and the governmental neglect found in Lathrop is appalling. Institutionalized oppression tears these communities and lives apart.

Or Tzedek stands for light of justice, which is exactly what we think everyone needs to be aware of. The light is “shining” on our generation to get involved in the problems of our world. M’dor l’dor, from generation to generation, we need to create a society where everyone has what they need. Or Tzedek has given us inspiration to find different causes closer to home. Everyone can make a difference.

Housing Justice Teach-In Draws More Than 150 Public Housing Residents and Allies

By Holly Krig
JCUA Community Organizer 

Eviction, displacement and homelessness.

Those are the sad keywords that have described the Chicago Housing Authority’s “Plan for Transformation” in the 13 years since the CHA first unveiled it. JCUA has been monitoring the awkward implementation of this plan all along. We are anxiously looking forward to presentation of the updated edition – “Plan for Transformation 2.0” – in June.

This anxious feeling is shared by displaced people and their allies across the city. More than 150 of them came together recently (April 24) for a housing justice teach-in, held in the Spertus Building on Michigan Avenue, where JCUA is located.

Advocates march to the Chicago Housing Authority office, demanding that vacant apartments be leased to residents on the CHA waiting list.

Families shared powerful personal stories of eviction, displacement and homelessness resulting from CHA policies. We heard from real people with strong voices that amplified the need to act now and brought the scary statistics to life:

• The number of homeless people in Chicago is rising. According to the Chicago Coalition for the Homeless 93,780 Chicagoans were without homes in 2010-2011.
• As reported by the Chicago Tribune, 60,000 families are on the waiting list for subsidized housing.

Lathrop Homes Advocates Set Teach-In and Action for April 24

Residents at a Lathrop Homes protest last year.

By Holly Krig
JCUA Community Organizer

Supporting the residents of Lathrop Homes, JCUA will host a teach-in and action in collaboration with the Chicago Housing Initiative. Lathrop Homes is a Chicago Housing Authority site in Chicago’s Logan Square neighborhood.

We are working directly with residents at Lathrop Homes, where CHA hopes to enact a plan similar to the mixed-income development at Cabrini’s Parkside, which has forcibly displaced hundreds of families and cost the city $11.4 million in bail-out for mostly market rate housing.

Lathrop Homes Teach-In and Action
(A collaboration of Chicago Housing Initiative, Common Ground and JCUA)
Tuesday, April 24, 10 am-noon (registration begins at 9:30)
Spertus Building, 630 S Michigan Ave., 9th floor
Contact Holly Krig: holly@jcua.org or 312-663-0960, ext 111

The Teach-In, which will help us understand the policy issues from the perspective of those who live with their impact will be followed by a public action. Folks will gather outside Spertus at noon for that portion of the day; details will be announced at the Teach-In. Contact me at JCUA before Friday if you are interested in helping to organize the action.

JCUA first came together with Lathrop Homes residents when we joined the Coalition to Protect Public Housing as CHA announced its Plan for Transformation.

Recently JCUA has joined the table again with a new formation of resident leaders called Common Ground. Once again, the timing is critical. CHA plans to announce its “recalibration” of the Plan for Transformation in June.

Myths and Realities of Homelessness and Poverty: A Plan for Transforming Cities

By Jane Ramsey
President, JCUA

This lecture was delivery by Jane Ramsey on Feb. 29 at Iowa State University. Her appearance was cosponsored by the College of Design, the Department of Community and Regional Planning, the Graduate Community and Regional Planning Club and the Committee on Lectures.

We are here tonight to explore the myths and realities of homelessness and poverty, through the lens of Chicago’s supposed “transformation” of public housing. How fascinating that a path has been forged between Chicago and Iowa by some former residents of public housing and others who were forced out of the housing market as a result of the “transformation.”

Let me begin by sharing with you my somewhat unique vantage point as this story unfolded.

It began, coincidentally, for me as a University of Chicago graduate student in 1976 when I was placed as an intern with the city of Chicago’s economic development department, then called the Mayor’s Committee for Economic and Cultural Development. Following my internship I was hired on as a city planner…getting an invaluable, first-hand education about Mayor Richard J. Daley and the Chicago Machine.