Chicago Coalition for the Homeless and the new Sweet Home Chicago Coalition gathered at City Hall on July 30 to rally for affordable housing created with help from tax increment financing (TIF).

A city policy intended to ease the harmful effects of gentrification in Chicago's controversial TIF districts has instead left neighborhood families priced out of most of the housing that has been created, according to a report released Thursday by Sweet Home Chicago.

Aldermen Walter Burnett (27th), Manny Flores (1st), and Toni Foulkes (15th) joined the coalition for the 10 a.m. 2nd floor press conference.

Sweet Home Chicago is a coalition of 12 partners: Action NOW, Albany Park Neighborhood Council, Bickerdike Redevelopment Corporation, Chicago Coalition for the Homeless, Jane Addams Senior Caucus, Kenwood Oakland Community Organization, Lakeview Action Coalition, Logan Square Neighborhood Association, Organization of the North East, SEIU-Healthcare Illinois/Indiana, SEIU Local 1, and United Food and Commercial Workers Local 881.

Our press release, the new report, and coverage in the Chicago Sun-Times are posted below.
Report
(Tax Increment Financing (TIF) Funding and Affordable Housing: An
analysis of current TIF resources and the City of Chicago's TIF fundedHousing 1995-2008)

Fact Sheet (Sweet Home Chicago Fact Sheet)

Press Release (TIF affordable housing program prices out families it's supposed to help, new study finds)

Article (Homes not Priced to sell to low-income, Chicago Sun-Times, 7/30/09)

Editorial (Affordable housing reality vs. illusion, Chicago Sun-Times, 7/30/09)

WBEZ (Report Finds TIF Housing Not Affordable)