Sweet Home Chicago

CCH is managing partner of Sweet Home Chicago, an affordable housing campaign led by nine community organizations and two labor unions. Together, we advocate that a share of Chicago’s tax increment financing (TIF) fund reserves be dedicated to affordable housing, including the restoration of foreclosed houses and apartment buildings. This housing would be created for city residents who pay tax dollars into TIF funds and deserve the benefits.

In 2011, CCH successfully backed a key amendment to the TIF Vacant Building Ordinance proposed by the retiring Daley Administration. We recommended that it include the availability of TIF funds to redevelop vacant apartment buildings. Enacted in May 2011, the Sweet Home Chicago amendment allows developers of vacant multi-unit rental housing to apply for TIF funds for 30 to 50 percent of the purchase/rehabilitation costs. To meet these requirements, developers must rent 30 to 50 percent of units to households that earn no more than half of Area Median Income (AMI), or $37,700 for a family of four. Mayor Daley’s original ordinance focused only on home buyers, offering a 25 percent subsidy for more affluent households earning up to 120 percent of AMI (or $90,480 for a family of four).

Sweet Home Chicago is now working with the office of Chicago Housing Commissioner Andy Mooney on the selection and implementation of the first several rental housing redevelopments that would be funded under the Vacant Building Ordinance.

Sweet Home Chicago is a coalition comprised of Action NOW, Albany Park Neighborhood Council, Bickerdike Redevelopment Corporation, CCH, Jane Addams Senior Caucus, Kenwood Oakland Community Organization, Lakeview Action Coalition, Logan Square Neighborhood Association, Organization of the NorthEast, Service Employees International Union (SEIU) Healthcare Illinois/Indiana, and United Food and Commercial Workers Local 881. Lead sponsor of the original Sweet Home Chicago ordinance was 27th Ward Alderman Walter Burnett.

Marguerite Casey Foundation has generously awarded two strategic mini-grants to support the shared costs of the Sweet Home Chicago coalition.

For more information, contact Associate Policy Director of City Affairs Eithne McMenamin at (312) 641-4140 or eithne@chicagohomeless.org.