Making Good On Affordable Housing Referendums

Referendums aimed at bringing more affordable housing to two lakefront Chicago communities passed by wide margins this week. In Uptown, 66 percent of voters approved their measure, while 68 percent voted in favor of the Bronzeville version. So what's the next step?

If the residents of both neighborhoods have their way, city officials will use readily-available resources to create additional housing opportunities for low- and middle-income Chicagoans.

In Bronzeville, community groups want the Daley administration to begin cutting deals so that a glut of vacant, city-owned properties can be turned into new housing. Meanwhile, in Uptown, housing activists think the city's Tax Increment Financing (TIF) funds should be tapped to fund affordable housing initiatives.

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