Chicago City Wire

Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson is pushing forward with a new housing initiative aimed at addressing the city's longstanding affordable housing issues. His plan involves the creation of a city-owned non-profit housing developer, the Residential Investment Corporation (RIC), which he believes will construct 400 affordable units annually.

Mayor Johnson campaigned on tackling homelessness and previously attempted to fund housing initiatives through programs like Bring Chicago Home and a substantial property tax increase. However, these efforts did not succeed. With the RIC, Johnson seeks to allocate $135 million from a bond measure approved by the City Council in April 2024 to finance affordable housing projects. According to the plan, the newly formed board, composed of mayoral appointees, will provide low-interest loans to developers of affordable housing. Projects exceeding $5 million in costs would require City Council approval.

Critics argue that Johnson's strategy might repeat past failures, stating, "an argument can be made Chicago suffers from a shortage of affordable housing, Mayor Johnson’s prescription to increase the number of affordable units should be consigned to the necropolis of dead progressive ideas." Concerns exist about the costs per unit, potential inefficiencies due to Chicago's complex building regulations, and the empowerment of tenant governance boards, which might counter the goal of improving management efficiency.

Further skepticism surrounds the lack of clear criteria for joint ventures with private developers and the control of resources allocated to RIC. The plan to entrust a sizable budget to the corporation without solid measures of accountability raises questions about its effectiveness.

The ongoing debate highlights the intricate balance between political decisions and technical requirements in providing affordable housing. Some suggest Chicago could benefit by reducing its regulatory burden, akin to recent efforts in Austin and Miami that have led to increased housing availability. By stripping aldermen from zoning decision processes and rolling back complex regulations, they argue, the city might better foster an accommodating environment for affordable housing development.

Mayor Johnson's initiative is part of his broader campaign to build a "Better, Safer, Stronger" Chicago, though it faces significant scrutiny and challenges from both political and economic perspectives. Critics urge a different approach to address the city’s housing difficulty by drawing lessons from other cities that have successfully enhanced housing supply without increasing regulatory complexity.