Economic Growth & Housing
Housing for Everyone. We will rebuild Chicago’s complete housing ladder so families can move from instability to long-term neighborhood opportunity.
The Problem
Chicago does not face one housing crisis — it faces several connected crises:
- → Homelessness, deep affordability shortages, and rent burden are linked in one system
- → Loss of two-flats, three-flats, and small buildings is shrinking naturally affordable housing
- → Working families are blocked from starter-home ownership and middle-income stability
- → One-size-fits-all policy misses neighborhood differences in demand, transit access, and displacement risk
- → Long-vacant and abandoned properties sit idle for years, weakening nearby property values and delaying neighborhood recovery
Housing for Everyone
A complete housing ladder approach: shelter, deeply affordable rental, workforce housing, family-sized missing-middle homes, starter homes, and neighborhood stability.
Evidence Base
53.8%
Chicago households that rent — showing why affordability and supply must be central.
24 / 100
Affordable and available units for every 100 extremely low-income renter households.
127,786
Estimated affordable-unit deficit for extremely low-income renters.
Housing Ladder Evidence Summary
When starter homes are scarce, families remain in the rental market longer, intensifying rent pressure and displacement risk.
Our strategy treats homelessness, affordability, preservation, and ownership as one integrated civic system — not separate silos.
Our Commitment
Build More Housing Where Chicago Can Support It
- ✓ Expand as-of-right housing near CTA/Metra, bus corridors, and commercial districts
- ✓ Legalize family-sized missing-middle housing: courtyard buildings, four-flats, six-flats, ADUs, and conversions
- ✓ Accelerate permitting with accountable timelines
- ✓ Use neighborhood typologies instead of one-size-fits-all zoning
- ✓ Tie housing growth to infrastructure and neighborhood fit
Preserve and Protect Affordability
- ✓ Protect two-flats, three-flats, courtyard, and small-building stock
- ✓ Expand anti-displacement support: legal aid, rental help, and preservation funds
- ✓ Prioritize deeply affordable housing pipeline delivery
- ✓ Publish quarterly affordability outcomes by neighborhood
Starter Homes and Middle-Class Stability
- ✓ Expand starter-home production for working families and first-time buyers
- ✓ Keep families in Chicago with bright, family-sized flats and courtyard homes built around shared green space
- ✓ Align housing with job corridors and small-business growth
- ✓ Support neighborhood commercial vitality without displacement
- ✓ Build a transparent housing dashboard focused on delivery, not promises
Put Chicago Land Back to Work: Community Development Districts
- ✓ Establish Community Development Districts with a clear seven-year neighborhood renewal standard
- ✓ Require transparent notice, due process, and multiple opportunities to rehabilitate, redevelop, or sell long-vacant property
- ✓ After years of documented abandonment, allow acquisition through lawful eminent-domain proceedings with fair compensation
- ✓ Return recovered sites to productive use for housing, small business corridors, green space, health services, and community facilities
This policy does not target occupied homes, operating businesses, or property in legitimate active redevelopment. It targets chronic abandonment that imposes costs on surrounding families.
100-Day Action Plan
Days 1-30
Planning
- Market Analysis Complete housing ladder baseline published
- Developer Meetings Neighborhood-typology implementation convened
- Courtyard Pilot Standards Family-sized missing-middle and shared-courtyard prototype standards published
- CDD Framework Community Development District map, legal framework, and property screening criteria published
Days 31-60
Launch
- Grant Program Housing preservation and anti-displacement tools launched
- Housing Pipeline First integrated build-preserve-protect projects approved
- CDD Launch Owner action pathways opened: rehab, approved development, sale, or community partnership
Days 61-100
Results
- Grants Awarded Neighborhood housing and corridor projects funded
- Construction Begins First wave of ladder-aligned housing projects started
- Dashboard Live Public quarterly outcomes released, including long-vacancy reduction and land-return performance
Related Resources
📊 Housing Reset Report
Updated August 2026 housing supply and affordability reset report with implementation steps, neighborhood calibration, and accountability metrics.
📑 One-Pager
Updated one-pager for Pillar VII: Economic Growth & Housing (Housing for Everyone).
📘 TIF Reform Documents
Media two-pager and executive blueprint for Chicago TIF reform.
Explore Other Pillars
Support Economic Growth
Housing for Everyone means stronger neighborhoods, more opportunity, and a city families can afford.
Get Involved Donate