Chicago City Council looks to improve affordable housing waitlist

CHICAGO - Chicago leaders hope a new ordinance will help solve the city's shortage of affordable housing. The new act would create a place where those who need somewhere to live can find it faster.

When a new residential building is built, often units are designated as subsidized housing, but getting those units matched with those who qualify for them has been a hindrance that can take years. 

The Accountable Housing and Anti-Discrimination Act is a proposed ordinance in City Council that would streamline the process, creating a searchable database of available, affordable homes. It would allow elected officials and housing advocates to become resources that connect people to housing. It would also help keep track of the money the city receives under the Fair Housing Act and where the money goes. 

Housing advocates said people have been on waiting lists for 10 to 20 years. Some have died waiting for affordable housing.

"This ordinance removes the obstacle course that exists between people who are desperately in need of a place to stay, and that place," said Don Washington from the Chicago Housing Initiative. 

"Veterans are a population that's always talked about when we're talking about homelessness or the unhoused," Ald. Gilbert Villegas (36th) said. "This is an opportunity to put forward a process that takes a look that connecting veterans to affordable housing."

Ald. Maria Hadden (49th) said the ordinance is important for establishing accountability.

"[This is] to make sure that every dollar of affordable and accessible housing that our tax dollars are going to, that Chicagoans are paying for, that we are supporting, that we know where it is, that we know when it's available, and that we're able to make it easier for people to get into a home in any neighborhood they want to live in any of our 77 neighborhoods throughout the City of Chicago," Hadden said.

Housing advocates said there is still a serious shortage of affordable housing in Chicago, but connecting people to what's out there, can change lives quicker.