EQUITABLE COMMUNITY
DEVELOPMENT & HOUSING
Creating resilient communities by advocating for affordable housing and equitable investment.
We promote economic and housing opportunities that support communities of color and create neighborhoods that are livable and sustainable.
The Equitable Community Development and Housing program of Chicago Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights:
Partners with community-based organizations and coalitions to advance the priorities identified by impacted communities, such as fair and affordable housing, and equitable land use and community development.
Leverages our expertise in litigation, legislative policy, and administrative advocacy in the following areas:
Fair Housing Enforcement
Community-led Planning and Development
Healthy Communities
We address the systems and structures that perpetuate segregation and deny opportunity to communities of color.
EQUITABLE COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT & HOUSING - Case Highlights
Filed lawsuit to stop the disposing of more public housing land by the Chicago Housing Authority
2023
Filed a federal lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development opposing the Chicago Housing Authority’s plans to lease 23 acres of public housing land at the former ABLA Homes to the Chicago Fire and put at risk the opportunities for desperately needed replacement affordable housing promised to the predominantly Black residents decades ago. Filed on behalf of the Coalition to Protect CHA Land, Chicago Housing Initiative, and the Lugenia Burns Hope Center, the lawsuit argues that the City’s proposal will continue patterns of economic and racial segregation and urges HUD to conduct a civil rights review.
Joined coalition working to ensure equitable economic opportunity in the legal cannibis industry
2021
Partnered with the Cannabis Equity Illinois coalition, a BIPOC-led coalition representing communities most impacted by the War on Drugs to ensure that the economic opportunities created by the legalization of recreational marijuana in Illinois are equitably shared. Our work includes supporting the coalition to redress the harms of our overly punitive and racist enforcement of drug crimes, by supporting coalition efforts to negotiate community benefits agreements (CBAs) with new dispensaries in Chicago to ensure equitable hiring and fair wages.
Helped pass city ordinance to preserve affordable housing in Jackson Park
2020
Supported the Obama CBA Coalition on the successful passage of the Woodlawn Housing Preservation Ordinance, an historic city ordinance seeking to preserve affordable housing and prevent displacement of residents around the development of the Obama Presidential Library Center in Jackson Park on the City’s South Side. We have long supported, and continue to support, the Obama CBA Coalition to prevent displacement and promote equitable development in the communities around the future Obama library.
