Public Newsroom #73: Are Aldermen Keeping the City Segregated?

Are Chicago aldermen using their aldermanic prerogative to keep neighborhoods segregated? That’s what a recent report co-authored by the Chicago Area Fair Housing Alliance (CAFHA) and the Sargent Shriver National Center on Poverty Law suggests. Patricia Fron, CAFHA Executive Director, and Kate Walz, Director of Housing Justice at the Shriver Center, joined us Thursday, August 9th to break down the report, “A City Fragmented: How Race, Power, and Aldermanic Prerogative Shape Chicago’s Neighborhoods”. They went over how affordable housing decisions are made in the city of Chicago and how these decisions often result in geographic imbalances in affordable housing development. Then they dove into aldermanic prerogative, which they say is the central vehicle driving this imbalance: the mechanics, the history, the roots in racism, and the effects. To access their report, go to: http://povertylaw.org/aldermanic-report