CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) – The Logan Square Neighborhood Association said its owner-occupied flats are crucial for the economy, but they’ve also been hardest hit by the coronavirus pandemic.
“Since 2013, more than 20,000 families, Latinx residents, have been displaced from Logan Square, Avondale and Humboldt Park,” said Lisette Castaneda, executive director of the nonprofit organization, LUCHA. “Since the pandemic began two years ago, we have watched the wealth disparities that already existed, only deepen.”
In an effort to retain residents, LUCHA launched the Here to Stay Community Land Trust.
Castaneda and others now hope to continue their housing assistance efforts by calling on the state to allocate federal funds to help families in need.
State Rep. Will Guzzardi said legislators have come up with a plan to invest $855 million of American Recovery Plan funding into housing.
“Some of these investments involve building new affordable housing, like the amazing development down the road here at Emmet Street,” said Guzzardi. “But a lot of it also involves supporting families and the affordable housing that already exists in our communities.”
“These are one-time dollars that could have an impact for 30, 40, 50 years to come,” said state Rep. Delia Ramirez. “Which is why, for us, investing in housing is investing in the state and its entire community.”
Logan Square residents also want the city of Chicago to extend its 606 Demolition Impact Fee Ordinance, which collects a fine any time a building is demolished near the 606 Bloomingdale Trail and puts it toward affordable housing.
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