CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) — Ahead of Mayor Brandon Johnson’s budget address to city council on Wednesday, South Side residents urged the mayor to support calls for housing protections to support residents who have seen their housing costs rise as the Obama Presidential Center nears its completion.
Members of the Obama CBA Coalition gathered outside Chicago City Hall and called for Johnson to prioritize the coalition's South Shore ordinance in the city's budget.
“Right now, most folks in South Shore pay more than 30% of their money on their rent or their home expenses, so we're talking about stopping mass gentrification [and] displacement of a neighborhood, which we've seen across the city in a bunch of different ways,” said South Shore resident Dixon Romeo.
Although the mayor has made verbal commitments to fight alongside residents to prevent displacement, Romeo said he has yet to put those commitments into action.
“A budget speaks to people’s priorities, right? If something’s in a budget, it shows it’s in your priorities,” Romeo said. “This ordinance, if implemented, could have a real impact on the Black community, a real impact. That's something that should be prioritized.”
One of Romeo’s fellow coalition members, named Theo, said he’s been displaced from his Woodlawn home.
“There's an ordinance that promises new and affordable units to be built in mixed-income properties, but we've only seen one built because of the lack of availability and funds to build them,” he said.
Theo said he’s worried he won't be able to benefit from new developments coming to their neighborhoods, like the Obama Presidential Center.
“I want to be a part of the future that has been painted for Woodlawn, and I want the current and future of native residents to be there, too,” he said.
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