CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) -- The days of Chicago aldermen getting what they want when developments are proposed for their wards may be coming to an end. The City Council could take up and approve a proposed apartment complex Wednesday that a Northwest Side alderman opposes.
Alderman Anthony Napolitano, 41st Ward, is against a proposed 297-unit apartment building that sets aside about 20 percent of units for low- and middle-income people. But Mayor Lightfoot is for it, and on Tuesday, the Council Zoning Committee ignored Napolitano’s wishes and approved the plan, changing the land from commercial to residential.
“Today, it’s a commercial [zoning] that’s being forced into being changed to residential in 41,” Napolitano said Tuesday during a virtual meeting. “Tomorrow, it may be residential into manufacturing in your ward. Today, I’m sitting in the hot seat. And you may like me, you may hate me. But your decision will definitely reflect the precedent when you are sitting in the hot seat tomorrow. This is a complete overstep of our office. This is a complete overstep of what our ward wants.”
The complex would be built on Higgins Road at Cumberland and the Kennedy Expressway.
Georgette Foss, of Neighbors for Affordable Housing, said the development is badly needed and would serve people who work in and around O’Hare Airport.
"Recently, it was discovered that 700 applicants are vying for one of 75 units of the nearby 5150 N. Northwest Highway development. This is very telling," she said.
Romero Hernandez, of the Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce, told aldermen, "given the community’s rapid growth over the last 50 years, the expansion of O’Hare and the ever-growing hospitality and entertainment footprint in the area, there’s a clear need and immediate need for more market-rate multi-family housing."
Ald. Napolitano wanted the land on Higgins Road to remain zoned commercial.
There’s a chance the proposal could be voted on today by the fully City Council.
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