Fifth Ward voters overwhelmingly pass referendums supporting South Shore CBA and Woodlawn affordable housing development

Eligible 5th Ward residents overwhelmingly voted to pass two advisory referendums urging newly-elected officials to support a South Shore Community Benefits Agreement (CBA) and build more affordable housing in Woodlawn. 

The two referendums appeared on ballots in several 5th Ward precincts located in Woodlawn and South Shore during the citywide municipal election on Feb. 28. Organizers behind the non-binding ballot measures say they are intended to show the incoming mayor and alderman how important issues of affordable housing and displacement are to 5th Ward voters and propose solutions.

In South Shore, a referendum asking a new mayor and alderperson to support a South Shore CBA ordinance appeared on the ballot in nine of the neighborhood’s precincts that border Jackson Park: precincts two through five and seven through 11.

The referendum asked if elected officials should support the ordinance “to prevent the displacement of renters, condo and homeowners in South Shore in light of the impact of the Obama Center and growing development in the area.” It suggests that such an ordinance establish a fund for home repairs, provide property tax and rent relief, eviction protection, job programs and the development of 100% affordable housing on city-owned vacant lots. 

Across precincts, 88.79% of voters (2,155 out of 2,427) voted “yes” on the referendum, according to the Chicago Board of Elections. 

“It's overwhelmingly clear at this point that folks believe in what we're talking about, which is that folks should be able to stay in their neighborhood and benefit from the (Obama Presidential) Center,” said Dixon Romeo, a leader of the CBA Coalition, the group of community organizations pushing for the ordinance. “We’re talking about a holistic package. A South Shore CBA doesn’t prevent any business from happening, but does put things in place so that homeowners, condo owners and renters aren’t displaced by the Obama Center.” 

In September 2020, after years of community conversations and campaigning by organizations in the CBA Coalition, Mayor Lori Lightfoot and the Chicago City Council passed the Woodlawn Housing Preservation Ordinance. The ordinance required the city to set aside 52 vacant lots in Woodlawn for affordable housing and dedicate $4.5 million toward expanding housing programs in the neighborhood. 

Since its passage, South Shore residents have called for similar protections against displacement in their neighborhood, which were ultimately cut out of the original Woodlawn ordinance. 

In November 2021, the CBA Coalition announced its demands for a South Shore CBA; organizers say they’ve gotten little response from the mayor or elected officials since.

Woodlawn affordable housing

A referendum question asking whether the new mayor and alderman should support building affordable housing on the vacant lot at 63rd Street and Blackstone Avenue appeared on a few hundred ballots in Woodlawn.

On ballots in the 13th and 14th precincts, the referendum asked if elected officials should support that the city-owned lot be “at least 75% truly affordable housing … to ensure that residents can afford to stay in the neighborhood as housing costs soar.”

In essence, the referendum urges city officials to develop this lot as part of the Woodlawn ordinance. Affordability, in this case, would require that renters pay no more than 30% of their monthly income towards rent.

Across the two precincts, 91.57% of voters (456 out of 498) voted in favor, according to the Board of Elections.

On Election Day, Savannah Brown, a housing organizer with South Side Together Organizing for Power (STOP), a CBA Coalition member, chatted up voters outside of the 14th precinct polling place. She and other STOP organizers were out sharing information about the referendum. 

She said the process to get the lots developed has been too slow. “Since we got the (Woodlawn) ordinance passed, we’ve been asking for these lots,” Brown said.  “And they’ve been holding onto that one (on 63rd) for some reason.”

Brown noted that the ordinance only guarantees these lots affordable for 30 years. 

Activists with the CBA Coalition want to pre-select the city-owned lots to ensure that the developments are located in high-density areas, which would allow for the construction of large buildings (and more units). The 63rd and Blackstone site fits these parameters, and Brown said it will be the closest to the OPC out of the sites selected so far.  

Though the referendums are non-binding, “it’s literally going to be a number that says ‘hey, this is what the people want,” Brown said. She hopes that elected officials will “see the value of using the (recommendations of) people that have lived here and actually giving them the opportunities that have been promised.” 

She is also hopeful that the referendum for a South Shore CBA will push local electeds to an ordinance, noting that the Woodlawn ordinance came after a similar referendum question for a CBA in the 2019 municipal election.

Herald editor Hannah Faris contributed reporting.