Saying it wants to focus on “real concerns” around fair housing, President Donald Trump’s administration is dropping two long-fought cases in Chicago that the feds previously agreed showed discriminatory practices.
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development said it will no longer monitor a civil rights agreement with the city that called for zoning and land-use reforms to limit the onslaught of polluting businesses in low-income communities on the South Side and West Side.
That agreement stemmed from a long community fight over the proposed move of General Iron to the Southeast Side. Former Mayor Lori Lightfoot signed the agreement with HUD on her last day in office in 2023, and Mayor Brandon Johnson vowed to uphold it.
The other case investigated a 2018 complaint that alleged City Council members were using “aldermanic prerogative,” basically a veto power, to keep affordable housing from being built in some white communities.
In that case, HUD is reversing initial findings that the complainants had made a valid argument that residents’ civil rights were violated because of the city’s policies allowing a discriminatory practice. HUD, the city and 10 affordable housing organizations seemed close to signing an agreement earlier this year.
In both cases, HUD sent letters dated Wednesday to the complaining groups using the same language explaining the decision to dismiss the matters. In separate letters, the agency said earlier decisions are being reversed and the agency is taking action as “a result of the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s decision to prioritize enforcement activities that address real concerns regarding fair housing.”
The letters add that the feds are handing back “decisions on zoning, home building, and more, to local leaders who are directly responsible for those matters.” Earlier letters to the city had laid out specific examples of discriminatory practices that agency investigators found violated federal fair housing and civil rights laws.
In a statement to the Sun-Times, Johnson acknowledged the merits of both complaints and promised to push city reforms to address the issues.
“In recognition of the fact that Chicago continues to be one of the most segregated cities in the United States, the Johnson administration is committed to pushing for reforms that make our city more equitable and more affordable,” the mayor’s statement said.
He accused the feds of retreating “from its responsibility to protect vulnerable populations from environmental harms,” adding that he disagrees with “HUD’s decision to discontinue monitoring the civil rights agreement governing the location of heavy industry in Chicago.”
Advocates promised to keep the fight going.
“HUD may have turned its back on us, but we’re not backing down,” said Cheryl Johnson, executive director of People for Community Recovery and a party in both civil rights complaints.
Under the General Iron agreement, Mayor Johnson is backing a proposed environmental protection ordinance that aims to reverse the historic trend of dumping polluting businesses in low-income communities of color.
The measure, named after Cheryl Johnson’s late mother and activist Hazel, was introduced at City Hall in April but has not been debated. The ordinance would be the centerpiece of the three-year agreement Lightfoot signed with Joe Biden’s administration more than two years ago.
“This is about the future of our neighborhoods and the health of our children,” Johnson said.
A representative from one of the 10 affordable housing advocacy groups that brought the aldermanic veto complaint called HUD’s moves an attack on fair housing laws.
“We see this as an absolute affront to the [U.S.] Fair Housing Act,” said Patricia Fron, executive director of Chicago Area Fair Housing Alliance. “Chicago is one of the most segregated cities in America, and aldermanic prerogative built that segregation — a fact previously acknowledged by HUD after intensive investigation. We will not be delayed in our efforts to pursue racial justice, and we will continue to work with the city of Chicago toward an equitable resolution.”
The groups recently announced that they were going to attempt to negotiate with Johnson without the help of HUD.
The communication from the agency this week was dramatically different than a letter sent in 2023.
That earlier letter chided city officials, saying “new affordable housing is rarely, if ever, constructed in the majority-white wards that already have the least affordable housing. The city acknowledges this effect of the practice, its historical use for the purpose of creating and maintaining patterns of racial segregation, and its continued use as a tool that effectuates racially motivated opposition to affordable housing.”