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 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.”
A representative from one of the 10 affordable housing advocacy groups that brought the aldermanic veto case called HUD’s moves an “affront” to 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 towards an equitable resolution.”