Chicago isn’t doing enough to ensure tenants with disabilities can get affordable housing that meets their needs.
That’s according to a lawsuit pressed by Access Living, an advocacy group that supports people with disabilities and claims the city of Chicago hasn’t made sure affordable housing units are also accessible, Crain’s reported.
According to the suit, the city inspects new affordable units in the city to ensure they meet safety and building code standards, but “they haven’t been inspecting for anything in terms of complying with disability laws,” Access Living’s executive vice president Daisy Feidt told the outlet. The group is set to go before a magistrate judge to discuss the suit on Jan. 14.
According to Access Living, “the city admitted it does not inspect completed buildings before issuing occupancy permits to make sure the units comply with federal accessibility requirements.”
Feidt said the city has received more than $2 billion in federal funding for housing and community developments since 1988 and that money requires some of the units to be accessible to people with disabilities.
Mayor Lori Lightfoot has been pushing for more affordable housing to be built in the city, but Access Living is frustrated that people with disabilities aren’t being accounted for.
“It seems like the administration really cares about affordable housing,” Feidt told the outlet, which is why “we feel stymied by this. I don’t have any theory why [disability issues] aren’t part of it.”
Access Living said at least 500 affordable housing buildings in Chicago are subject to federal housing laws that require buildings with five or more units to make some of them accessible.
Read more
Residential
Chicago
Nonprofit housing group plans $38M resi development on West Side
— Victoria Pruitt