Housing Authority faces mounting pressure as housing crisis worsens

In a contentious meeting at City Hall, Chicago Housing Authority CEO Tracey Scott defended her agency’s efforts to tackle the city’s affordable housing crisis while facing fierce criticism from residents and some members of the City Council.

Scott, addressing the City Council’s Committee on Housing and Real Estate for the first time in over a year, blamed some of the agency’s shortcomings on the “historic challenges” that preceded her four-year tenure, Block Club reported. 

Public sentiment and several alderpersons echoed similar sentiments, with some calling for her to be removed as CEO. Residents and a CHA board member criticized Scott for neglecting CHA properties, accusing her of incompetence and detachment from the community’s needs.

“Tracey Scott, you seem to have forgotten that you are a guest here at CHA — you have outstayed your welcome,” said Francine Washington, a CHA board member since 2014. 

Aldermen Gilbert Villegas and Byron Sigcho-Lopez convened the meeting in response to investigative reports revealing hundreds of CHA homes sitting vacant for years, exacerbating the city’s housing crisis and contributing to crime in affected neighborhoods.

Villegas’ family lived in public housing for eight years while he was growing up, and he said it helped them get ahead.

“I worry others aren’t getting the same opportunities,” he said.

Despite Scott’s defense of CHA’s Restore Home initiative, which pledged $50 million to rehab vacant properties, critics remained unconvinced. Some alderpersons acknowledged progress but asked for data to support CHA’s claims of improvement.

Criticism also focused on CHA’s land dispositions, including a controversial deal with a billionaire-owned soccer team. That deal allowed the Chicago Fire to move forward with a development of an $80 million practice facility on a Near West Side site that many deemed was best suited for affordable housing, raising questions about the agency’s priorities and stewardship of public resources.

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During public testimony, CHA residents shared harrowing stories of living conditions, including infrastructural neglect and health hazards.

While technically an independent organization, CHA faces increased scrutiny from the City Council, signaling a growing demand for transparency and accountability in addressing Chicago’s housing challenges.

—Quinn Donoghue