Trump Shuts Down Probes of “Aldermanic Prerogative” in Chicago

President Donald Trump’s administration closed two investigations by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development into the city of Chicago’s zoning practices, a move that likely will end recent efforts to reform the informal practice of “aldermanic prerogative.”

Local housing advocates had hoped the federal investigations would lead to reforming or ending aldermen’s control over zoning in their respective wards. The investigations stemmed from a 2018 lawsuit that alleged such control led to racial segregation and dampened affordable housing development in wealthy, predominately white neighborhoods, Crain’s reported.

City Council members from white neighborhoods have historically resisted racially integrated public housing since the 1930s, the 2018 complaint said. Developers still rely heavily on blessings by local aldermen to secure zoning changes and city subsidies for affordable projects, a system critics say reinforces segregation.

The city had already entered a voluntary agreement to negotiate a resolution after federal housing authorities found merit in the claims. Mayor Brandon Johnson’s administration was reportedly near an agreement at the end of last year, but negotiations tapered off after Trump took office.

It is unprecedented for HUD to walk away from enforcing the Fair Housing Act, said Patricia Fron, executive director at the Chicago Area Fair Housing Alliance.

The lawsuit and investigation “demonstrated that decades of discriminatory decision-making have led to the loss of affordable housing in Chicago,” Fron told the outlet. “So the fact that HUD is now retracting this, when we rely on HUD to enforce these protections, is really a gut punch for us and for the people who have been harmed.”

Johnson’s office disagreed with the decision and said it will work with allies to push for “reforms that make it easier to build and maintain affordable housing across our city.”

Housing advocates worry, however, that more comprehensive measures are unlikely to move forward without the leverage of federal oversight.

—Eric Weilbacher