Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson’s first effort at building “affordable” housing is costing nearly $700,000 per unit. Similar units in the same area cost $126,583.
They call it “inclusionary zoning,” but in reality the government mandate for a portion of developments to be “affordable” limits supply and drives up costs. Chicago should pull back from this form of rent control.
Illinois lags other states on approvals for new housing. It has one of the lowest rates for housing approvals in the United States. That drives up costs.
Clean-up efforts for the Democratic National Convention included putting Chicago’s homeless in hotels used as temporary shelters. Though the celebrity-filled week has ended, this affordable housing approach should be expanded.
Rent is unaffordable for half of Chicagoans, averaging $2,200 a month. The key to affordable housing is to build more housing, but that won’t happen until city government reduces its role.
Government in Illinois has a lot to do with why housing costs are so high. Zoning and land-use reforms can boost the supply of affordable housing without forcing taxpayers to subsidize it.
Phoenix, Arizona, established a program to streamline building permits for certain projects. It has seen results. It could help Illinois’ drop in housing permits.
Illinois cities and villages could reduce from months to just days the time it takes to issue permits for new residential and commercial construction. Phoenix saw housing units increase 10% in a decade by cutting costly delays.
Chicago’s 2020 Additional Dwelling Unit Ordinance, while well-intentioned, has stifled development. Despite 71% of Chicagoans being in favor of putting additional dwelling units on existing residential lots – higher than the national average – restrictive and inequitable regulations have ensured very few are built.1 Only 44% of pre-approved applications have received building permits since the...