Bad zoning laws drive up the cost of home ownership and put a middle-class lifestyle out of reach for too many Chicagoans.

City zoning policies serve to keep many neighborhoods segregated. These rules also keep lower-income residents of all races out of popular areas, allowing city officials to shape who can live where and making housing more expensive.

Should the right to open a new business be put up to a public vote? At a meeting this week in Geneva, Ill., aldermen voted to reject tattoo artist Ramiro Guillen’s plan to open a tattoo parlor on Randall road because of opposition from other business owners. And, one alderman speculated, because of stereotypes about...