Citizens for Neighborhood Stabilization

Update
February 22, 2010
Letter to Alderman Suarez
Hello, everyone. I thank you for your efforts to bring transparency to the
Neighborhood Stabilization Program. To date, 57 individuals and organizations from
across the City of Chicago signed on to a letter (January 15, 2010), requesting that
Alderman Ray Suarez host a public hearing to provide a status of the NSP program; to hear
feedback from the community regarding their concerns and experiences with the program;
and to share alternatives for improving the program and service delivery.

As you recall, the day we submitted the letter to Alderman Suarez, I shared a
summary of the program indicating that, as of December 31, 2009, public records indicated
that the City of Chicago had purchased 12 buildings with proceeds from the Neighborhood
Stabilization Program. Their application to HUD (November 28, 2009) indicated that they
would be using $55 million grant funding to purchase 425 units (buildings) between
January 2009 and June 2010. The application, and subsequent press releases, also
indicated that $55 million would be leveraged by $58 million from private sources and an
additional $98 million from HUD (for a total of $211 million). This does not include
additional units that could be purchased from income expected to be generated from
the projects. The City posts its quarterly performance reports to HUD on its website.

The City’s Progress

Since our initial letter, the NSP website (www.chicagonsp.org) has been updated on
a regular basis to indicate the number of buildings that have been purchased, the
neighborhoods in which the purchases were made, and the number of units. As of February
19, 2010, the City has reportedly purchased 48 buildings, accounting for 181 housing
units. It should also be noted that the City has more prequalified developers (51)than
building acquisitions to date.

The City has also reportedly committed approximately $30 million of the first $55
million in HUD funds. In other words, the City has committed nearly 60% of its first
round funding, but has completed only 11% of the number of building acquisitions it
has proposed to make within the first 18 months of the program with the first $55
million.
 We have a little more than 4 months before the 18-month period ends in June. In
order to maintain the schedule they set forth in their application to HUD, the City
would need to complete the remaining 89% of the proposed building acquisitions
within the remaining 22% of the proposed acquisition period.

Will We Get a Hearing?

I have followed up on our initial letter to Alderman Suarez’ office--making no fewer
than 32 calls--since January 15, 2010. Within about a week or so of my first call, Alderman
Suarez’ staff indicated that the Alderman would be hosting a public hearing scheduled
within a week of the last City Council meeting which was held on February 10, 2010. His
staff told me he needed to coordinate with Acting Commissioner Raguso of the Department
of Community Development. Ideally, the public hearing should have occurred around
February 17, or so. The hearing has yet to occur.

Alderman Suarez’ office called on Friday, February 19, 2010, indicating that the
Alderman will be scheduling a public hearing within the next couple weeks. He needs to
coordinate with Christine Raguso. She is on furlough until Tuesday, February 23, 2010, so I
should hear back from the Alderman not too long afterwards.

We Made the News

Ann State, of Channel 2 News, interviewed people from the City, Englewood, and
North Lawndale on Friday, February 19. The segment from North Lawndale, included
members of the Lawndale Alliance, who have signed off on our letter.

Call Your Alderman and Alderman Suarez TODAY!

I will keep you posted on the latest developments. In the meantime, I ask that you
contact your alderman and have him/her contact Alderman Ray Suarez to request the
public hearing. Regardless of where you live, you should be concerned about whether
or not this publicly funded program is, in fact, working as intended.

Please Forward This Message!

Please, feel free to forward this on to as many people as you think may be interested.
Questions regarding this update may be directed to Valerie F. Leonard at
valeriefleonard@msn.com, or 773-521-3137.