Chicago Developers Are Pushing Back Against Affordable Housing Rules

As Chicago prepares to enter a new era of ramped-up affordable-housing development, a key question is whether private developers will go along with the city’s new guidances. A lawsuit filed, in part, by the Home Builders Association of Greater Chicago last Thursday shows signs of possible peril for the city’s low-income housing agenda. At the heart of the lawsuit is the Affordable Requirements Ordinance (ARO), which is part of Chicago’s five-year “Bouncing Back” plan for increasing affordable housing. Mayor Rahm Emanuel believes it will help produce as many as 1,200 affordable units over that span of years.

Developers involved in the lawsuit say the ordinance is unlawful and that it will actually depress low-income housing construction.