Gov. JB Pritzker, along with state lawmakers and advocates, signs an executive order to boost affordable housing in Illinois. | Shia Kapos/POLITICO
HOMING IN: Gov. JB Pritzker didn’t mention President-elect Donald Trump’s name in signing an executive order Wednesday to expand affordable housing options in Illinois.
Making a point: But Illinois’ Democratic governor not-so-subtly answered a cry from voters who are frustrated with the economy and particularly their inability to find affordable housing.
“It's a problem that takes many forms, has many causes, and it requires comprehensive solutions,” Pritzker told reporters Wednesday ahead of the signing. “Illinois needs to quickly and dramatically ramp up our efforts to approve and build new housing and to give more affordable options to working families.”
What it means: The executive order creates an Illinois director of housing solutions, who will focus on finding ways to add housing by working with the Illinois Housing Development Authority, the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity and other state agencies.
The lack of affordable housing became an issue late in the presidential campaign when Vice President Kamala Harris picked up on the concern. It was hard to ignore as the lack of affordable housing is a nationwide issue.
Can relate: Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson has also worked to address the housing crisis by expediting and streamlining affordable housing building projects. And a few weeks ago, the city launched a program to help fund affordable housing efforts.
Not just Chicago: Pritzker said the lack of affordable housing is a problem that touches every part of the state, and he brought in Peoria Mayor Rita Ali to make the point.
Eye-popping number: Ali said Peoria’s housing market during the summer saw 275 homes for sale, but only 29 of those qualified as being middle-class homes with a $120,000 to $180,000 price tag.
“Improving middle income housing opportunities for both renters and homeowners will continue to allow our tremendous healthcare industry to attract and retain talent and also improve housing options for working class families,” Ali said.
FIRED UP: Wednesday’s Chicago City Council meeting was supposed to be perfunctory since aldermen would be returning Friday to take a vote on Mayor Brandon Johnson’s proposed budget.
But a fire alarm went off soon after the public comment period, forcing everyone in Chicago City Hall and the adjoining Cook County Building to evacuate. A fire started in a records storage room on the county side of the building, according to ABC 7’s Craig Wall.
Fired up: When the meeting resumed, the real fireworks started. Debate focused on whether to approve a two-towered apartment project on the Lincoln Yards site in Ald. Scott Waguespack’s 32nd Ward.
Waguespack opposed the project because he says it’s “out of scale” with the surrounding area and would exacerbate traffic, explains the Block Club’s Quinn Myers.
The Chicago way: Tradition has it that City Council members fall in line and vote according to what that particular alderman wants for his or her ward. It’s called “aldermanic prerogative.”
Not this time: Allies of Mayor Brandon Johnson pushed back. Words were said. The mayor called a recess. And then the proposal was pulled so Waguespack and developer Sterling Bay could talk through their differences.
The face-off in chambers “was Johnson’s boldest attempt” since becoming mayor to challenge aldermanic prerogative, reports the Tribune’s Alice Yin.
A clock is ticking: “If no vote is held by Dec. 25 — six months after it was approved in the Plan Commission and first introduced to the Zoning Committee — developer Sterling Bay can request the project receive a designation by the Department of Housing that would open up a path to be approved in six months despite Waguespack’s objections,” reports Crain’s Justin Laurence.
If you are Sterling Bay CEO Andy Gloor, Playbook would like to hear from you! Email: skapos@politico.com
WHERE'S JB
At 555 West Monroe Street at 2 p.m. to announce a new business development initiative
WHERE's BRANDON
At the Garfield Park Conservatory at 10 a.m. to attend the Greencorps Chicago graduation — At the South Shore Cultural Center at 5 p.m. to accept the Peacemaker Award during the Metropolitan Peace Academy Community Violence Intervention graduation. Rapper Vic Mensa will be there, too.
Where's Toni
At the Cook County Health Professional Building at 9:30 a.m. with Commissioner Bill Lowry and others to celebrate the first cohort of graduates from Cook County Health’s EMT Apprenticeship Program — At 555 West Monroe Street at 2 p.m. with the governor — At the Cook County Building lobby at 3 p.m. to celebrate Kwanzaa and Hanukkah
Have a tip, suggestion, birthday, new job or (heaven forbid) a complaint? Email: skapos@politico.com
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— MADIGAN TRIAL: Madigan judge says ex-Rep. Eddie Acevedo must testify at trial, rejects competency concerns: “Acevedo plays a role in two alleged bribery schemes in Madigan’s trial involving ComEd and AT&T Illinois. He has never faced criminal charges for that specific conduct, but he served a six-month sentence for a tax evasion charge in a spinoff prosecution,” by the Sun-Times’ Jon Seidel and Mitchell Armentrout.
— Illinois Senate President Don Harmon stalling nursing home retaliation bill, advocates claim: “A bill pending in Springfield would give nursing home residents a better chance to sue facilities over retaliation claims that advocates say are rampant in Illinois. But a powerful industry trade group with deep financial ties to Illinois Senate President Don Harmon is lobbying against them,” by the Sun-Times’ Mitchell Armentrout.
— INVESTIGATION: Priest molested kids in Wisconsin. Why isn't he on a public list of alleged sex abusers there? “The list of alleged clergy sex offenders maintained by the Archdiocese of Milwaukee and Archbishop Jerome Listecki, a longtime Chicago cleric, is one of the least comprehensive among large Catholic organizations in the United States,” by the Sun-Times’ Robert Herguth and Milwaukee Journal Sentinel's Laura Schulte.
— In the neighborhood: LISC is accepting applications for the 2025 Chicago Neighborhood Development Awards, “celebrating 31 years of community and architectural excellence in Chicago neighborhoods.” Nonprofit and for-profit developers, as well as architects, are invited to showcase projects that have transformed communities. The deadline is Jan. 15.
COOK COUNTY AND COLLARS
— WEDDING BELLS: Thinking about tying the knot in 2025? If you live in Cook County and you and your special someone are ready to take the plunge, newly elected Cook County Clerk Monica Gordon has a proposal. She’s inviting couples interested in tying the knot in 2025 to apply for the first marriage license of the New Year and to exchange vows in the Cook County Clerk’s Office annual First Marriage Ceremony. Sign up here.
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Reader Digest
We asked about the theme of your holiday cards.
Carlton Hull: “Unity!”
Alison Pure-Slovin, a Skokie Village trustee: “Please consider donating food or volunteering with organizations that fight hunger locally.
Ed Mullen: “The theme of my holiday card is ‘Next year, I promise.’”
Next question: What's your take on presidential pardons? Email skapos@politico.com
— 9:30 a.m. CT: Sen. Tammy Duckworth will lead a subcommittee hearing titled “U.S. Air Traffic Control Systems, Personnel and Safety.” It follows a Government Accountability Office report warning that the Federal Aviation Administration needs to modernize aging air traffic control systems. Livestream here or on YouTube
TRIVIA
WEDNESDAY’s ANSWER: Congrats to Brian Munoz for correctly answering that the Progressive Miners of America (later renamed Progressive Mine Workers of America) was the labor organization that started in Gillespie in 1932 (It dissolved in 1999.).
TODAY’s QUESTION: When did holiday lights first appear on Michigan Avenue? Email skapos@politico.com
HAPPY BIRTHDAY
Cook County Circuit Court Judge Lindsay Huge, BGR Group CEO Bob Wood, Billy Goat Tavern owner Sam Sianis, Invest Aurora CEO Kelly O’Brien, Next Realty CEO Andrew Hochberg, YWCA Chicago’s Inspired Giving VP Kathleen Jacob and Narrative Strategies Managing Director David Pasch.
