WBEZ 91.5 Chicago

The Rev. Jesse Jackson Sr. says fixing the housing stock should be a priority for Chicago’s new mayor.Schools, safety and spending peppered Rahm Emanuel’s inauguration speech. But Jackson says there’s no urban policy plan in Chicago – it’s been abandoned."

In one of his final legislative acts, Mayor Richard Daley compromised with the Chicago City Council on an ordinance to fund affordable housing.It took nearly two years of stalling, back and forth negotiations and political maneuvering.But now some tax money is available to developers to buy and reha

A proposed ordinance to designate more affordable housing won’t happen before the Feb. 22 Chicago municipal election. For months, Ald.

It’s estimated that over forty-thousand households in Chicago are headed by grandparents who have taken responsibility for raising their grandchildren. 61-year-old Joyce Jackson is part of that legion.

There was little disagreement among candidates for Chicago mayor in a forum Tuesday evening devoted to public housing issues. But most of the major candidates didn't show. More than 250 people, many public housing residents, packed into an auditorium at the Chicago Cultural Center.

Chicago Tribune columnist Mary Schmich has been watching the demolition of public housing from her window.