PUBLISHED: 04-27-09

Olympic agreement passed

Affordable housing for South Side, minority-owned businesses to benefit

It’s unknown if Chicago will host the 2016 Summer Olympic Games, but that didn’t deter City Council from passing an ordinance intended to ensure the communities that could be affected by the Olympics will have something to gain.

On April 22, the Chicago City Council voted 48-0 to approve a community benefit agreement, which was originally introduced in January by aldermen Pat Dowell (3rd Ward) and Toni Preckwinkle (4th Ward), who both represent wards that would benefit from the ordinance.

The ordinance promises 30 percent of the proposed Olympic Village site will be turned into affordable housing and  40 percent of Olympic-generated contracts will go to women- and minority-owned businesses.

It also calls for jobs and apprenticeships for people in the South and West side neighborhoods near proposed Olympic sites, and for an independent compliance committee to be formed that will oversee that the goals are met.

“This is a good, legally-binding contract,” Dowell said. “And I’m especially happy about the 30 percent affordable housing goal.”

Alderman Bob Fioretti (2nd Ward), who represents the South Loop, which would also be affected by the Olympics,  supported the agreement, as well.

“This community benefit agreement means all of Chicago will be a winner,” Fioretti said.

Drafting the agreement was a group effort. One of the lead forces behind the agreement, Communities for an Equitable Olympics (CEO 2016), had been  working with aldermen and the 2016 bid organization for months to start the ordinance.

“Our neighborhood is challenged by gentrification,” said Jay Travis, the active gentrification,” said Jay Travis, director of the Kenwood Oakland Community Organization and a lead organizer of CEO 2016. “So any new affordable housing construction that is affordable to the people who live here now, is a benefit.”

Travis said that hosting the Olympics doesn’t necessarily generate income in and of itself. The revenue comes from the development associated with the games. And in South and West side neighborhoods that are already sensitive to gentrification, a lot of people are concerned about what could happen in their backyard.
“You have the Olympic stadium and the aquatic center [potentially] coming to Washington Park, as well as the Olympic Village at the site where Michael Reese Hospital is,” Travis said. “That’s a significant part of our neighborhood, so a lot of people are concerned about what is going to happen in terms of housing costs.”
Travis, along with the other supporters of the agreement, hope the ordinance will help quell fears about gentrification among residents.

But not everyone supports the move.

Former Illinois Senate President Emil Jones told the Chicago Defender that the community benefit agreement is “a sham,” and groups opposed to the Olympics, like No Games Chicago, don’t think the agreement will make much of a difference in the grand scheme of things.

During the city council meeting, several aldermen took the opportunity to respond to Jones’ comments.

Alderman Ed Smith (28th Ward) was displeased with Jones and said: “Where is his brain?” He also accused Jones of not getting anything accomplished during his tenure in Springfield.
“He wasn’t even able to pass gas,” Smith said.

Alderman Freddrenna Lyle (6th Ward) shot back at Jones, too.

“As opposed to people who sit in the cheap seats and take shots, some of us went to meetings—two, three, four a month—to work something out,” she said.

Travis and other supporters of the community benefit agreement had hoped the ordinance would come up for a full vote before City Council at last month’s meeting, on March 18, which would have been before the International Olympic Committee visit earlier this month.

Chicago is one of four cities competing to host the 2016 Summer Olympics. The IOC will announce its selection in October.

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