Chicago, Illinois often referred to as the Second City or the Windy City has recently taken on a much more ominous nickname, Chiraq. The dubious title that entails that a major American city share similar traits to the worn torn country of Iraq comes about from the dramatic and unfortunate rise of gang violence in the city and metro area. Despite success in curbing crime from its peak levels in the early 90’s the decrease is no more, crime has come roaring back in the Windy City, leaving many communities, particularly on the south and west side in the dust, as downtown and many north side communities see new construction popping up frequently. What happened to Chicago? How could some communities do so well and others fail so profoundly? How
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Before the courts ruled in 1948 that it was unconstitutional to deny people housing based on their race or ethnicity it was considered to be perhaps the main duty of the real estate industry to assure white neighborhoods would remain homogenous. Realtors would create restrictive covenants to enforce racial segregation, preventing minority groups from purchasing homes in white communities, as it was commonly believed that black people as well as Jewish peoples’ presence in a neighborhood would be detrimental to property value. (Judd, Swanstorm, 259, ch 10) Policies such as these, segregated metropolitan areas and helped enforce stereotypes that certain minority groups are undesirable, which has led to a continued effort to maintain homogeneity in white neighborhoods. Today, many of these racially biased policies are practiced in the form of zoning laws. Zoning laws vary across the United States, and within different cities within the Chicago metro area. In Chicago, The Illinois Policy Institute points out, exclusionary zoning restricts an adequate supply of low income housing, especially in white communities, as a result fewer low income and minority people are capable of relocating to safer and more desirable parts of the city and metropolitan …show more content…
Special authorities, which operate separately from the municipalities are able to complete large scale development and infrastructure projects through issuing revenue bonds (Judd, Swanstrom, 330, CH 12). These bonds allow for cities and metropolitan areas to finance large scale projects, such as building arenas and convention centers. In order to prevent gridlock, these independent special authorities act much like a private corporation, by making business minded decisions and not having to worry about partisan issues, as they do not need public approval. However, simultaneously “they could act just like governments and generate revenue, receive funds from other governments and borrow money and sell tax-free bonds.” (Judd, Swanstrom, 331, CH 12) They effectively look to bring about cooperation between the city, the suburbs and the greater region, by working to develop projects that will benefit the metro as a whole. An example of this type of special authority in the Chicago area is the Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning (CMAP). CMAP, which was created in 2005 and serves as the “regional planning organization for the northeastern Illinois counties of Cook, DuPage, Kane, Kendall, Lake, McHenry, and Will” (The Chicago
Before the courts ruled in 1948 that it was unconstitutional to deny people housing based on their race or ethnicity it was considered to be perhaps the main duty of the real estate industry to assure white neighborhoods would remain homogenous. Realtors would create restrictive covenants to enforce racial segregation, preventing minority groups from purchasing homes in white communities, as it was commonly believed that black people as well as Jewish peoples’ presence in a neighborhood would be detrimental to property value. (Judd, Swanstorm, 259, ch 10) Policies such as these, segregated metropolitan areas and helped enforce stereotypes that certain minority groups are undesirable, which has led to a continued effort to maintain homogeneity in white neighborhoods. Today, many of these racially biased policies are practiced in the form of zoning laws. Zoning laws vary across the United States, and within different cities within the Chicago metro area. In Chicago, The Illinois Policy Institute points out, exclusionary zoning restricts an adequate supply of low income housing, especially in white communities, as a result fewer low income and minority people are capable of relocating to safer and more desirable parts of the city and metropolitan …show more content…
Special authorities, which operate separately from the municipalities are able to complete large scale development and infrastructure projects through issuing revenue bonds (Judd, Swanstrom, 330, CH 12). These bonds allow for cities and metropolitan areas to finance large scale projects, such as building arenas and convention centers. In order to prevent gridlock, these independent special authorities act much like a private corporation, by making business minded decisions and not having to worry about partisan issues, as they do not need public approval. However, simultaneously “they could act just like governments and generate revenue, receive funds from other governments and borrow money and sell tax-free bonds.” (Judd, Swanstrom, 331, CH 12) They effectively look to bring about cooperation between the city, the suburbs and the greater region, by working to develop projects that will benefit the metro as a whole. An example of this type of special authority in the Chicago area is the Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning (CMAP). CMAP, which was created in 2005 and serves as the “regional planning organization for the northeastern Illinois counties of Cook, DuPage, Kane, Kendall, Lake, McHenry, and Will” (The Chicago