Preckwinkle overhauls county housing authority
Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle made major changes to the Housing Authority of Cook County Tuesday by appointing four new board members on the seven-member board.
They are Paul Roldan, the chief executive officer of Hispanic Housing Development Corporation; Deniece Jordan-Walker, principal of Public Finance Advisors LLC; Wendy Walker Williams, executive director of the not-for-profit South East Chicago Commission; and Polly Kuehl, senior vice president of property management for Evergreen Real Estate Services, LLC and former executive director of Housing for Lutheran Social Services of Illinois.
Of the four seats, two vacancies have been open for more than a year. One past member resigned and another’s term expired, according to Preckwinkle’s office.
Commissioners serve five-year terms.
In a news release, Preckwinkle described the housing authority, in the past, as being “overlooked and consistently underutilized.”
Moving forward, Preckwinkle has announced policy changes to improve efficiency, including joint purchasing power with the county to lower costs and using the county’s Job Order Contracting program for construction contracts.
The Housing authority will also step up collaboration with county offices and agencies.