Well-attended Reclaim NW Suburbs event on Affordable Housing

Sixty community members were in attendance at the recent Reclaim NW Suburbs event, "Income Inequality: A Focus on Affordable Housing", in Arlington Heights.

Three speakers addressed affordable housing and processes for encouraging public support on the issue, Deborah A. Underwood, Parliamentarian; Jon Rapp, Hope Center Manager, Journeys; and Mark Hellner, Executive Director, the Center for Disability and Elder Law and Arlington Heights Plan Commission member.

Reclaim NW Suburbs held this event to encourage community members to hold their elected boards accountable to providing the amount of affordable housing that meets or exceeds the state's requirements and that their proposed plans are responsive to a community's needs. Many North and Northwest suburbs are not meeting affordable housing requirements that are requested by the state. The speakers and the attendees were in agreement of the need for community involvement to keep after the local governments, developers, and to keep in touch and listen to fellow residents, in regards to this important issue.

Reclaim Chicago and its suburban chapters including Reclaim Northwest Suburbs are supported by The People's Lobby and National Nurses United, the largest union and professional association of RNs in U.S. history. Reclaim NW Suburbs follows The People's Lobby's mission of supporting public policies and candidates that put the needs of people ahead of big corporations and the very rich. This is done through pushes for legislation and fair budgets, educating people on policy, leadership training, and supporting grassroots movements and candidates that represent its values. Reclaim NW Suburbs applies this mission to the issues and needs of the northwest suburbs on such topics as increasing the minimum wage, affordable housing, and encouraging democratic processes in local government.