Chicago’s Woke ‘Slavery’ Agenda Mires Affordable Housing Construction in Soaring Costs

Why is Chicago lengthening the shadow of slavery over affordable housing?

Even as "progressive" Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson touts his efforts to cut red tape for affordable housing projects, as least one "woke" rule concerning "slavery" is costing developers tens of thousands of dollars to fulfill.

The city continues to suffer from a lack of affordable housing and many have claimed that the reason for the dearth of long-term shelter can be attributed to the difficult application and approval process that keeps construction projects bouncing from committee to committee as the applicants go through repeated approval processes.

The problem has been discussed for years, already. And Johnson has promised to reduce the long process and cut red tape to speed the construction of new housing. He has even given his efforts a catchy name and is trying to curry favor with his "Cut the Tape" campaign.

Apparently, it hasn’t all been for show as according to the Chicago Tribune, developers have noted some small changes for the better in the process.

Still, as the paper also points out, it literally takes years from first application to final approval as developers struggle to fulfill all the Byzantine rules and requirements, and the constant appeals to more and more committees, boards, and departments.

In one case, Veronica Gonzalez has been toiling to build a 50-unit housing development that she first proposed to the city in August 2023. But here it is 2025 and she is hardly any closer to getting her project approved.

Despite Johnson's claim that he is working to cut the red tape, the Tribune notes that one particularly woke rule is causing every project to grind to a halt while developers work to satisfy its requirements. It is a rule that costs developers untold amounts of money and man hours to satisfy before a project can move forward. It is also a needless expense that is layered onto the process simply for political reasons.

With this rule, City Hall requires every developer to supply an economic disclosure statement that forces all parties involved in the project to show proof that their companies have no history of making money from slavery prior to the U.S. Civil War. This requirement is a terrible cost to the developers because if forces them to do an inordinate amount of historical research into their subsidiaries.

"That response takes hundreds of hours of diligence and costs and is a question that no other city or state requires. This is a great example of what a city can do that adds costs and stifles private capital from working here," said Cat Vielma, who sits on the mayor’s task force and is director of acquisitions for Red Stone Equity Partners. Vielma is one of those whose task is to award developers with Low Income Housing Tax Credits.

City Hall claims that the reporting requirements are meant "to promote full and accurate disclosure to the public about any slavery policies sold by any companies, or profits from slavery by other industries (or their predecessors) who are doing business with the city."

But this is all just modern, left-wing politics. Actions by companies more than 150 years ago really has no bearing on current projects.

Granted, no contractor has been denied participation over the statement. However, it is still a requirement that costs them a lot of money and effort to satisfy.

Ultimately, this is just another example of Democrats putting a radical, left-wing agenda ahead of the financial needs of the city and the housing needs of thousands of vulnerable Chicagoans.

The housing crisis is real, as Chicago is suffering from serious shortfalls in affordable housing. Worse, the city's Chicago Low-Income Housing Trust Fund, which maintains 3,000 rental units for those in need, is already in the red to the tune of millions.

The shortfall is not inconsequential, either. According to the Tribune, the fund is down $10 million for its $14.1 million 2025 budget.

City Hall keeps insisting that taxes can be raised to fund affordable housing, or that developers be forced to pay up out of their own pockets for the privilege of being allowed to build here. All this even as the city's real estate market continues to collapse. Last December, Wirepoints reported that Chicago has the third-worst growth in home values of the nation’s top cities as well as the worst median home value growth.

Taxes are another problem for Chicago residents. City Hall seems to think that homeowners are a never-ending revenue source. The city's taxes have doubled in 10 years and Mayor Johnson sought even more tax revenue in his recent budget proposal. And while he didn't get all he wanted, taxes went up by 20 percent.

The lack of affordable housing is a problem of City Hall's own making, but there are obvious solutions.

Firstly, the problem could be helped by cutting many of these ridiculous restrictions on building. The city needs land-use reforms, such as opening up some land for duplexes and triplexes. Currently, more than 40 percent of the city's real estate is set aside solely for single family residences. Reducing this set-aside could help open locations for multi-family residences and affordable housing units.

Also, the time it takes to get these development projects through the approval process should be cut down to months instead of years.

It remains to be seen if Mayor Johnson and the City Council can take these common-sense actions.

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