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Leaders urged to 'ask questions, ponder possibilities'

By Richard Muhammad on Monday, March 19, 2007

If isn’t often that the goal of a training session is to have participants asking more questions at the end than the beginning.

But that was the mission of Gene Moreno, director of policy for the Chicago Rehab Network, as she completed a March 17 training on “Understanding Policy and Legislation” for community residents and members of the Washington Park Neighborhood Association.

Moreno’s presentation was part of a series of trainings presented by St. Edmund’s Redevelopment Corp., the New Communities Program and the Washington Park Neighborhood Association. It was her second session with the group.

Moreno opened by telling community leaders that understanding the big picture is important to building power at the neighborhood level.

That big picture includes knowing what trends are happening in the community, what vehicles are available to impact development and change, what questions to ask, and who to go to for answers, Moreno said.

Moreno used census data and the Chicago Rehab Network’s “Affordable Housing Fact Book” to have residents review changes in income, housing stock, education and demographics in Washington Park.

“What do these changes mean to you?” she asked.

Numbers don’t tell the whole story, but numbers, such as a community’s population figures, can impact the inflow of resources, and numbers can point to positive or negative signs, Moreno said.

Reading different indicators for a community can help paint a picture of what is happening, she continued.

For example, figures for Washington Park showed lagging educational attainment, and a high rate of lead poisoning among children.

Lead poisoning affects a child’s ability to learn and is most often found in older housing, Moreno observed. One could conclude that a significant number of children are living in dilapidated housing, even as the community has lost housing stock, she said.

Reviewing city documents and maps also shows the exact boundaries of “official” neighborhoods as designated by the city and Cook County, she added.

Those boundaries determine what vehicles for changes and public access points exist, Moreno said. Washington Park is in a tax increment finance district, but who knows what is happening with area TIF money? she asked.

One north side alderman used TIF money guarantees to help limit risk for a developer who wanted to undertake a major project related affordable housing and economic development, said Moreno. The $10 million TIF money guarantee was used to leverage other loans, she said.

Reading numbers, drawing conclusions

Among some trends found in Washington Park were increases in White, Latino and Asian residents, increased homeownership and a fall in the African American population, though the area remains predominantly Black.

Trainees were divided into small groups and used anecdotal and statistical evidence to decipher changes in the community.

Conclusions from the assessments from community members were interesting. Ed Chaney, a dentist, shared his group’s analysis. The group felt a “slow diversification” was taking place along racial lines and an influx of homeowners has brought greater stability and more resources.

Negatives included rising home insurance costs for longtime property owners and building owners called “new slum lords,” interested in renting to Section 8 voucher holders, but uninterested in impact on the quality of life.

Changes happen more quickly than census data shows, given new housing and other building projects can appear suddenly, Moreno said. Statistics show a slice of a community so even small numbers shouldn’t be ignored, she said.

Check out trends and pay special attention to increases, which can be harbingers of things to come, she advised.

Moreno urged participants to consider changes in nearby neighborhoods, because of shared schools, hospitals, grocery stores, bus lines and the same sanitation district. The impact can be positive or negative, she said.

“You can either make things happen or let things happen to you,” Moreno said.