By Dylan Drews
@redlineproject
AI disclosure: ChatGPT was used to help create a rough outline of this story and provide sources. DALL-E 3 was used to create images, and the podcast was generated by NotebookLM.
From Englewood to Uptown, Chicago is in the midst of a housing crisis. As rent skyrockets, affordable housing options seem to be disappearing. Unfortunately, this raises the question for all Chicago residents: where can they afford to live anymore?
Sadly, for most, the answer is nowhere close to home.
A recent report from the Chicago Department of Housing uncovered that more than 120,000 low-income households are “cost-burdened,” spending, on average, over 30% of their income on rent. For some, this number can be 50% or more.
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Market Failure
Bob Palmer, Policy Director at Housing Action Illinois, said that the private market isn’t built to help the people who need accommodations. “The private market does not work to create housing for households with the lowest incomes,” Palmer said. “The rents that households with the lowest incomes can pay do not cover the cost of developing or operating rental housing.”
In other words, building housing is not cheap, and developers need to be able to make a profit or at least break even. However, when renters can only afford to pay $600 or $700 a month, it’s not even enough to cover construction, maintenance and taxes. As a result, the private market mostly builds housing for middle- and upper-income earners, leaving those who are less fortunate with little to no options.
This gap is a huge problem. According to a 2024 Housing Action Illinois report, full-time workers in Chicago need to earn $32.96 per hour to afford a modest one-bedroom apartment. This means that a person earning the 2024 state minimum wage of $14 would have to work 1.8 full-time jobs or work 71 hours a week to afford a modest one-bedroom apartment.
Palmer said he believes that government assistance is the solution to help close the gap that the private market cannot.
“We need public investment from all levels of government — federal, state, and local — to make up for the market failure,” he said. Without government assistance, the gap between what people earn and what it costs to live in Chicago will only continue to grow.
Barriers to Building More
Even when there are funds available, it does not mean that getting affordable housing built is going to be easy. The process is commonly delayed or stopped entirely by a mixture of outdated zoning laws, complicated regulations, and especially local resistance.
One major barrier with affordable housing construction comes from within the community itself. Proposals for said housing developments often face pushback from residents who worry about things such as property values or overcrowding.
Read More
Read the other stories in our five-part series about Chicago housing issues.
Coverage: Will Humboldt Park’s Identity Survive Gentrification? | The City’s Rental Crisis | Mapping Chicago’s Affordable Housing | 2025 project overview
Opinion: A Legacy of Discrimination: Chicago’s Housing Bias | Quiet Displacement: Chicago’s Affordable Housing Crisis
“Some people are just posted to any new housing development because they want to keep their community the way it is,” Palmer said. “When people are specifically opposed to an affordable housing development, it may be based on misguided perceptions about who will live in the housing, or it could be outright discrimination.”
Such resistance, often referred to as “NIBYism”, or “Not In My Back Yard”, has halted projects. According to a 2024 Block Club Chicago article, proposals in Jefferson Park and North Center have been met with resistance from local groups concerned about density, traffic, and neighborhood change, especially in white, wealthier neighborhoods. Consequently, lower-income neighborhoods are often overburdened with affordable housing projects, despite already having their own housing issues.
A promising solution
While solving Chicago’s affordable housing crisis will take some time, there are signs of progress and even some promising models taking shape.
Palmer said Chicago is trying new efforts, including the Green Social Housing ordinance. The plan, proposed by Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson, would build more affordable housing, was introduced in early 2025.
“There are lots of good models,” Palmer said. “Chicago is implementing some of them, including the proposed Green Social Housing ordinance.”
According to a 2025 City of Chicago press release, the goal is to create more stable, permanent housing that the city can control rather than relying on private developers. How it works is the city creates a nonprofit developer to build and manage the apartments. These developments will be mixed-income, meaning some units will be affordable for low-income families, while others will be rented out at a more regular price. Through this, at least 30% of the apartments will always remain affordable. The buildings will also be eco-friendly, using green energy to cut costs and reduce pollution. To complete all of this, a $135 million loan fund will help pay for these projects, eliminating the need for private investors looking for a profit.
Solving Chicago’s housing crisis is not just in the hands of political figures and developers.
“Elected officials set the policy priorities for our federal, state, and local governments,” Palmer said. “We need to do more to encourage candidates for elected office to focus on solutions to our housing problems.” That means that the youth can make a difference too. While getting out and voting helps, you can also make a difference by attending events such as public meetings and protests.
The road ahead
Of course, Chicago’s affordable housing crisis will not disappear overnight. However, the city seems to be attempting to make a change. New ordinances, an increase in awareness, and efforts from organizations such as the Chicago Housing Administration are trying to turn the tide.