By Jlynne Askew
@redlineproject
AI disclosure: Perplexity and ChatGPT was used to help with the outline of this paper to help come up with researching topics for sources.
Chicago has a deeply rooted history of segregation and racial tensions that continues to battle with housing even today.
Looking back at the days of redlining to the current challenges faced, such as housing restrictions on Section 8, systemic barriers are consistently the reason for the separation between racial and economic groups. The effects of housing biases are feelings that were passed down through generations and continue a cycle of inequality and discrimination that consistently impacts low-income families disproportionately.
Dating back to the early 20th century, Chicago’s history of housing discrimination is one of the most notorious examples of redlining. The legacy was not only backed by only private institutions but also federal policies that engraved racism into its base, altering how the housing market works altogether. Redlining is a practice that is supported by policies put into place by the federal government and banks. They often denied mortgage loans and other financial services to residents and predominantly black neighborhoods that were a lot of time available in predominantly white neighborhoods.
Dr. Stacey Sutton, a professor at UIC’s Department of Urban Planning and Policy, said, “ Through redlining, much of our city, in terms of the South and West sides especially, were systemically disinvested or not allowed to get mortgages. Therefore housing is kind of dilapidated.”
Sutton added that “once these systems are in place that’s a process and a cycle and it’s really difficult to reverse that.”
Listen to a podcast of about this article
Denying investment to these neighborhoods systematically created a cycle of underfunded schools, limited job opportunities, and poverty. This type of policy denied these families the ability to have home ownership but also further pushed racial segregation.
By essentially legally arranging segregation through laws, rules and systems, redlining helped cement black and brown families into specific areas of the city, a lot of times these areas offered fewer public services and had lower property values than predominantly white neighborhoods. In 1933, the Homeowners Loan Corporation (HOLC) made maps of Chicago and color-coordinated each neighborhood based on what they thought would be “investment risks.”
However, on these maps, the areas with a large amount of black or brown populations were marked red defining them as undesirable. These neighborhoods were not given certain financial services and left the families with little to no access to affordable housing and reinforcing economic disadvantages.
In 2018, the National Community Reinvestment Coalition (NCRC) found that 74 % of the neighborhoods that were said to be “hazardous” by the HOLC are still classified as low income today. It also discovered that about 64% of these neighborhoods are still predominantly black and brown neighborhoods.
Although redlining was outlawed in the 1960s, the impact of it continues to affect the housing market and contributes to the large wealth racial difference.
Although much has been done to help stop housing discrimination there are still big challenges with housing laws. Fair housing laws were created and constantly amended over time to stop discrimination based on race, nationality, religion, sex , familial status, disability, etc. However, it has not been effective in getting rid of it altogether.
This is mainly due to loopholes and the laws not being enforced. One example of a loophole would be zoning laws. Zoning laws can stop the development of formal housing in these wealthy adequately funded neighborhoods. This can make it more difficult for low-income families to get into these wealthier and more neighborhoods.
Section 8 housing, now known as Chicago Choice Housing Voucher, was created to help out these low-income families and allow them to have access to safe and decent housing. The idea of it was to allow families to move into better neighborhoods, however, it is full of a lot of barriers.
One of the barriers is that “the landlords are not required to take the vouchers presented to them.” According to Sutton, “It is hard to get a voucher and even harder to find a landlord who will take one.” This also seems to be the case for Dana George, a hardworking mother of two and a current recipient of Chicago Choice Housing Voucher.
Art direction by Jlynne Askew | Art by ChatGPT
George currently is living in an apartment that accepts the vouchers however the living conditions are not up to par and she is living in a high-crime area. So far she has not been able to get off the waiting list or has been denied because they ”don’t take Section 8.” This excuse is technically illegal in Chicago, however, the law is rarely enforced.
Housing is not just about where people live, but it’s also about what they can pass on to their family. Homeownership is a stepping stone for families to build generational wealth. However, with decades like this of discrimination, a lot of black and brown families are excluded from that opportunity. According to the 2024 report Color of Wealth in Chicago, “The median household holds nearly 10 times the wealth of the average black household.”
From that very same article, it estimates that Black families have the lowest rate at 34% of homeownership vs. white families’ estimated rate of 72%. This data highlights the historical impact of that systemic barriers, like redlining, have had on black and brown families in Chicago.
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 | Chicago Facing an Affordable Housing Crisis | Mapping Chicago’s Affordable Housing | 2025 project overview
Opinion: Quiet Displacement: Chicago’s Affordable Housing Crisis
A lot of local governments are afraid of receiving backlash from the more wealthy residents in these neighborhoods who are against affordable housing. This means that on paper the policies will look like they are fair to everyone, but they still can maintain the racial and economic discrimination because of their fear. Chicago’s housing discrimination is not something that just happened overnight. It will not go away without the intentional effort of landlords and government officials. The city’s neighborhoods show generations of discriminatory practices and exclusion.
Said George, “We need more support for people like me who are fighting, we need more support and funding for these programs.”