ONE Northside’s Environmental Justice team has worked tirelessly on the housing proposal for five years with allies in the Illinois Green New Deal Coalition. The ordinance creates a new, city-run nonprofit developer, Residential Investment Corp. This new entity will partner with private affordable developers to build new green and affordable housing with a dedicated funding stream of $135 million from a housing and economic development bond. These funds can now be loaned to developers at reduced rates, to increase the affordability of the units.
“This is a huge win, and we know this is just the first step!” ONS clean energy organizers said in a statement. “We now have to focus on how the ordinance is implemented, and other solutions for greater affordability.”
Separately, with ONS’s support the Chicago Teachers Union locked clean energy initiatives into its new contract, the first time the union has bargained specifically around climate change and energy goals.
Key agreements include installing heat pumps and solar panels at 30 schools, and creating pathways for Chicago high school students to secure good-paying jobs in clean energy.
“This contract is setting the floor of what we hope we can accomplish,” said Lauren Bianchi, a social studies teacher who now leads the union’s green schools initiatives, speaking to Canary Media. “It shows we can win on climate, even despite Trump.”