Public Housing Watch

The fastest growing subsidized housing stock is arriving via the CHA's rent subsidy program, sending vouchers to private landlords who house the poor. Not bad policy, in theory, but the practice has continued to isolate public housing in harsh neighborhoods with the participation of known slumlords. Those slumlords are pocketing taxpayer subsidy and doing little to maintain their properties. The Chicago Reporter found that "six out of every 10 buildings inspected by the CHA in 2012 failed inspections at least 50 percent of the time," nearly double the 2006 rate. Building emergencies have quadrupled. Even in impoverished areas, neighbors complain about these CHA-subsized calamities. High levels of inspection failure means the CHA is doing its job in monitoring the situation, claims CHA public affairs officer Donna White. You decide. [The Chicago Reporter, photo: Jonathan Gibby/The Chicago Reporter]