Open thread: How much was the rent at your first Chicago apartment?

This week saw activists and aldermen take action for affordable housing in Chicago, an issue which is impossible to ignore considering that half of Cook County renters are paying more than they can afford. As a group of seven aldermen met this week to reiterate their support for the proposed Keeping the Promise ordinance, an initiative that seeks to stop the loss of CHA housing units and make sure that the housing authority is actually distributing housing vouchers instead of stockpiling millions of dollars in federal funds, activists stormed the ward offices of aldermen James Cappleman and Walter Burnett Jr. demanding that the two city council members sign a letter asking for a vote on the ordinance.

Tensions over gentrification and affordable housing have boiled over in some neighborhoods, with vandals tagging and causing property damage to private businesses and aldermanic offices over rising rents and shifting neighborhood demographics. Some aldermen are using downzoning measures as a tool to slow the pace of development and to force private investors to include more affordable housing in their proposals, meanwhile, hundreds of new apartments have been delivered along Milwaukee Avenue and hundreds more are on the way.

And while we get regular reports from apartment search sites that offer details on median rental prices throughout Chicago, there’s less available data from years past. So, how much was the rent at your first apartment? And how much are you paying now? Have you been in the same neighborhood? Be sure to include details on the number of bedrooms and bathrooms and the general location.

• Friday Open Thread [Curbed Chicago]