DuPage United Downers Grove Housing Team
“Preserving Middle-income Neighborhoods in Downers Grove”

The DuPage United Downers Grove Housing Team includes members of Congregation Etz Chaim, Downers Grove Friends Committee (Quakers), First United Methodist Church of Downers Grove, Gloria Dei Lutheran Church, League of Women Voters, St. Joseph Catholic Church, St. Mary of Gostyn Catholic Church, and other interested residents. The team has worked for six months to research the problem of affordable housing in Downers Grove, review options for solutions, and plan further activities.

The focus of the team is to marshal public support for action by the Village Council and other local decision-makers. The specific action requested is to form, under village auspices, an ad hoc committee of interested citizens, village staff, and outside experts that will define and implement appropriate steps to preserve the economic diversity of Downers Grove’s housing stock.

In support of this objective, on December 1, 2006 the team hosted a gathering entitled “Preserving Middle-income Neighborhoods in Downers Grove: An Information Session” at St. Joseph Church. The extent of citizen concern about this issue was demonstrated when, despite a six-inch snowfall earlier in the day, 195 people attended.

Presenters were:
• Susannah Levine, Senior Policy Analyst, Business and Professional People for the Public interest, who explained the statistics and impacts of disappearing affordable housing in DuPage County and Downers Grove, debunked common myths, and reviewed options for solutions;
• Bob Wahlgren, Executive Director, Community Housing Association of DuPage, who explained the use of land trusts to provide affordable housing; and
• Carol Lee Cikanek, nationwide leading realtor and former Hinsdale planning commissioner, who describer the economic benefits of a balanced mix of housing, and suggested that a new, comprehensive plan rather than constant code adaptations is the most effective way to ensure that mix.

In the discussion groups that followed, sentiments were overwhelmingly in favor of action by the village and at the end, a large number of Downers Grove residents committed to supporting further activities of the DuPage United Downers Grove Housing Team.

Since the mayor and all the village commissioners were invited to our December meeting but only two commissioners attended, we decided on a second effort to get the information to the council. Especially important was the information about the situation in Downers Grove in the presentation by Ms. Susannah Levine.

On December 19, twenty-five concerned residents attended the village council meeting to ask the council to view Ms. Levine’s half-hour presentation at an upcoming meeting. After lengthy objections and discussions, no response resulted.

At the next council meeting, January 2, we reiterated the offer. Again several residents spoke in support, including a military family that reminded the council that many Downers Grove military families are making sacrifices for their neighbors in Downers Grove, as well as for the rest of the country. They said that the village owes it to its military families to ensure that they can return to their own home town. They urged the council to "please do something about what's happening to Downers Grove."

Again there were lengthy reservations expressed and discussions of alternatives. But this time three of the commissioners said they were interested in the material and wanted to see it fairly soon. In the end, there still was no decision.

A third discussion took place at the council meeting on January 9. Commissioner Waldack addressed the delays and confusion that had characterized the discussion. He added that more than an hour and a half had already been spent debating whether to have a half-hour presentation. After further discussion and argument the council agreed that the presentation would be made at their regular meeting at 6:30 pm
on February 6.

In view of the confusion, delays and misunderstandings that occurred during this exchange, the DuPage United Downers Grove housing team would like to reiterate, in different words, the objective stated at the beginning of this posting. Our position is, and has been from the beginning, that

a. The virtual absence of homes in Downers Grove available to middle-income people negatively affects many present residents and their families, as well as the social, aesthetic, and economic future of the village.

b. Finding and implementing a solution appropriate to Downers Grove will take a great deal of time and effort on the part of the village leadership and staff, including a study of approaches that have succeeded in other municipalities.

c. The Village Council and staff should treat this issue as high priority and work closely with residents in a good-faith effort to address it.

For further information, please contact John Hazard, hazardj@comcast.net, or Pat Sullivan, 312-353-6236x2664; 630-963-8547.