At the urging of Alderman Walter Burnett Jr. (27th Ward), Toni Preckwinkle (4th), Helen Shiller (46th) and Dorothy Tillman (3rd), the committee on housing and real estate deferred action on a proposed ordinance requiring set-asides of 10% to 20% of units in multifamily developments with 10 units or more if the developers are receiving city assistance.

A department of housing initiative already pushed by Richard M. Daley requires developers seeking city financial assistance—be it tax increment financing, property tax breaks or land write-downs, to set aside 20% of the units in the proposed development as affordable. That usually means affordable to those earning less than the median income, about $70,500 for a family of four.

"It codifies what the city already does," says Chicago Rehab Network advocacy director Gene' Moreno. "This ordinance really doesn't create the kind of vehicle necessary to address the affordable housing issue across the board."Instead, affordable housing advocates would like to see the set-aside requirement boosted to as much as 30% of all new units, regardless of location and whether city assistance is sought. In addition, they would define affordable as 50% of the median income for the area, while the city defines it as 60% for rental housing and 100% for for-sale housing.

"This isn't helping people in the neighborhoods, where people are being forced to move out of," says Bickerdike Redevelopment Corp. senior organizer Marla Bramble.

Chicago Rehab Network is a coalition of nonprofit housing organizations looking to rehabilitate or build affordable units throughout the city.

Burnett, whose ward takes in the West Loop, has been one of the most aggressive aldermen in urging developers to increase their affordable housing components. However, developers typically balk at going much beyond 20%, saying the developments become economically unfeasible.

"This initiative represents a major step forward in the effort to make all Chicago neighborhoods affordable to people of all incomes and backgrounds," Daley says of his proposal. "This ordinance promotes mixed-income, and economically diverse communities, with working families, professionals, immigrants, seniors and young couples living side-by-side."