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Listening is a Skill

* Joe Moore Lies About TIF Project and Funds

Last night Joe Moore made a big deal about no section 8 vouchers were being issued on the 6610 N. Sheridan $2 million dollar TIF hand-out. I recorded his lie on video.

Later in the meeting a neighbor asked the developer if section 8 vouchers would be accepted. He said Yes. So that means, this property will be locked into a 30 year section 8 agreement. This property is basically going to be transformed into another Broadmoor. . . . . More and Video


Posted by Craig Gernhardt


If you listened closely, you should have noticed the difference, but if not, there was a clear distinction drawn between a "Section 8 Project" and a "Section 8 Voucher". The Northpoint Buildings are Section 8 Projects. The rental payment stays with the building when a tenant moves and the new tenant moving in receives the benefit. This type of project based voucher cannot be started today as I understand it. A Section 8 Voucher which is what Mr. Hole refers to belongs to the tenant and that voucher moves with the tenant wherever the tenant moves to provided they follow the rules.

Moore went on further to explain that landlords in Cook County must accept a tenant with a Section 8 Voucher, provided that the voucher holder meets the same screening requirements that anyone else would have to meet. It is an ordinance that protects the tenant with the voucher from discrimination for financial reasons. Again though, it does not protect them from any other standards that are legal and applied equally to all applicants.

Moore didn't lie. Mr. Hole didn't listen, and by the way, the building is under the same requirements now regarding Section 8 Voucher holders. They have to take them today too.

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> The Northpoint Buildings are Section 8 Projects. The rental payment stays with the building when a tenant moves and the new tenant moving in receives the benefit. This type of project based voucher cannot be started today as I understand it.

And the City and HUD put a stop to Section 8 projects for what reasons? Please inform us.

I don't know the answer, but I intend to try and find out.

Project based section 8 is a complicated issue.

I looked into this and the best I can determine is that the program based section 8 isn't literally dead, but it is functionally dead. If someone were to want to get involved in this type of project now the various housing departments, would steer the building towards other programs.

This program was big in the late 70's and early 80's and many of the projects were done with 40 year agreements. The agreements had opt out clauses at 20 years. Heavy use of this program ended in the very early 90's. It is possible that by 2011, because of the opt out provision, there will be a net loss of 8,000 units across the city in these programs. This will not be the case for NOrthpoint because they agreed to continue in the program. The work of the Project Based Section 8 is to try to keep current participants in the program, not adding new participants.

As an aside, this program help to build some of the high-rises on Sheridan Rd. down in Edgewater by having some mixed income use in the agreement, but most of the buildings used the financial benefits and then got out as soon as possible since it was more profitable.


Today the building owners don't want the long-term commitments and the housing agencies have responded by changing the funding mix to include tax credits, funding from state general obligation bonds and have shortened the contract obligations as well.

One interesting note is that in the tenant based Section 8 Voucher program their has not been any new vouchers issued since 1998. There have been a few re-issued because a small number of people left the program. The major pool of new voucher holders are from the CHA and were issued vouchers because of the plans to reduce CHA housing from 41,000 to 25,000 units.

There are lots of people in this world who understand this better than I do. If you have additional information or corrections please feel free to make them.

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