The affordable housing crisis is pushing middle-class families out of Oak Park. People born and raised here, people who want to age in community, and people seeking a quality public education for their children are being priced out. A growing number of teachers, nurses, seniors, social workers, nonprofit employees, village employees, small business owners and their employees -- the full diversity of Oak Parkers -- are unable to continue to live here in the village they made so great. Alarmingly, housing affordability threatens our long-cherished racial diversity, as more than 1,500 of our Black neighbors have moved out of Oak Park since 2016.

The supply of housing affordable to the middle class Oak Parkers is shrinking while new construction caters to only wealthier people. Oak Park currently ranks in the bottom 7% for affordability in Illinois, and more than 1/3 of our residents cannot afford to live in the new high-rise developments. Our village government is doing little to preserve the village's affordable housing and get new affordable housing built.

Meet Cate Readling, The People's Lobby's endorsed candidate for Oak Park Village President in the upcoming election on April 6, and learn about her affordable housing plan.

Stay for a conversation with local housing experts Dan Lauber, Athena Williams and Kate Walz about why these policies are an important part of preserving and expanding racial and economic diversity in Oak Park.

Appearance at this event is not an endorsement of Cate Readling for Village President.

About the experts:

Professional city planner and fair housing attorney Daniel Lauber, AICP, authored Oak Park's award-winning Comprehensive Plan 1979 and has been in the forefront of efforts to preserve affordable housing and create new affordable housing ever since he led the battle against forced condominium conversions in the late 1970s. He has testified on preserving affordable housing to both houses of Congress, conducted numerous Analyses of Impediments to Fair Housing Choice, analyzed barriers to affordable housing, and served 8 years on the board of the Oak Park Regional Housing Center. He is a past president of the American Planning Association and twice of the American Institute of Certified Planners.  

Athena Williams is a respected community organizer and activist. Before becoming Executive Director of the Oak Park Regional Housing Center in the Fall of 2019, Athena is the former Program Director for the West Cook Homeownership Center of OPRHC. She has played many advocacy roles in the community including Chicago Public School Local School Council President, Associate Director of the Monroe Foundation, and an administrative assistant to the City of Chicago 37th Ward Alderman Emma Mitts. Athena, a product of Chicago Public Schools, holds a Bachelor of Science Degree from the University of Wisconsin Madison, and holds multiple certifications in Housing and Financial Coaching through HUD and the Neighborhood Reinvestment Corporation.

Kate Walz is a Senior Staff Attorney at National Housing Law Project (NHLP). She is a national expert on federally assisted housing preservation, fair housing, crime-free and nuisance property ordinances, the Violence Against Women Act, and the intersection of the criminal legal system and housing access. Prior to joining NHLP, Kate was at the Shriver Center on Poverty Law for almost 20 years, leading the Center’s advocacy and litigation efforts, including its housing advocacy.

Kate has significant housing policy experience, including working on legislation related to eviction reform, housing protections for immigrants, survivors of violence and persons with criminal records, public housing preservation, the preemption of crime-free and nuisance property ordinances, affordable housing preservation, and the 2013 and 2020 re-authorizations of the Violence Against Women Act. Kate has also served as counsel in several civil rights cases and HUD fair housing complaints, including Davis v. City of Joliet and Joliet v. Mid-City Nat’l Bank, CAFHA v. City of Chicago, Hayes v. Aurora Housing Authority, Jones v. HUD, Blakemore v. Housing Authority of Cook County, Jenkins v. HUD, HOPE Fair Housing v. City of Peoria, Calumet Lives Matter v. East Chicago Housing Authority, and Cook County v. Wolf.