Afford Chicago began with a set of simple goals:
- Talk openly, candidly, and specifically about the affordability crisis in Chicago.
- Unite working people within their communities.
- Break down barriers to meaningful public participation.
The movement’s roots are in the Far Northside of the city, where longtime residents and new arrivals both search for and where officials have not balance growth and opportunity with displacement and disenfranchisement.
Our core principles:
Classify: Most political operatives in Chicago divide people by race, gender, ideology, age, and so many others. This categorization creates barriers to working together on goals that affect the common man.
Stratify: There is an ‘us’ and ‘them’. ‘We’ are the 99%, those who know what groceries cost because we shop for ourselves; work daily to provide for ourselves and loved ones without passive incomes; don’t have lawyers on retainer; with the burden of everyday life, don’t get the time with elected officials we deserve.
Jeer: Many groups proposing to support neighborhoods, and indeed many who lead or chair groups who get to pull the ears of city officials, do so with negativity as an emotional root. They disrupt, taunt, mock, ridicule, sneer, deride, heckle, and interrupt, despite claims to be staunch standard-bearers of the democratic process.
Hear: From the first principle, we are all individuals with different lived experiences, morals, and ideals. We aim to talk with each other, not at each other.
React: Social media has allowed a ‘mask-off’ mentality to reach our public forums. More and more, you can find individuals who may live within 3 blocks of you using pseudonyms, hiding or disguising their faces, and using abusive language that simply would not fly in public settings. On the other extreme, the focus of at least respectful engagement seems to be boiled down to slogan throwing, talking in circular paragraphs that nobody will read, and performative gestures that don’t move the needle.
Act: When we see a problem, we believe in acting on it. Acting includes organization, regularity, and intentionality
React: Social media has allowed a ‘mask-off’ mentality to reach our public forums. More and more, you can find individuals who may live within 3 blocks of you using pseudonyms, hiding or disguising their faces, and using abusive language that simply would not fly in public settings. On the other extreme, the focus of at least respectful engagement seems to be boiled down to slogan throwing, talking in circular paragraphs that nobody will read, and performative gestures that don’t move the needle.
Act: Acting on a problem includes viability, regularity, and inclusivity. We step outside our safe spaces to act in was that realistically make a difference, with predictable timings, and with open doors.
What is Affordability?
Every politician will use this word in the next decade, so it’s important to get in front of it before it gets warped into “consultant salaries” or something stupid like that.
The affordability crisis is Americans’ increasing difficulty in paying for, and getting satisfaction from, the following:
- Housing – rent & mortgages
- Healthcare – urgent care, routine care, medications
- Insurance – home, auto, business
- Sustenance – groceries and dining out
- Transportation – public & private
- Business – fees, permits, leases
- Taxes – property, business, services
Interlocking with all of these is safety and sanitation.
As you can see from the list above, these could apply to homeowners or renters; office or trade workers; owners or operators.
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