FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contacts: Brian White, Executive Director, Lakeside Community Development Corporation

1652 W. Wallen Ave., Chicago, IL 60626
Ph. (773) 209-8552; Fax (773) 262-9402

Rev. Marilyn Pagán-Banks, Executive Director, Northside P.O.W.E.R.

7649 N. Paulina St., Chicago, IL 60626
Ph. (773) 262-2297; Fax (773) 262-7872

Lakeside Community Development Corporation and Northside

P.O.W.E.R. Build Support for More Affordable Housing in Rogers Park

North Side Nonprofits Sponsor Public Meeting April 18 to Demonstrate Strong Support
for Rental Improvement Fund in 49 Ward and Expansion of Cook County Foreclosure
th

Mediation Program

Chicago, April 9, 2010 – More than 400 community residents are anticipated to
demonstrate their strong support for preserving affordable rental housing and combating
foreclosures statewide at a public meeting organized for Sunday, April 18, 2010, in
Rogers Park. The meeting is co-sponsored by Lakeside CDC, a leading affordable
housing advocate organization located in Rogers Park, and Northside P.O.W.E.R., a
community organizing coalition with members across the north side and near north
suburbs of Chicago.

2009 home foreclosure filings in Chicago were almost triple the number from before the
financial meltdown. Far North Side neighborhoods have been among the hardest hit,
affecting homeowners, renters, and small landlords. According to the 2009 Chicago
Foreclosure Report by National People's Action (NPA), Rogers Park was the 4th-hardest
hit among Chicago community areas in terms of foreclosure increases between 2008
and 2009.

In response to the foreclosure crisis and the overall downturn in the housing market,
Lakeside CDC and Northside P.O.W.E.R. have teamed up with local landlords, renters
and affordable housing advocates to call for the establishment of a rental improvement
fund (RIF) in the 49th Ward, which comprises primarily Rogers Park. Northside
P.O.W.E.R. and Lakeside CDC are also advocates for Cook County's Mortgage
Foreclosure Mediation Program.

The two nonprofit organizations are holding a public meeting on April 18 from 3:00 p.m.
to 4:00 p.m. at Rogers Park Presbyterian Church located at 7059 North Greenview
Avenue to demonstrate the strong grassroots support for preserving neighborhood
housing options through these two campaigns.

Lakeside CDC Executive Director Brian White said the 49th Ward RIF would improve
the quality of life for all Rogers Park residents. "This fund will go a long way toward
addressing the current situation here- namely that much of the available rental housing
stock in Rogers Park is aged and in need of rehabilitation, while creating a dedicated
source of future revenue for continued housing stabilization and improvement. It will
also protect many of the smaller landlords who may be compelled to exit the rental
market or raise rents to unaffordable levels, due to the costs to make repairs."

A study conducted by Lakeside CDC in 2006 found that many of Rogers Park's rental
units were converted to condos during the real estate bubble in the early 2000’s and of
the remaining rental units, more than 18 percent were aging or are in deteriorating
buildings. The declining housing market has further eroded values and made it
increasingly tough on renters and landlords alike.

Preliminary estimates suggest the 49th Ward RIF could generate more than $54 million
over 23 years and assist more than 1,500 multifamily property owners. The fund would
be financed through tax increment financing (TIF), a widely-used tool that redirects local
property tax revenues to neighborhood improvement projects. Proponents of the 49th
Ward Rental Improvement Fund have also incorporated significant TIF-reform elements,
which make the fund a model TIF for the purposes of securing community benefits,
control and accountability.

Additional information on the 49 th Ward Rental Improvement Fund can be found at http://
www.lakesidecdc.org/component/docman/cat_view/78-research?
orderby=dmdate_published

Lakeside CDC and Northside P.O.W.E.R. are also seeking support from state
lawmakers, several of whom will attend the April 18th meeting, to replicate Cook
County's Foreclosure Mediation Program at the State level. The Foreclosure Mediation
Program provides struggling homeowners with counseling, free legal services and
opportunity to have court-appointed mediation between the foreclosed homeowner(s)
and their lender. The Cook County program is modeled after highly successful programs
already in place around the United States, including most notably in Philadelphia, PA.

"The foreclosure crisis has been spreading throughout this state," said Pam Riedy,
Northside P.O.W.E.R leader. "Our elected representatives urgently need to get behind a
foreclosure mediation program like the one in Cook County because as more and more
Illinois homes face foreclosure, hard working individuals and families are being left
without a decent place to live."

About Lakeside Community Development Corporation

Lakeside Community Development Corporation, a nonprofit housing organization
located in Chicago, provides housing counseling and technical assistance services, and
engages in advocacy and real estate development activities. These coordinated
services advance the agency’s mission, which is “to preserve and create affordable
housing opportunities in Chicago.” www.lakesidecdc.org

About Northside P.O.W.E.R.

Northside P.O.W.E.R. (The acronym stands for “People Organized to Work, Educate
and Restore”) is the community organizing arm of the Good News Community Kitchen
(GNCK), a Rogers Park anti-hunger organization that feeds between 130 and 180
people each night of the year, and works to eliminate the causes of hunger and poverty.
www.gnck.org