Affordable housing

Issues with schools, a stagnant job market and affordability have driven 12,000 blacks from Cook County in the last year.

In Los Angeles, it can take 10 years to get a voucher — if you're lucky.

Advocates for affordable housing worry that the elimination of an incentive program for developers in the House version of the tax bill could result in less low-income housing built in the future.

Local nonprofits created a private equity fund and found a way to minimize the investment risk.

The plan, called the Housing Affordability and Livability Agenda, relies on an exchange between the city and private developers known as the grand bargain, brokered two years ago.

The choke point is home building — which is in turn constrained by limited availability of land, building loans and skilled construction workers.

“I told the realtor: ‘I don’t even want to know what you’re willing to offer,'" one pastor said.

Sales jumped more than 5 percent last month.

'Black homes matter' for one person who's seen some residents move to cheaper areas.