Housing & Economic Justice
JCUA is transforming Chicago’s housing system through community-led campaigns to end homelessness, prevent displacement, build green housing, and more
Housing justice has been at the heart of JCUA’s mission for more than 60 years. From our earliest campaigns in the 1960s, when Rabbi Robert J. Marx challenged the racist housing practices that shaped Chicago, to our present-day coalition work, we’ve remained committed to dismantling the systems that force people into unstable, unaffordable, and unsafe housing.
We know housing insecurity doesn’t happen by accident. It’s the result of disinvestment, corporate profiteering, and public policies that prioritize wealth over human dignity. At JCUA, we’re organizing for structural solutions rooted in our deepest Jewish values: that every person deserves a home, every community deserves investment, and no one should be pushed out because of their income, race, or immigration status.
JCUA’s Housing & Economic Justice Committee is leading multiple campaigns — to end homelessness, prevent displacement, build green housing, and generate progressive revenue. We do this work in close partnership with individuals and organizations most impacted, and with a long-term vision for justice.
To learn more, contact community organizer Jimmy Rothschild (jimmy@jcua.org) or sign up for email updates about our Housing & Economic Justice work.
Preventing Displacement
The Obama Presidential Center is coming to the South Side, but without strong protections, longtime residents risk being pushed out. As part of the Obama CBA Coalition, JCUA is backing a Community Benefits Agreement ordinance to ensure that housing stays affordable for working families, jobs go to local residents, and Black-owned businesses and neighborhood schools are supported.
Building Green Housing
As part of the Illinois Green New Deal Coalition, we’re advancing a bold model for housing that is community-owned, publicly-funded, environmentally-sustainable, and tenant-governed. With the recent passage of the Green Social Housing Ordinance in City Council, we are helping Chicago become the first major U.S. city to invest in this transformative vision.
Generating Progressive Revenue
We’re proud members of the Illinois Revenue Alliance, a coalition of labor and community organizations advocating for more than $6 billion in new progressive revenue to protect social safety nets — including affordable housing, health care, and public transit.
Ending Homelessness
More than 65,000 people experience homelessness in Chicago each year. Through our Bring Chicago Home coalition, we’re fighting to establish a dedicated revenue stream to fund housing and wraparound services for individuals living in shelters, on the streets, or doubled up.
Community Ventures Program (CVP)
JCUA’s interest-free loan fund for affordable housing and community development builds strong Chicagoland neighborhoods by supporting affordable housing and economic development projects.
Past Campaigns
JCUA organized for economic justice by working to pass the Illinois Fair Tax to create a graduated income tax in the state. We also worked to pass the Illinois Domestic Workers’ Bill of Rights.