RESOLUTION
WHEREAS, the City of Chicago is a home rule unit of government pursuant to the 1970 Illinois Constitution, Article VII, Section 6 (a); and
WHEREAS, pursuant to its .'home rule power, the City of Chicago may exercise any power and perform any function relating to its government and affairs including promoting the quality of life and the welfare of its citizens; and
WHEREAS, the Southwest Home Equity Assurance Program is a unique program of the State of Illinois, developed to insure property values for an extended time; and,
WHEREAS, the Home Equity Program is financed by a special levy on single through six-unit residential properties within the Home Equity District that appears on the owner's real estate tax bill; and
WHEREAS, the Southwest Home Equity Assurance Program serves Southwest Neighborhoods, including Chicago Lawn/Marquette Manor, Gage Park, West Lawn, Clearing, Brighton Park, Archer Heights, Garfield Ridge, West Elsdon and parts of Ashburn, McKinley Park, New City and Scottsdale; and
WHEREAS, the Southwest Home Equity Assurance Program has a variety of programs available to benefit members including a Home Improvement Loan Program as well as other programs; and
WHEREAS, the Northwest Home Equity Assurance Program is a neighborhood-funded, neighborhood-run program, approved in 1988 by an overwhelming majority of voters on the
northwest side of Chicago; and v
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WHEREAS, the Northwest Home Equity Assurance Program was created by state statute intended to guarantee home equity if your property falls below its current fair market value; and,
WHEREAS, property owners pay a small annual Home Equity tax based on their Cook County tax assessment that appears on your property tax bill; and
WHEREAS, a governing commission is appointed by the Mayor and comprised of local residents and professionals to oversee the Home Equity fund; and
WHEREAS, by law, no other governmental agency will be able to make use of these funds; and,
WHEREAS, questions about the Southwest Home Equity Assurance Program and the Northwest Home Equity Assurance Program have been raised by members of the City Council; and,
WHEREAS, a number of City Council members were not in office at the time that these commissions were duly constituted and their respective programs were initiated; and,
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WHEREAS, it is essential that City Council members be properly briefed so that they may adequately respond to the inquiries of their constituents; now therefore,
BE IT RESOLVED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF CHICAGO:
That the Chairmen and the Directors of the Southwest Home Equity Assurance Program and the Northwest Home Equity Assurance Program, Commissioner of City's Department Planning and the Comptroller or their designees appear at a hearing before the City Council Committee on Finance to provide details of the respective programs and the City's involvement.
Edward M. Burke Alderman, 14th Ward