The Obama Presidential Center is set to draw tourists and attention to Chicago’s South Side — but that’s not all it’s bringing.Residents of Woodlawn, South Shore and other nearby neighborhoods came together Tuesday to highlight concerns about housing costs and displacement — issues they’ve been talking about since the Obama Center was announced.The city, they said, must do more to protect longtime residents.”Residents, seniors, young people have fought, have worked to develop policy, have worked to give alternatives to displacement,” said Shannon Bennett, a member of the Community Benefits Agreement Coalition, which organized the news conference along with Southside Together. “One of the considerations that we must talk about here is how do we make sure that this whole city understands this is everybody’s fight?”The CBA Coalition wants the city to expand affordable housing protections, provide property tax relief for longtime homeowners, enact rent control measures, create a landlord registry to hold property owners accountable for building conditions and enforce housing standards more aggressively. Organizers also called on local alderpersons and the Obama Foundation to support policies preventing displacement and allowing residents who have been pushed out to return.Stevie Early, a lifelong South Shore resident, said a dramatic rent increase forced her to leave her home after years of poor maintenance.Problems in her building weren’t being fixed — like a broken lock on a security gate and persistent mildew in the hallway. Then, once Obama Center construction began, her building had a new owner — and her rent went up.”What…
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