210,000 families apply to wait list for public housing; less than one-fifth will get on the list

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More than 200,000 families recently responded to an opportunity to gain a slot on the Chicago Housing Authority’s wait list for public housing. Sixty thousand registrations alone poured in on the first day of the four-week application period. The CHA will use a lottery system to select 40,000 qualifying applicants who will be placed on a list from which the CHA draws to fill available housing units.

With the wait list closed for more than 10 years, the CHA conducted a sweeping education campaign leading up to the reopening and advertised it widely, including on social media outlets like Facebook and Twitter. The agency also went to great lengths to prepare for the likely deluge of applications.

Registration happened exclusively online through a user-friendly Web site available in nine languages, and more than 100 registration sites around the city were available for those without Internet access or who needed technical assistance.

Those lucky enough to gain a spot on the list eventually will be offered residence in family, mixed-income or scattered-site housing in the next five to seven years.

CHA CEO Lewis Jordan said the opening of the wait list signified an important moment in Chicago’s history as well as a time of reflection to recognize the effect of positive change since the last wait list opened more than a decade ago. “Our entire housing portfolio has either undergone – or is undergoing – major quality renovations, or is newly built, and we have introduced a multitude of resources to assist all CHA families become self sufficient,” said Jordan.

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