Chicago Housing Authority's (CHA) plan to lease land to the Chicago Fire soccer club has cleared a significant legal hurdle. The Chicago Tribune reported that the lawsuit filed by housing groups was dismissed by a judge yesterday, stating the plaintiffs lacked legal standing. The lawsuit argued that land lease for the soccer club's new facility in Roosevelt Square had bypassed local and federal review.
The Chicago Fire intends to construct a 53,000-square-foot performance center in place of the vacant ABLA Homes housing complex. The Coalition to Protect Chicago Housing Authority Land, the Chicago Housing Initiative, and the Lugenia Burns Hope Center filed the suit in June. They urged a full civil rights review, stall of the project, and compensation for alleged damages. U.S. District Judge Thomas M. Durkin, however, said the "perceived harm or benefit is entirely speculative."
The City Council initially obstructed the lease agreement in September 2022, before reversing its decision. Housing advocates voiced their displeasure over CHA land earmarked for non-housing use, subsequently staging local rallies and writing to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and members of Congress, to express their concerns.
As ABC 7 Chicago reported, Judge Durkin had suggested a complete civil rights review by HUD before the ruling. But HUD officials maintained the review was unnecessary as the land had remained unused for several years. Housing advocates claimed that CHA had defaulted on its promise to build nearly 800 housing units at the site, all the while seeking to prevent the construction of the sports facility.
Post lawsuit dismissal, Chicago Housing Initiative's executive director, Don Washington, expressed alarm at the potential implications, remarking that the ruling may encourage similar deals across the country. He suggested that the judgement could indicate a "mass reneging of commitment to shared welfare."
According to a subsequent email from CHA, the pact with Chicago Fire would benefit families in CHA housing and the wider Near West Side area. CHA also updated ongoing affordable housing schemes in the vicinity, including 222 mixed-income apartments slated for completion in 2024 and future phases of affordable housing development on remaining vacant parcels in Roosevelt Square.
Roderick Wilson, head of Lugenia Burns Hope Center, criticized the ruling. In a past interview with ABC 7 Chicago, Wilson said, "People were pushed out of their homes with a promise from the government ... to rebuild the housing, and they haven't done it."
Emily Coffey, the attorney representing the plaintiffs, has stated that the ruling had failed to address the legitimacy of CHA and HUD decisions to lease the land to Chicago Fire. Housing advocates, including Coffey, are reportedly weighing their options in light of the lawsuit's dismissal.
