News articles on CCLBA

By Sean Jones, Bonita Harrison, DaJuan Robinson, Keith Lindsey, & Derrick Walker, Crain's Chicago Business | June 18th, 2021 (Click Here for Original Article) The movement to "buy back the block" is a call to action to put Black communities into Black ownership. It's about keeping the resources generated in Black communities within those communities, benefiting the people who live and work there rather than watching dollars drain to outside owners who have little interest in the community beyond making a return on their investments. In West Woodlawn, where too many houses sit vacant and abandoned, we're answering that call [...]

By Sara Badilini, Block Club Chicago | November 8th, 2021  (Click Here for Original Article) BRONZEVILLE — Sythera Pride-Paulus and her family moved to Bronzeville in 2018 — but “it feels like we’d lived here forever,” she said. The family — Sythera and her husband, J.P. Paulus; and their daughters, Mia and Faith Paulus — felt so welcomed in the neighborhood they immediately decided to buy a vacant lot adjacent to their home and transform it into a community garden. It took longer than expected due to some pandemic delays, but the major part of the work finished up in October, [...]

City Club of Chicago | April 6th, 2022 (Click Here for Original Article) After progressing in a series of leadership roles in City government, Eleanor Esser Gorski was appointed Executive Director of the Cook County Land Bank Authority (CCLBA) in August 2021. Gorski brings more than 25 years of planning, design and economic development experience to the CCLBA as it embarks on plans to expand its inventory to create more affordable housing and economic opportunity partnerships within Cook County. The Cook County Land Bank works to efficiently return vacant properties to productive use in underserved communities throughout the county by [...]

North Lawndale News  |  April 15th, 2021   (Click here for Original Article) Declaring it time to put an end to a system that perpetuates redlining and the growth of vacant properties, Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle announced she is joining the Cook County Land Bank Authority, Cook County Clerk Karen Yarbrough, and Cook County Commissioner Bridget Gainer in calling for reform of the Cook County Scavenger Sale, a limit on interest rates charged to homeowners under a county lien, and a new strategic plan to recover and revitalize blighted communities.  Preckwinkle joined other city and suburban leaders to support [...]

By Pascal Sabino, Block Club Chicago  |  April 7th, 2021   (Click here for Original Article) GARFIELD PARK — The owners of a West Side clothing brand were thrilled to finally open a brick-and-mortar store in 2018 after five years in business. But the brand has faced challenges since then: The entrepreneurs’ dreams were nearly crushed when their landlord’s unpaid property taxes almost forced them to close. In a last-minute twist, the brand ended up being able to buy the property and keep their business. Now, they’re looking forward to many more years on the West Side. The flagship Fort Maner shop opened [...]

CBS Chicago  |  April 10th, 2021   (Click here for video of the event) CHICAGO — Declaring it time to put an end to a system that perpetuates redlining and the growth of vacant properties, Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle today announced she is joining the Cook County Land Bank Authority, Cook County Clerk Karen Yarbrough, and Cook County Commissioner Bridget Gainer in calling for reform of the Cook County Scavenger Sale, a limit on interest rates charged to homeowners under a county lien, and a new strategic plan to recover and revitalize blighted communities.  “The county has a responsibility [...]

By Pascal Sabino, Block Club Chicago  |  February 18th, 2021   (Click here for Original Article) AUSTIN — Neighborhood groups want to transform vacant lots on the West Side into community facilities that will provide housing, health and career services for children and families. The project is part of the ASPIRE Initiative, an effort to invest in local assets so Austin residents of all ages will have access to education and economic opportunities. The initiative, which aims to create a cradle-to-career pipeline in the area, implements several of the strategies outlined in the Austin Quality-of-Life Plan for achieving resident-driven improvements to the [...]

By Jamie Nesbitt Golden, Block Club Chicago  |  December 23rd, 2020   (Click here for Original Article) Englewood neighbors can get a first look at a new house this weekend, the product of a community initiative seeking to help more residents become homeowners. The virtual community reveal is 10:30 a.m.-noon Sunday. The red brick two-flat at 6219 S. Bishop Ave. is a two-year-long “buy the block” renovation project spearheaded by the Englewood Development Group, a collective formed by R.A.G.E. Founder Asiaha Butler and E.G. Woode’s Deon Lucas. Potential buyers would have to live in the home, which will go on the market for $199,000. In [...]

By Stacey Sheridan, The Wednesday Journal of Oak Park  |  October 5th, 2020   (Click here for Original Article) After over 10 arduous years of trying, the Animal Care League (ACL) has successfully purchased the dilapidated building at 1009 Garfield St., which sits directly between three other ACL-owned properties. Once renovated, the building will serve as an extension of the ACL's animal adoption and care services. "It'll be a part of our whole operation," said Chatka Ruggiero, longtime ACL board member, who was instrumental in the purchasing process. ACL will join the fourth building to the others by constructing a covered [...]