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Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson is once again wasting taxpayer money on failed liberal housing schemes. His so-called affordable housing program is nothing more than a massive government takeover that will burden hardworking families with the bill. Johnson has pushed through a $1.25 billion bond measure that puts Chicago deeper in debt while promising housing that ordinary people still cannot afford.
The numbers tell the real story about Johnson’s failures. Chicago desperately needs over 126,000 affordable rental homes for low-income families, but the mayor’s grand plans have produced almost nothing. In 2024, the city only issued 4,039 new residential building permits, including just 321 single-family homes. Compare that to Houston, which built 52,000 homes in the same year while keeping government out of the way.
Johnson’s Green Social Housing ordinance creates a massive new government bureaucracy run by a 15-member board of bureaucrats. The city will own most of these buildings through a nonprofit organization that answers to politicians, not market forces. This is exactly the kind of big government socialism that has destroyed cities across America.
The mayor claims his program will help families earning less than $35,970 per year, but government-run housing has never worked anywhere in America. Public housing projects became crime-ridden disasters that trapped families in poverty for generations. Johnson wants to repeat these same failed experiments while charging taxpayers billions of dollars.
Real affordable housing comes from free markets, not government handouts. When cities reduce regulations and let builders actually build, housing costs come down naturally. Instead, Johnson piles on more red tape while spending money the city does not have on programs that will fail.
Chicago families are already crushed by high taxes and rising crime under Johnson’s leadership. Now he wants to add massive housing debt to the pile while creating more government dependency. This is not compassionate policy, it is reckless spending that will hurt the very people it claims to help.
The mayor talks about moving with expediency, but his housing programs move at the speed of government bureaucracy. Private developers could build thousands of homes in the time it takes Johnson’s committees to hold their first meeting. Market solutions work faster and cost less than anything government can produce.
Chicagoans deserve better than another expensive government program that enriches bureaucrats while families continue to struggle. Real leadership means getting government out of the way so builders can build and families can find homes they can actually afford. Johnson’s housing plans are just another liberal fantasy that will cost taxpayers dearly while solving nothing.
