Five northern suburbs partner with employers, Charter One Bank, MPC to increase homeownership among working families

Employers in Deerfield, Highland Park, Highwood, Lake Forest and Northbrook to attend June 15 briefing to learn about Charter One Workforce Housing Initiative

June 1, 2007

(Chicago) … Chicago’s northern suburbs seem to have everything: a sizeable job base, excellent schools, great communities, and location, location, location. But what many of the communities lack is key to a successful economy: an adequate number of homes affordable to the local workforce. This shortage is threatening economic development, hurting local employers, and forcing workers to make long commutes from more affordably priced communities.

To spotlight creative solutions to the north suburban workforce housing shortage, the mayors of Deerfield, Highland Park, Highwood, Lake Forest, and Northbrook and will host an exclusive briefing for local employers and members of the media on the Charter One Workforce Housing Initiative on Friday, June 15, 2007, 8 to 10 a.m., at the Renaissance Chicago North Shore Hotel, Greenery Room, 933 Skokie Blvd., Northbrook, Ill. The Metropolitan Planning Council (MPC) will present new data on the mismatch between the supply of and demand for workforce housing in these five towns.

Through the Charter One Workforce Housing Initiative, a three-year effort sponsored by Charter One Bank and administered by the nonprofit MPC along with Housing Opportunity Development Corporation, employers in the five suburbs will learn how they can tap new resources, adopt market-based strategies to provide more housing options for local workers, and collaborate with local mayors to address their shared concerns about the limited availability of homes affordable to working families. Another goal is to expand locally proven models for addressing the workforce housing shortage, such as employer-assisted housing, which since 2000 has helped more than 1,000 workers from 60 companies in the region buy homes.

WHAT:
Kick-off event for the Charter One Workforce Housing Initiative to increase the availability of homes affordable to working families in five northern suburbs

WHO:
Steven Harris, Mayor, Village of Deerfield
Michael D. Belsky, Mayor, City of Highland Park
Vincent J. Donofrio, Mayor, City of Highwood
S. Michael Rummel, Mayor, City of Lake Forest
Eugene Marks, President, Village of Northbrook
Scott C. Swanson, President & CEO, Charter One Bank
MarySue Barrett, President, Metropolitan Planning Council
Henry S. Webber, Vice President, Community & Government Affairs, University of Chicago

WHEN:
Friday, June 15, 2007
8:00 a.m.: Registration and Breakfast
8:30 to 10:00 a.m.: Program

WHEN:
Renaissance Chicago North Shore Hotel, Greenery Room
933 Skokie Blvd.
Northbrook, Ill., 60062

Attendance at this event is by invitation. Members of the media are welcome and may request further information by contacting Mandy Burrell, Metropolitan Planning Council communications associate, at 312.863.6018 or mburrell@metroplanning.org; or Mark Guess, Charter One Bank assistant vice president, public relations manager, at 312.777.3479 or mark.w.guess@charteronebank.com.