Affordable Housing In Winnetka: Supporters and Opponents

This is the second article in a series on Winnetka's affordable housing plan that will run on Winnetka-Glencoe Patch. To read the first article, click here. If you have specific questions about affordable housing or one that our articles haven't touched on, feel free to post a comment on one of the articles and we'll do our best to answer it quickly. You can also email your questions and suggestions to Sara Fay, editor of Winnetka-Glencoe Patch, at saraf@patch.com.

Winnetka's affordable housing plan has generated a lot of talk, speculation and passion on both sides of the issue over the past few weeks. Tuesday night's village council study session on the initiative includes an opportunity for public comment, and here are some of the people and groups who are likely to speak.

Winnetka Home Owners Association (WHOA)

It's not easy to define exactly what WHOA is or compare it to a type of political group. It's not a political party, not a formal political action committee, not a caucus alternative.

"We're just a group of residents," said Carry Buck, leader of WHOA. "We have tons of people involved, writing to us, writing to the village. We see ourselves more as a hub of communication."

But WHOA has been an influence in Winnetka politics for years, maybe 20 years, Buck said. The vast majority of its activity takes the form of mass emails to Winnetka residents from Buck's personal address. Filled with commentary, links to articles and other relevant information, Buck says her emails reach about 1,400 residents.

The group's influence was apparent in last week's consolidated election when WHOA's three picks for village board won election, leaving Linda Pedian, a Winnetka Caucus-slated incumbent, out of office. WHOA did not support Pedian in the election because while serving on the plan commission, she was part of the committee that developed the affordable housing plan and Buck believes she likely favors affordable housing.

A few weeks before the election, a WHOA newspaper filled with anti-affordable housing material arrived at every Winnetka address. Buck's message is clear and many of her readers are onboard.

"Who's benefiting from this?" Buck said, referring to the proposals in the affordable housing plan. "It's not the little family that lost their job. It's a little deeper than that. It sounds good to help people and in a way it's almost insulting because Winnetka people are generous, but they can't afford to carry all this bureaucracy."

Some of WHOA's arguments against the plan include its effect on property values and possible costs to taxpayers. In her recent emails, Buck has been encouraging her readers to attend Tuesday night's study session to voice their opinions.

"I think we are right on this and we are definitely right because we have a pulse on what people think," Buck said.

Winnetka Is Neighborly (WIN)

Shortly after WHOA's newspaper arrived on doorsteps, a pamphlet taking the opposite tune on affordable housing appeared in Winnetka mailboxes. Winnetka Is Neighborly, which sent out the pamphlets, urges residents to study and support the plan. Three Winnetka women started WIN recently. A former recipient of WHOA emails, Jen McQuet said the ones she received simply did not represent her views.

"I started getting all these [WHOA] emails out of the blue and they offended me," McQuet said. "All of these emails were speaking for me."

McQuet said their email audience is growing rapidly, with about 216 people signed up to receive updates. Contrary to WHOA, WIN argues that the plan would not burden residents with costs or diminish property values. WIN's goal is also to refute an image of an exclusive, not-in-my-backyard Winnetka.

"I just wanted there to be a grassroots sort of movement," said McQuet, who started the group with Nancy Pred and Ann Airey. "Our point is that not everyone wants having this be the image that's portrayed. That's a horrible portrayal of Winnetka and we don't want that."

Interfaith Housing Center of the Northern Suburbs (IHCNS)

The Interfaith Housing Center of the Northern Suburbs is a non-profit that advocates for fair and affordable housing in the region. Executive Director Gail Schechter said what makes IHCNS an advocate for housing issues and access is not the grants it applies for.

"Our services make our advocacy stronger," Schechter said. IHCNS offers foreclosure prevention programs, housing discrimination investigation and other related services. People of any income level can contact the organization for help.

"We're not dealing with the theoretical," she said.

IHCNS prepared a document in January to address some of WHOA's claims about Winnetka's affordable housing plan. Among other counterarguments, IHCNS says property values would not be affected by the initiative.

"If the housing is well maintained, kind of looks like everything around it, it does not make a surrounding value suffer," Schechter said.

Schechter and ICHNS argue that the plan is about increasing housing options, not giving "handouts," she said.

"I've been trying to change the connotation of North Shore," Schechter said. "I want to hear 'diversity,' 'welcoming,' and not 'snobby,' 'exclusive,' 'stuck up.'"

Race is also intrinsic to the issue of affordable housing, Schechter said. While Winnetka's population is more than 90 percent white, Schechter said she knows of people who could afford to live in the village but choose to live in other communities that are more diverse. Discrimination and fair housing have ties that run decades deep, she said.

"It really is the same set of issues," Schechter said. "People don't understand why we now have fair housing [in the U.S.] but our communities are still white."