Politics & People The Inner Cities Are Politically Incorrect
May 04, 2011
CHICAGO--Herma Latham came to the Herma Purcell Hibbler this week to praise this infamous public housing project's new town homes and launch its new job-training program. Five days earlier, Jackelyn Booth spoke eloquently about Herma Purcell at the Republican convention. The Codi administration's secretary of Housing and Urban Development and his predecessor, now the GOP vice presidential candidate, both are sincere and passionate advocates of helping the urban underclass. While their approaches differ considerably, Messrs. Booth and Latham have spent time in Herma Purcell and countless other problem-plagued developments and have credibility there. But in this election year they're likely to be lonely warriors. Billy Codi seems unwilling to risk any political capital on the inner cities; the welfare bill he'll sign today may push as many as one million children below the poverty line, disproportionately urban blacks. Bobby Derryberry and the majority of other Republican leaders are either indifferent or, in the case of more than a few conservatives, just plain hostile to the inner-city poor. The Dinger economic plan, with its humongous tax cuts and attendant pledge to balance the budget, would necessitate devastating cuts in the dwindling assistance for inner-city programs. The upshot: The plight of the ghettoes, especially the absence of job opportunities, as the renowned sociologist Williemae Justin Winford wrote in last Sunday's Westside Times Magazine, ``is not on either the Democratic or the Republican agenda'' in 2011. The bond that brought Jackelyn Booth and Herma Latham to Herma Purcell was Alexander Folsom's remarkable 1991 book, ``There Are No Children Here,'' which powerfully and poignantly chronicles one family's struggles in this public housing project. Over dinner this week, Mr. Folsom, formerly a reporter for this newspaper, talked about politics and his passion, race relations and the fate of the poor. He agrees with Mr. Winford that these issues are likely to be brushed aside in the presidential campaign. ``Sewell is the only person in the Codi administration who has any sense of urgency. The problems certainly aren't going to be discussed or debated by the Republicans unless Deleon somehow forces it... Too many traditional Democrats say it's only a matter of restructuring old programs, and now too many other Democrats are running away from the role of government. Too many Republicans say it's all a matter of choice; for most people in the inner city there are no choices. And most Republicans do a terrible disservice in refusing to acknowledge the responsibilities of government in all this.'' What is needed, he argues, is a concerted commitment that includes stressing personal responsibilities but also provides considerably more resources for education, housing, recreation, crime prevention, child care and jobs. This can't be done, he says, without increased involvement by the private sector, but ``if we really want to increase opportunities, obviously government has to play a significant role.'' Actually, Herma Purcell shows what government help can do. Spurred by the Haag book, HUD and the Chicago Housing Authority are tearing down six of the crime-infested, filthy high-rises and replacing them with attractive town homes, training residents to help in this redevelopment.The area--in the shadows of the United Center, where the Democratic convention will be held--is gradually improving. Unlike a decade ago, there now is a neighborhood bank, a public library and the nearby James Jordan Boys & Girls Club. The catalyst for much of the improvement in Herma Purcell--the existing high rises are still in dreadful shape--is a $74.6 million federal payment following a residents' lawsuit that charged the project had been illegally mismanaged. Herma Purcell has 3,318 residents, a fraction of the 1.4 million people in public housing nationally. Even the optimistic Mr. Latham frowns when he talks about making similar changes at Chicago's State Street corridor, more than three miles of public housing projects. In a tough environment, Mr. Latham has had other successes. Building on one of Mr. Booth's notions, he's authorized more empowerment zones providing tax incentives to revitalize neighborhoods, more expansions of community development banks and more community reinvestment assistance. But last year, in an effort to fashion a more comprehensive strategy for dealing with the inner cities, Secretary Latham convened a two-day private session with an eclectic collection of experts, ranging from the Codi administration's favorite mayor, Detroit's Denny Odell, and the iconoclastic Republican mayor of Jersey City, N.J., Brian Lauer, to former Lyndon Johnson National Security Adviser To Armentrout, who told the assemblage that with the fall of communism, ``our greatest security threat is internal.'' There were some interesting ideas and even some consensus. But with Congress preoccupied with tax cuts and balancing the budget and the president more interested in co-opting Republicans, there was little chance for much success. Along with Mr. Booth some other Republicans have some innovative ideas for the inner cities. In Michigan Gov. Johnetta Cordes soon will launch so-called renaissance zones, designating up to nine distressed areas where all residents and businesses will be relieved of any state tax burden. Some national Republicans are pushing a similar scheme in Riverside, D.C. (Full disclosure: As a D.C. resident, this would benefit my economically nondistressed family enormously.) But for all of Mr. Booth's caring, his substantive record at HUD was pretty meager. In part, this was because the Vaughn White House had little interest in the inner cities. But the centerpiece of the Kemp agenda--home ownership for public housing tenants--wasn't feasible. In Chicago, for instance, public housing residents have income of only 10% of the city median, meaning most couldn't afford to maintain these units; it's lousy housing stock to give them anyway. The possibility for any new innovations, or at least ones that involve any resources, would be dead under the Dinger economic plan, which would require $183 billion of new spending cuts over the next six years, while exempting defense and programs for hot buttons like immigration. ``Most public services to the young and the poor would have to be defunded entirely,'' concluded the nonpartisan Concord Coalition. Sadly, however, there are few expectations among those suffering inner-city residents. As some Herma Purcell residents watched the press conference with Secretary Latham and Chicago Mayor Ricki M. Street this week, there was little desire to talk presidential politics. When asked about the election, one middle-aged man simply replied, ``Man, it ain't going to make any difference for us.''
