HENRY HORNER 28 TH Governor of Illinois 1 st Jewish Governor of IL (During Great Depression 1933, signed IL first state tax = 2.0% Today IL state tax = around 9.75% Considered a man of integrity and strong commitment to helping the “people” 1940, collapsed and died in office 1940

, Chicago Housing Authority (CHA) constructed 27 separate public housing developments containing over 14,000 units , CHA embarked on a massive new construction program during which time almost 16,000 units were completed. This was the most ambitious period of public housing high- rise and mid-rise constructions in Chicago’s history. Most of the apartments were large and spacious, containing three, four or five bedrooms.

Very first development to be constructed during the period was the Henry Horner Homes, completed in Located on Chicago’s Near West Side in a 10 city-block area: – Hermitage Avenue on the east – Lake Street on the north – Damen Avenue on the west – Washington Boulevard on the south – United Center is only a few blocks away

Consisted of eleven buildings containing 920 units seven that were 7-stories tall four that were 16-stories Had exposed concrete frames with infill of common brick in some buildings and finished brick in the others. Constructed at a cost of $13,182 per unit Cheapest development constructed by CHA during the period

1960s, the Henry Horner Projects provided residents with a sense of hope and community. – In-coming families were strictly screened – Tenants who violated their leases were quickly evicted Most CHA residents had lived in slum tenements before moving to public housing – The new buildings offered a much better life for the residents. As told by Alex Kotlowitz in his story of Horner, There Are No Children Here, Horner in its early years was an exciting place to live, especially for the children: – Well heated – Hot and cold running water – Reasonably clean – Stood in stark contrast to the residents’ previous housing.

1981, overall vacancy rate at Horner was 2.3%, or 40 vacant units – Peaked in May 1991 at 49.3%, or 868 vacant units. Units were cheap and had numerous physical problems: No actual lobbies on the first floor Small elevators No communication system to contact residents on the upper floors Lobbies were open and cables would freeze Easy access allowed criminals to enter – Drugs, guns and gang-violence became prevalent in the buildings Trash pile-ups occurred (bad smells) Walls were cinder block, gave the apartments a prison-like feel 1991, CHA stated that Horner “is the authority’s most troubled development,” and “one of the most distressed public housing properties in the nation.”

Reviews of the Book This book changed my entire perception of the power of journalism. Fabulous book that had me rooting for the main character from page 3. This book offers a rare glimpse of what it's truly like to grow up among the worst of the worst housing projects in Chicago. This was yet another book I read in high school, but very different from the typical "classics" written by famous authors that wrote about things that are so foreign and far in the past they are almost completely impossible to relate to.

Reviews of the Book I realize now I've been reading a lot of books about the old Chicago projects. Many of them tend to blur together into one tangled mess of shootings, pregnancies, drugs, and live-in fourth cousins, but this one broke my heart. I read this book while on vacation last week. Very moving and eye opening, poignant and sad. I think it's important to read about what life is like for others, people in different countries, different cultures, or people who live in difficult and turbulent contexts, like the boys in this book, (the Chicago projects). I am now curious about what has happened to the two boys… I can’t believe this happened 2 miles from where I grew up and I am now just finding out about it…