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For more than a decade, Cook County’s supply of affordable rental housing has been shrinking. This multibillion-dollar asset plays a central role in the region’s $320 billion economy and is as critical to its infrastructure as highways, transit systems, schools, and industrial parks. Guided by the Urban Land Institute and supported by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, the Preservation Compact brings together leaders from the public, private, and nonprofit sectors to reverse the downward trend in Cook County’s affordable rental housing supply.

To achieve this ambitious goal, the Compact has launched a comprehensive Rental Housing Action Plan for Cook County, which includes six Keystone Initiatives designed to preserve and improve 75,000 existing affordable rental homes by 2020 that might otherwise be lost to condominium conversion, demolition, or rising costs.Rich Hanson, Mesa Development, LLC and Julia Stasch, The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, are co-chairs of the Preservation Compact.  Christine Kolb, Director of Community Outreach for ULI Chicago, is coordinating activities for The Preservation Compact and can be reached at 773-549-2655 or Christine.Kolb@ULI.org.