Letter to the Editor: Local Religious Leaders Support Affordable Housing Plan

Dear Winnetka Residents:

As religious leaders in various Winnetka congregations, we stand up to support the proposed affordable housing plan in Winnetka, and encourage respectful debate of this important issue in our community.

First, we urge the Winnetka Village Council to approve the plan for affordable housing, entitled "Reinvigorating a Tradition of Varied, Moderately Priced and Affordable Housing." This plan is an opportunity for the upstanding
values of this community – diversity, excellence, and care for neighbors – to be preserved and carried on into the future. The plan represents a moderate, reasonable, well-researched solution that will provide a modest number of
affordable housing units in a community where many of our neighbors (families experiencing retirement or divorce) and community servants (police officers, firefighters, teachers, clergy) have been squeezed out.

If measures are not taken to ensure that some moderately priced housing is available in our community, we will continue to lose our own residents and all the richness they contribute to Winnetka community life. We will also miss out on the potential benefits of community servants who are also residents. We believe that providing space for the community’s civil servants and teachers to live here brings tangible benefits to the community. Our local officials and educators can do an even better job serving our community if they live here, and share in the concerns
and joys of all. Study after study shows that an adequate supply of affordable housing adds to local property values for all, and we believe these are primary reasons why.

Secondly, we stand up for respectful and reasoned debate of an issue with different points of view. The discussion itself reflects who we are and what we stand for. We understand Winnetka to be a community of respect, honor and trust. Debate on a modest local housing ordinance, by a community as good and upstanding as ours, can rise above the partisan political sickness that plagues our state and country, and model a different way. Therefore we encourage all participation in our community discernment to reflect our best values, which include respect, reason, and humility.

Respect, reason, and humility should also apply to the ways we talk about those with fewer financial resources. While the proposed plan has no provisions for Section 8 housing, disparaging words about Section 8 housing and those who rely on it are disrespectful and hurtful. As we talk together, we should remain respectful to good people outside our community as well.

Standing up for fellow citizens, a more diverse and healthy community, and respectful dialog are all matters of faith. We encourage all people of faith, and all people who believe in the best of Winnetka’s community values, to join us, and the other clergy who have already lent their voices, in support of the proposed affordable housing plan and healthy discussion about the future of our community.

Sincerely,
Rev. Jennifer Gleichauf
Rev. James Harrison
Rev. Peter Hawkinson
Rev. Andrea Johnson
Rev. David Lower
Rev. Martha Ross-Mockaitis
Dr. William Mueller
Rev. Edward Prevost
Rev. Joseph Shank
Rev. Jeanne Stewart