House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries visits Chicago suburbs

U.S. Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, who serves as House Minority Leader in Congress, visited Winnetka Tuesday to highlight what he called a growing national affordability crisis.

Jeffries, a New York Democrat, joined U.S. Rep. Brad Schneider, also a Democrat, who represents many northern Cook County and Lake County suburbs in Congress, for a roundtable discussion with local business owners, housing advocates and social service providers in Schneider’s 10th District.

The event brought together representatives from organizations serving residents of Cook, Lake and McHenry counties, including a Northbrook mental health clinic, to discuss the rising costs of housing, food, health care and child care.

“The state of the real economy in the United States is a mess. There is an affordability crisis that is not a hoax. It is real,” Jeffries said at a press conference following the roundtable. “This point was made clear during this discussion.”

“People are struggling with housing costs. People are struggling with health care costs. People are struggling with the cost of groceries. People are struggling with child care costs. People are struggling with the cost of running a small business, especially because of Trump’s tariffs.”

Seeking positioning ahead of the upcoming midterm elections, Jeffries said Democrats are having similar conversations across the country as they work to address cost-of-living pressures.

“We must act decisively and turn things around so we can bring the American dream to life for everyone,” he said.

Schneider said the discussion focused on how inflation and higher living costs affect working families in the area.

“Over the past year, life has not only become more expensive for the American people, it has gotten to the point where the American dream seems out of reach for many people – an impossible dream,” Schneider said.

He described affordability as more than just covering basic expenses.

“Affordability doesn’t just mean getting by, it means being able to move forward and build a better future for yourself, for your community and your family – paying your bills, saving for the future and maybe taking a vacation,” he said.

Also participating in the event was New Trier Township Supervisor Gail Schnitzer Eisenberg, who outlined local indicators of financial stress among residents.

She said some community members work, raise families and contribute locally, but still struggle to make ends meet. While Cook County’s minimum wage is $15 an hour, she said the estimated living wage for a family of four with two parents working exceeds $29 an hour and $42.65 an hour if only one parent works.

Schnitzer Eisenberg added that the township has seen a 110 percent increase in use of food pantries since 2015, as well as an increase in requests for emergency financial assistance for housing and special needs.

“These are not people who lack a work ethic,” she said. “The numbers just can’t add up.”

Rob Anthony of Community Partners for Affordable Housing said rents and housing prices are increasing at two to four times the rate of income.

“There’s a gap that’s widening and it’s not that people aren’t working hard or not doing what they’re supposed to do,” he added, “but there’s a structural problem where incomes aren’t keeping up with house prices and that’s creating a widening gap for people.

“In the Chicago area, you’d have to make $33.87 an hour just to afford a two-bedroom apartment. Compare that to the minimum wage of $15 an hour. So you’d have to work more than two full-time jobs to afford a two-bedroom apartment.”