Better Government Association releases findings in Cabrini-Green redevelopment investigation

CHICAGO (WLS) -- More than 20 years ago, former Mayor Richard M. Daley's administration promised Cabrini-Green residents they could return to the revitalized neighborhood with thousands of construction jobs and access to economic opportunities.

The Better Government Association is releasing a multi-series investigation over the past year looking through documents and interviews about the delays of the Cabrini-Green Housing Project.

According to the BGA investigation, taxpayers will shell out more than $2 billion to pay for the transformation, most of it going to white developers with political connections.

Out of the 2,500 coveted construction jobs promised to Cabrini residents, the BGA found 40 who actually got one. Of the hundreds of millions of dollars in public money flowing to the area to build 4000 new homes, only 48 were assigned to a builder who grew up in Cabrini-Green, the only Black construction firm on the whole project. And, of the 3600 families promised the "right to return," more than 80% never did. Disqualified, relocated, or simply overwhelmed with bureaucracy, many died waiting.