CHA awarded $2.3 million grant to launch Jobs Plus program at Wentworth Gardens. Published on October 1, 2026 At its September meeting, CHA's Board of Commissioners voted to accept a $2.3 million Jobs Plus Initiative grant from HUD, funding a five-year effort to connect working-age residents at Wentworth Gardens with employment services. CHA is one of only 10 agencies nationwide to receive the grant. Jobs Plus is a place-based program built on three core components: employment-related services, a financial rent incentive, and community support. Through strong partnerships, including the Wentworth Gardens Local Advisory Council, Chicago Cook Workforce Partnership, City Colleges of Chicago, Chicago Park District, and UI Health Miles Square, CHA will offer residents employment training, skill building, financial literacy training, and direct hire job placements. "Jobs Plus saw potential in me before I fully saw it in myself," said former participant Ethiah Williams, who is now a Jobs Plus program manager. "It gave me confidence, skills, leadership, and purpose. I am standing here today because someone invested in me, and now I have the privilege of investing in others."

Johnson taps law professor with no government experience as Chicago's new top lawyer. Mayor Brandon Johnson has nominated Renee Hatcher, a University of Illinois-Chicago law professor with no prior government experience, to succeed Mary Richardson-Lowry as the city's Corporation Counsel, one of five mayoral appointments the City Council took up September 23. 1h ago Friday, Sept 25 By Chicago City Wire Mayor Brandon Johnson has nominated Renee Hatcher, a University of Illinois-Chicago law professor with no prior government experience, to succeed Mary Richardson-Lowry as the city's Corporation Counsel, one of five mayoral appointments the City Council took up September 23. Richardson-Lowry, who has led the city's Law Department for more than three years, told the Chicago Sun-Times her departure was a personal decision unconnected to Johnson's reelection prospects. "I de-camped back to Chicago to serve from Arizona. I left my husband and dogs behind to meet my service requirements. And it has come to a close," she said. Her last day is October 1, the same day Hatcher is set to begin as interim Corporation Counsel, leaving little formal overlap between the two. Hatcher directs UIC's Community Enterprise & Solidarity Economy Clinic, which supports worker-owned businesses and nonprofits, and holds a law degree from New York University. She previously spent three years as a staff attorney for the Chicago Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights and held fellowships at the University of Baltimore and the University of Texas. She is the daughter of Richard Hatcher, the first Black mayor of Gary, Indiana, and would become the second Black woman to hold the Corporation Counsel post if confirmed. "I don't have the profile of a typical corporation counsel, but I actually think that's a positive in this case," Hatcher said of her appointment. Johnson called Hatcher "a quick study" and said the change was well-timed. "This is the appropriate time to transition. As I prepare for a second term, sending a real clear message to working people in this city that our work has just begun," he said, adding that he wants the Law Department to litigate more aggressively to protect residents against what he described as federal overreach. The appointment requires City Council confirmation and was referred to the Committee on Budget and Government Operations. The Council also took up two mayoral appointments to the Chicago Housing Authority board September 23: Vernell Givens and Mary Gardner, both referred to the Committee on Housing and Real Estate. The nominations come five months after Johnson lost a high-profile fight over control of the CHA, when the board voted 7-2 in March to hire Keith Pettigrew, head of the District of Columbia Housing Authority, as permanent CEO over Johnson's preferred candidate, retired Ald. Walter Burnett. Johnson subsequently moved to remove then-board chair Matthew Brewer, accusing him of mishandling the vote process, and installed Jawanza Malone as chair in his place. CCW could not independently confirm Givens' and Gardner's professional backgrounds by publication time; this story will be updated as that information becomes available.

Chicago Housing Authority awarded $2.3 million hud grant to launch Jobs Plus program at Wentworth Gardens. Published on September 15, 2026 CHICAGO - The Chicago Housing Authority (CHA) today accepted a $2.3 million Jobs Plus Initiative grant from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), funding a five-year effort to connect working-age residents at Wentworth Gardens with employment services. CHA is one of only 10 agencies nationwide to receive the grant. Jobs Plus is a place-based program built on three core components: employment-related services, a financial rent incentive, and community support. Through strong, sustained partnerships with local organizations, CHA will offer residents employment training, skill building, financial literacy training, and direct hire job placements. Program goals include increasing the number of residents who find employment, raising quarterly employment rates, and boosting resident income, with outcomes designed to outlast the five-year grant term. This is CHA's third Jobs Plus award, following grants at Altgeld Gardens (2015-2019) and Dearborn Homes (2021-2025). Wentworth Gardens program include the Wentworth Gardens Local Advisory Council, Chicago Cook Workforce Partnership, City Colleges of Chicago, Chicago Park District, and UI Health Miles Square are among those partners offering resources for Jobs Plus Participants at Wentworth Gardens this grant period. The program's impact is reflected in the staff it has helped build, as well as the residents it serves. Ethiah Williams first came to Jobs Plus as a participant and now leads as a Program Manager: "Jobs Plus saw potential in me before I fully saw it in myself," Williams said. "It gave me confidence, skills, leadership, and purpose. I am standing here today because someone invested in me, and now I have the privilege of investing in others." About the Chicago Housing Authority (CHA): CHA is the third largest public housing authority in the nation and the largest single owner of rental housing in Chicago. Through its public housing and voucher programs, CHA serves 135,000 people in 65,000 households across all 77 of Chicago's community areas. CHA's mission is to create and sustain strong communities where seniors thrive and everyone can unlock their economic power, ensuring that every neighborhood in Chicago has quality affordable housing and everyone feels welcome. For more information, visit www.thecha.org.