It seems like a shoo in for the Sweet Home Chicago Ordinance to pass a full vote by the Chicago City Council Wednesday, providing the TIF funded law offered up by Ald. Walter Burnett Jr. (27) makes it through a committee vote set for Monday.

We support the ordinance going forward before the full council, into the open and on the record in public debate.

As of last week, more than half the Alderman on the council were in support of the ordinance, which aims to spend and estimated $100 million annually to increase the city’s affordable housing stock.

As the number of city residents living in poverty climb to one in five while city rents rise above the $1,000 mark by the thousands, using money that’s otherwise un-tapped is action residents can live with.

Academics and ward leaders, including Ald. Bob Fioretti (2nd), support the plan to increase spending from the current estimate of $2 million on housing for families making less that $37,000. According to the Chicago Rehab Network, a coalition of more than 40 neighborhood organizations, four out of five renters making less than $50,000 are burdened by rents.

At least 59,000 households could be helped by the ordinance.

Overall, more than half of the city spends more than one-third of income on housing.

Last summer the Chicago Coalition for the Homeless said in an editorial that the ordinance deserved full support of the council. One political advantage that could result above the obvious helping of families on a financial edge is a boost to the overall image of the TIF program, they argued. They did pose a concern for concentration of affordable housing stock in one neighborhood or area of the city following a decrease in blighted areas by redevelopment. They argued that many TIF districts need affordable housing options to increase as residents are otherwise priced out of the city.

It’s not rocket science to conclude that better and more affordable housing options, along with good schools and medical facilities promotes business growth and relocation by companies that seek proper environments for employee life.

The 2nd Ward has suffered the second highest foreclosure rate in the city that saw rental vacancy rates climb by 28 percent since the last Census, much of it pulling redeveloped rental units off the market. Hundreds of families living in the 2nd Ward and thousands across Chicago have simply left the city in search of affordable living space.

We call on the city council to end the exodus and bring Chicagoans home again.