About us

MISSION: The strategic mission of the Council emphasizes empowering stakeholders themselves to improve the social and economic climate of the area – to take ownership of their community. The high crime, poverty and unemployment rates are tied to many residents’ lack of connectedness to mainstream forces like employment skills, the legitimate labor market, civic activities, financial strategic planning and mainstream resources.

The West Humboldt Park Development Council is a non-profit community revitalization organization located on the Westside of Humboldt Park in Chicago. WHPDC worked with the community to develop the First Community Land Trust of Chicago. In 1992, WHPDC was founded by the Orr School Network, a federation of Orr High School and its ten feeder elementary schools, together with Continental Bank, and neighborhood leaders, to deal with issues such as crime and safety and economic development in the community. Although its mission has not changed since 1992, today WHPDC works with community stakeholders to understand the causes of recurring problems, to help the community formulate appropriate responses, and to otherwise implement long-term approaches designed to make the West Humboldt Park community a better place to live, work, shop, and do business. The Council acts as a catalyst to create a stronger and more vibrant community.

BOARD OF DIRECTORS:

James Simmons, WHPDC Board President, Proprietor, Protron Construction
Keith Muhammad, WHPDC Board Vice President, Community Organizer, Bickerdike Redevelopment
Doris Brown, WHPDC Board Treasurer, Special Projects Manager, Chicago Commons
Frank Latin, Secretary, Immigration Program Analyst, U.S. Department of Labor
Katherine Anderson, Board Member, Proprietor, K.G. Realty
Franklin Williams, Board Member, Proprietor, Head-Lines Barber Shop
Mary Williams, Board Member, Community Resident
Betty Haynes, Board Member, Community Resident
Zeola Horton, Board Member, Community Resident
Barbara Scott, Board Member, Community Resident
Dan Valliere, Board Member, Executive Director, Chicago Commons

STAFF
Bill Howard became Executive Director of the Development Council in 2000 and President of the First Community Land Trust of Chicago in 2003. Before joining the organization, Bill was Associate Director of UIC's Center for Urban Economic Development and consultant to the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation. Bill's professional background is in business, economics, and urban planning & development. Bill has lived in Chicago since 1977 and is from NYC.
Tom Otto joined WHPDC in 2009 as Economic Development Planner. Tom lived in Madison, Wisconsin until 2007 where he gained substantial experience in affordable housing and community development. He has spent over 7 years working for a neighborhood non-profit developing and managing business incubation facilities and services as well as providing affordable housing services.
Lily Sierra is the office manager and has been with the Development Council since 2001. She also lived in West Humboldt Park for over five years. She’s excited about the positive changes she is seeing in the neighborhood including the new Kelly Hall YMCA, the planned new West Humboldt Park Library, and the Chicago Avenue repaving and streetscape scheduled for 2010-11.
Janece Simmons joined the Development Council in 2004 as Community Development Planner. She grew up in the Humboldt Park community; attending Von Humboldt Elementary and Roberto Clemente High School. As a young adult, she resided on the 1100 block of North Avers. Before coming to the Council, Janece was an elementary school teacher and spent a number of years working with community groups as an outreach worker and program coordinator. Janece attributes her greatest of successes to her interactions with resident leaders and groups in the community. They directly inform the work and provide the support needed to make positive changes.

ACCOMPLISHMENTS

Partnered with Matanky Realty to redevelop the Chicago-Kedzie Plaza into a vibrant shopping center with 22 stores providing over 70 jobs for neighborhood residents.
Participant in Humboldt Park Quality-of-Life planning process which culminated in the Humboldt Park: Staking Our Claim Quality-of-Life Plan 2008. The Plan outlines a vision and lists of strategies and projects that various community stakeholders will undertake to more Humboldt Park forward.
Created the First Community Land Trust of Chicago which builds affordable housing for first-time homebuyers at or below 60% of area median income.
Organized TIF advisory panel and annual TIF Town Hall community meetings.
Collaborated with LISC to execute MetroEdge retail audit which reported excellent opportunities for new retail investment
Organized West Humboldt Park Business Association, which, in partnership with Chicago Community Ventures, provides technical assistance and mentoring to neighborhood businesses.
Partnered with Chicago Commons to create BEEP. BEEP provides job referral & placement services, job readiness workshops, training and scholarship opportunities, re-entry services for offenders, and entrepreneurial workshops.Organized and assembled over 3 dozen neighborhood block clubs
Delegate agency for the City of Chicago providing promotion of, information on, and access to City services and programs.

STRATEGIC PARTNERS

Alderman Walter Burnett, Jr. - www.aldermanburnett.com
Alderman Walter Burnett, Jr is committed to providing quality public service to the residents and and business owners of the 27th Ward.

Bickerdike Redevelopment Corporation - www.bickerdike.org
Bickerdike is a community development corporation working to enrich and protect the communities of West Town, Humboldt Park, Logan Square and Hermosa through affordable housing development and preservation, economic empowerment, and leadership development and organizing. They are also the lead agency of the Humboldt Park New Communities Program, which fosters collaborations throughout Greater Humboldt Park and provides a platform for nonprofit agencies and grassroots groups to form community-development and social-service
coalitions.

Ceasefire – www.ceasefirechicago.org
Ceasefire works with community-based organizations and focuses on street-level outreach, conflict mediation, and the changing of community norms to reduce violence, particularly shootings.

Chicago Commons - www.chicagocommons.org
Chicago Commons works with communities to create programs that develop self-sufficiency and enhance quality of life, strengthening individuals at key stages of their lives, from
early childhood through older adulthood. We operate in neighborhoods where children and families are most at risk for poverty, violence and educational disadvantage.

First Community Land Trust (FCLTC) – www.whpdevelopmentcouncil.net/Land-Trust.html
The FCLTC utilizes the land trust model to provide new affordable single-family homes to first time homebuyers that are permanently affordable. Subsidies for qualified buyers make these homes very affordable.

Kelly Hall YMCA – www.metrochicagoy.org/locations/KellyHallYMCA.php
The YMCA of Metropolitan Chicago is celebrating the newly rebuilt Kelly Hall located at Chicago and Hamlin. Opened in January 2009, this safe haven provides key services to the
severely under-served community of West Humboldt Park.

Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC) - www.lisc-chicago.org
LISC/Chicago organizes capital and other resources to support initiatives that stimulate the comprehensive development of healthy, stable neighborhoods and foster their connection to the socioeconomic mainstream. A primary initiative of LISC is the New Communities Program, a 10-year effort to rejuvenate 16 challenged communities. For more information on this program see www.newcommunities.org/communities/humboldt.

Mandel Legal Aid Clinic - www.law.uchicago.edu/clinics/mandel
The mission of the Clinic is to teach students effective advocacy skills, professional ethics, and the effect of legal institutions on the poor; to examine and apply legal theory while serving as advocates for people typically denied access to justice; and to reform legal education and the legal system to be more responsive to the interests of the poor.

Neighborhood Housing Services (NHS) - www.nhschicago.org
A nonprofit organization established in 1975, NHS is committed to offering Chicago residents affordable resources so they can buy, maintain, and sustain their homes.

Prim Lawrence Group
A consulting firm with over 23 years of experience in community development, Prim Lawrence is committed to the economic empowerment of economically disadvantaged people and
building the capacity of organizations to respond to the needs of their consituency through comprehensive economic development strategies.

Spanish Coalition For Housing - www.sc4housing.org
The mission of Spanish Coalition for Housing is to provide comprehensive counseling, education and housing resources for families to develop competence and responsibility meeting their financial and housing needs.

SUPPORTERS

Advocate Bethany Hospital - www.advocatehealth.com
The philanthropic arm of Advocate Health Care, Advocate Charitable Foundation,focuses on attracting national, regional and local support for patient care, education, research and community-based health services across Advocate's more than 200 sites of care.

Alliance of Local Service Organizations (ALSO) - www.also-chicago.org
ALSO works both locally and nationally to end violence. By expanding its reach, ALSO informs its national work from a local perspective and brings knowledge and best practices from around the country to our neighborhoods in Chicago.

Bank of America - www.bankofamerica.com
A long time supporter of WHPDC’ s and FCLTC’s economic development and affordable housing programs.

Chicago Community Trust - www.cct.org
As nonprofit organizations, local governments and businesses strive to tackle issues of concern, the Trust provides civic leadership bringing all stakeholders to the common table. Working together, the Trust, its donors and its community partners leverage collective knowledge, creativity and resources for a greater impact than any of us can make alone.

Childrens Memorial Hospital - www.childrensmemorial.org
We are the region's top provider of pediatric specialty care, dedicated to the health and well-being of all children and inspired by the courage of children and families.

City of Chicago - Department of Community Development - www.cityofchicago.org/city/en/depts/dcd.html
The Department of Community Development promotes and preserves a vibrant economy by encouraging job creation, business development and affordable housing to create and sustain
strong, healthy neighborhoods. It is responsible for most of the city's business assistance programs, including Tax Increment Financing (TIF), as well as its housing and workforce development initiatives.

Field Foundation - www.fieldfoundation.org
The Field Foundation seeks to provide support for community, civic, and cultural organizations in the Chicago area, enabling both new and established programs to test innovations, to expand proven strengths or to address specific, time-limited operational needs.

Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC) - www.lisc-chicago.org
LISC/Chicago organizes capital and other resources to support initiatives that stimulate the comprehensive development of healthy, stable neighborhoods and foster their connection to the socioeconomic mainstream. A primary initiative of LISC is the New Communities Program, a 10-year effort to rejuvenate 16 challenged communities. For more information on this program see www.newcommunities.org/commSunities/humboldt.

Polk Bros Foundation - www.polkbrosfdn.org
The Polk Bros. Foundation seeks to improve the quality of life for the people of Chicago. We partner with local nonprofit organizations that work to reduce the impact of poverty and provide area residents with better access to quality education, preventive health care and basic human services.

Sinai Urban Health Institue - www.suhichicago.org
A major component of the Institute’s work involves examining the impact of social issues, such as poverty, on health. SUHI is a diverse group of epidemiologists, research assistants, and health educators involved in social epidemiology, program evaluation, teaching and consulting. Founded in 2000 as part of the Sinai Health System, SUHI’s mission is grounded in the belief that in order to serve our neighbors well, we need to understand not just the “patients” who enter our doors but the entire community as well.

UIC - Voorhees Center - www.uic.edu/cuppa/voorheesctr
The Nathalie P. Voorhees Center for Neighborhood and Community Improvement (VC) is a unit of the College of Urban Planning and Public Affairs at the University of Illinois at Chicago. Since its founding in 1978, the Center has been guided by the mission to improve the quality of life for all residents of the City of Chicago and the metropolitan area through research and technical assistance to organizations and local government agencies in their efforts to revitalize the many and varied neighborhoods and communities.