O Official Poses as Single Father Victim Lake Forest* UPDATE. Photo doesn't track, not same guy?*Confirmed no. AH still an outrage

More "Affordable Housing" foolishness.

The last time I saw Gail Schechter was at MOLDFEST. (The Wilmette experience--thankfully we just said NO)

Cronyism no doubt to come--with a real plum: Bailouts for suburbia, cushy up-front fees for well-connected developers--ridiculous, pernicious and a HUGE waste of taxpayer dollars:

Outgoing 10^th District Cong. Robert Dold has joined with his newly-redistricted replacement, Jan Schakowsky, to award $235,874 in grant money from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to the Interfaith Housing Center of the Northern Suburbs. According to publicity from the IHCNS, the funds will be used to enforce the federal Fair Housing Act, promoting diverse, integrated and non-discriminatory communities, and counseling homeowners facing foreclosure and mortgage rescue scams.

Latest from WHOA:

 
Please note: Most of the people in this photo are from out of town - including Gail Schechter (back row) who is Executive Director of Interfaith Housing Center of the Northern Suburbs (IHCNS).

Hi Everybody - As a rule, we do not respond to email blasts from Winnetka Is Neighborly (WIN). Unfortunately, we find it necessary to set the record straight per WIN's outlandish Thanksgiving message as reported below: WIN SAID "On 11/15, residents both for & against Affordable Housing spoke at a crowded Village Council meeting. In the end, the clearly frustrated Trustees took an unofficial straw poll and voted 4-1 to 'just stop talking about it.'"

THE TRUTH After lengthy comments from each of the Trustees articulating their positions on Affordable Housing, the Village Council decided 5-1 (not 4-1) to give policy direction in support of a draft Resolution submitted by Trustee Dick Kates. The draft incorporated Plank #5 of the 2011 Winnetka Caucus Platform which was unanimously adopted via an uncontested resident vote at the November Town Meeting. Caucus Village Plank $5 The Village Council should proceed promptly to conclude discussions on the Affordable Housing issue for Winnetka. In finalizing the Affordable Housing Plan on file with the State of Illinois, Village Council should not adopt an expanded Plan that would enact a below-market, "affordable" housing program in Winnetka, nor create the tools for such a program, i.e, affordability standards, local preference standards, inclusionary zoning ordinances, land trust, housing trust or housing commission. The Council's decision was NOT "an unofficial straw poll." Our Village Attorney was instructed to put the draft resolution into legal form for a final vote on December 6th.

WIN SAID "Expanding Winnetka's Amended Affordable Housing Plan will accomplish the following: 1) Help bring Winnetka into compliance with an Illinois law that requires communities to have 10% of housing stock be affordable. To ignore the law is to invite trouble in the form of expensive litigation, whether you're a home rule community or not."

THE TRUTH This threat of legal action is totally bogus. 6 former Village Presidents urged residents to vote for Home Rule to exempt us from State Affordable Housing mandates including Affordable Housing. Our Village Attorney unequivocally verified that Home Rule exempts Winnetka from the Illinois Affordable Housing Act.

WIN SAID "2) Affordable Housing will not, in any way, increase property taxes, lower property values, or infringe on individual property rights. Just ask our village officials, as we have. They'll confirm this."

THE TRUTH Winnetka has only seven elected village officials - a President (who does not vote unless there is a tie) and six (6) Trustees. Only one (1) Trustee voted in agreement with the above statement.

MORE TRUTH This is incredible!!! Two non-residents spoke in favor of Affordable Housing at the 11/15 Council Meeting: Gail Schechter, Executive Director of the Interfaith Housing Center of the Northern Suburbs (IHCNS) an organization that admittedly uses tax dollars to train "posers" to gather evidence for law suits against property owners, and Jack Haines, a gentleman who "posed" as a single father from Lake Forest unable to afford to live in Winnetka. In reality Mr. Haines is Deputy Director of HUD from Washington, DC. John Haines: (202) 708-6339, ext. 4616 / email: john.haines@hud.gov

John Haines: (202) 708-6339, ext. 4616 / email: john.haines@hud.gov

UPDATE: Meetings webcast, 11/15 Winnetka village board meeting. Am watching it now: Unfortunately, no minutes yet. The site is slow on that. Update: The AH discussion starts about 0:39:11

UPDATE:

Key Staff - About - CPD - HUD

www.hud.gov/offices/cpd/about/staff/

Working with HUD · Tools · Webcasts · Mailing lists · RSS Feeds · Help ... DER, Deputy Director, John Haines, 7130, 708-6339. Follow this link to go Back to top ...

CPD Field Office Directors - Mercedes Márquez, Assistant ... - Yolanda Chavez

Link to how the guy looks

http://johnhaines.net/bio/

UPDATE: OK, Looks like bingo, at 1:08:59

ID himself as Jack Haines

Describes himself as Housing guy, 3 administrations

Must be an old pix.

Current search on HUD checks

What a sob story he spins.

He's shown as a current employee but he doesn't disclose that.

UPDATE: Still no photo--May not be the same guy

Confirmed no:

HUD’s John Haines is most certainly not JACK Haines, has never been to Winnetka, and is not a single father from Lake Forest.

Brian Sullivan

Office of Public Affairs

U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development