Urban Policy and Community Development
Program

IPR’s urban policy and community development faculty examine the shifting landscape of urban life, considering myriad issues related to today’s urban experience. Additionally, many IPR faculty work on projects that are closely tied to urban policy in areas such as education, housing, welfare reform, community policing, and philanthropy. The group, chaired by sociologist Lincoln Quillian, is targeting:

Overview of Activities

Tax Policy and State Expenditures
As part of her work on state fiscal crises and finances, Therese McGuire, ConAgra Foods Research Professor in Strategic Management, organized several events over the year to highlight how these issues are playing out in Illinois and across the nation.

At a June 6 IPR policy briefing, she was one of three experts to address the pressing budget challenges facing states—K-12 education, Medicaid, and state pension liabilities. On two fronts, education and Medicaid, the federal government is shifting more and more costs onto state ledgers. McGuire pointed out that states can, however, use targeted funding approaches such as foundation aid programs to reduce disparities between districts, and recent court decisions have validated this approach. With Medicaid now the largest portion of state budgets, economist David Merriman of the University of Illinois at Chicago spoke about how it would create “a big hole” in states’ budgets if the federal government were to change the rules on practices where it suspects abuses. Economist J. Fred Giertz of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign explained how funding of state pensions is more a problem of political will than one of ability. R. Eden Martin, president of the Civic Committee of the Commercial Club of Chicago, provided closing remarks, speaking about his committee’s recommendations to balance Illinois’ finances by cutting expenses, reforming problematic programs, and increasing taxes to pay for standing obligations. Yet he acknowledged that legislators often find it easier to shift the problem onto those who follow in office.

Given the complex and often confusing issues involved in property taxes, McGuire and Nathan Anderson of the University of Illinois at Chicago have completed a study of Illinois’ property taxes with a grant from the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy. Illinois is one of 23 states that limits both property tax revenues and rates, yet discussions for reform are often hindered by a lack of understanding of how the system works. The two researchers analyze the potential benefits and costs of the property tax constraints in Illinois by comparing constrained systems to unfettered ones. The state’s Property Tax Extension Limitation Law and the tax rate limits are the only ones to affect total taxes, while nearly every other policy acts to shift taxes across individuals. So, for example, senior exemptions shift taxes away from seniors and onto other homeowners and commercial-industrial property owners.

McGuire and Anderson also organized a November 30 conference on “Property Taxation in Illinois: How and Why Is It Broken and What Can Be Done to Fix It?” at Chicago’s Union League Club. More than 50 attended, including several state legislators. Speakers included Illinois state Sen. Chris Lauzen; Ralph Martire, director of the Center for Tax and Budget Accountability; and Doug Kiersey, senior vice president of ProLogis.

Urban Diversity and Inequality
Sociologist Juan Onésimo Sandoval is currently at work on a book manuscript titled “The Social Order of the American Metropolis: How Race and Class Have Restructured America’s Colorful Colorline.” It will trace patterns of racial and economic segregation prevalent in American cities.

Sandoval also explored inequality in neighborhood incomes in Chicago from 1980 to 2000. While income disparities have declined in predominantly white neighborhoods, he found they are on the rise in black neighborhoods; racially integrated neighborhoods display a higher degree of income inequality; and income disparity is greater in urban centers than in the suburbs for all racial groups.

Civic Engagement in the University
Guided by institutional missions to educate and serve the public good, U.S. universities are developing interdisciplinary, hands-on initiatives to promote student involvement and serve the public interest. Human development and social policy professor Dan A. Lewis organized a November 2 conference on civic engagement at Northwestern University. IPR was a co-sponsor.

Keynote speaker Diana Mutz, an expert in political communication from the University of Pennsylvania, discussed her book Hearing the Other Side: Deliberative Versus Participatory Democracy. While conventional wisdom says that greater political discourse leads to greater political participation, Mutz’s careful research shows the opposite—greater exposure to diverse political views decreases political participation.

Drawing from his book The Redemptive Self: Stories Americans Live By, Northwestern psychology professor Dan McAdams described how highly “generative” men and women embrace the negative things that happen to them, using these experiences and stories of redemption to move forward and make a difference in their communities.

Community Development
John McKnight gave the keynote speech on July 7 at the Summer Inclusion Institute to more than 300 attendees at Ryerson University in Toronto. The institute helps those working on issues of support and inclusion for people with disabilities.

John Kretzmann taught at a Coady International Institute workshop on community development for participants from 10 countries in June in Bangkok. A book of 12 case studies from the workshop is being written.

Deborah Puntenney is evaluating the community-building work of KaBOOM! The Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit helps neighborhood partnerships build local playgrounds, encouraging long-term participation and cooperation. Puntenney has interviewed playground builders all over the nation about their experiences with KaBOOM! and its impact on their communities.