Rent Is Too Damn High—And Trump Isn’t Taking It Seriously

Key Takeaways

• Chicago median home price near $400k, income gap
• 224,000 affordable rentals missing in Chicago region
• U.S. short roughly five million homes, inflating prices
• Senate passed largest bipartisan housing bill in decades
• FAST Housing Act ties funding to zoning and permitting reforms

Summary

Mike Quigley’s op‑ed highlights Chicago’s deepening housing affordability crisis, noting median home prices near $400,000 and a shortfall of over 224,000 affordable rentals. He points to a national supply gap of roughly five million homes as the root cause of rising costs. Recent bipartisan legislation—the Senate’s largest housing bill in decades and the House’s FAST Housing Act—aims to expand supply, cut regulatory barriers, and fund affordable projects. Quigley contrasts these efforts with the Trump administration’s focus on unrelated policy battles, arguing housing is a rare area for cross‑party cooperation.

Pulse Analysis

The United States faces a structural housing shortage that now exceeds five million units, a deficit that drives up prices and pushes homeownership out of reach for many middle‑class families. In Chicago, the median home price hovers around $400,000, demanding an annual income of roughly $100,000—well above the city’s median household earnings of $75,000. This mismatch has created a stark affordability gap, with the region lacking more than 224,000 affordable rental units and offering only 31 affordable homes per 100 extremely low‑income renters. The scarcity of "missing‑middle" housing—small multi‑family buildings that once provided a pathway to wealth—exacerbates the problem, leaving essential workers like teachers, nurses, and first responders priced out of the neighborhoods they serve.

Legislative momentum is finally aligning with the urgency of the crisis. The Senate recently passed the most expansive housing bill in decades, featuring over 40 provisions to streamline construction, boost funding for affordable projects, and reduce regulatory friction. Complementing this, the House’s FAST Housing Act proposes to tie federal housing dollars to local zoning reforms and accelerated permitting, directly addressing the supply bottleneck. These bipartisan measures signal a rare convergence of Democratic and Republican priorities, offering a potential blueprint for other states grappling with similar shortages.

Beyond federal action, innovative policy ideas are emerging to unlock existing housing stock. Portable mortgage rates would let homeowners retain low‑interest loans when moving, encouraging turnover and increasing market fluidity. Coupled with targeted investments in community‑focused developments—such as the Irving Park YMCA’s single‑room units and the Belray Apartments in Lakeview—these strategies could accelerate the creation of affordable and workforce housing. If sustained, this combined legislative and market‑based approach may begin to reverse the trend of rising rents and dwindling homeownership prospects across the nation.