[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 69 (Wednesday, May 6, 2009)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1073-E1074]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  CONGRATULATING CHICAGO COMMUNITY LOAN FUND, A 2009 RECIPIENT OF THE 
         MacARTHUR AWARD FOR CREATIVE & EFFECTIVE INSTITUTIONS

                                 ______
                                 

                       HON. JANICE D. SCHAKOWSKY

                              of illinois

                    in the house of representatives

                         Wednesday, May 6, 2009

  Ms. SCHAKOWSKY. Madam Speaker, I rise today to congratulate the 
Chicago Community an Fund (CCLF) on receiving the 2009 MacArthur Award 
for Creative and Effective Institutions from the John D. and Catherine 
T. MacArthur Foundation.
  I would also like to commend the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur 
Foundation, another exemplary Chicago institution, for its ongoing 
investments in knowledge, the arts, public policy, conservation, and 
justice. Their grants support diverse areas with critical needs. For 
example, other recipients of the MacArthur Award for Creative and 
Effective Institutions included groups working on natural resource 
conservation in the Caribbean, defense of human rights in the Don 
Region of Russia, and the promotion of equal justice and the rule of 
law in Nigeria.
  CCLF is one of three U.S. organizations, and just eight worldwide, to 
receive the prestigious award, which recognizes implementing

[[Page E1074]]

creative, effective, and ultimately successful approaches to diverse 
challenges.
  Through targeted lending to non-profit and for-profit community 
development organizations, CCLF works in low- and moderate-income 
Chicago neighborhoods to preserve and create affordable housing, 
develop social services infrastructure, and spur economic and 
commercial development. The Fund's presence is key for small and 
midsize real estate developers and non-profits in Chicago looking for 
low-cost, flexible financing. CCLF also offers technical assistance to 
its borrowers and works to promote sustainable building design.
  CCLF and the other award-winning institutions are also notable for 
their ability to achieve substantial impact with limited resources. 
CCLF's borrowers have leveraged $36 million in loans into $808 million 
from public and private sources, resulting in the preservation or 
creation of over 1,000 jobs and 5,200 homes.
  CCLF is also part of the Preservation Compact, an initiative 
supported by the MacArthur Foundation, which has the goal of preserving 
75,000 affordable rental homes in Cook County by 2020. CCLF has created 
a revolving loan pool to help developers save up to 2,200 such units.
  CCLF plans to use its $500,000 award to enhance its lending 
activities and to promote sustainable building technologies in its 
community development initiatives.
  I would like to offer my sincere congratulations to the Chicago 
Community Loan Fund for its exemplary and forward-looking strategies to 
preserve and build affordable housing, promote sustainable economic 
development in low- and moderate-income areas, and bring good jobs to 
Chicago.

                          ____________________