FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE	Contact: Michele Anapol (202) 466-2121 x226 manapol@nhc.org

HOUSING TRENDS, WIDE-RANGING SOLUTIONS AND LINKAGES TO POSITIVE SOCIAL OUTCOMES ARE FOCUS OF NATIONAL POLICY SUMMIT IN CHICAGO

U.S. HUD Secretary Jackson, Former HUD Secretaries Cisneros and Kemp,

Senator Durbin and Mayor Daley Among the Top-Tier Experts Participating

Chicago, IL (October 11, 2006) – The National Housing Conference (NHC) marked its 75th anniversary year by convening an in-depth national housing policy summit in Chicago to address housing trends and solutions, responses to the changing federal policy environment and the vital linkages between housing and community and family well-being. Among the top-tier experts and leaders participating are U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Alphonso Jackson, former HUD Secretaries Henry Cisneros and Jack Kemp, Senator Richard Durbin (D-IL) and Chicago Mayor Richard Daley. Entitled Fulfilling the Dream: Shaping Housing Policy for Future Generations the summit has attracted some 300 participants, including government officials, community leaders, advocates, educators and others from 22 states across the nation and is being held at The Palmer House Hilton in downtown Chicago.

At the summit October 12, Cisneros and Kemp will provide a preview of their new book entitled Opportunity and Progress: A Bipartisan Platform for State and Local Housing Policy, which they are presently collaborating on with Kent Colton, former executive vice president and CEO of the National Association of Home Builders and president of K. Colton LLC; and Nicolas Retsinas, director of the Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard University.

Senator Durbin will address participants during the October 11 luncheon, and Mayor Daley will address the group on Thursday morning, October 12. Primary underwriters of the event are Freddie Mac, JP Morgan Chase and the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation. Additional sponsors include: Century Housing; Federal Home Loan Bank of Chicago; Kimball Hill Homes; National Equipty Fund, Inc.; Ohio Capital Corporation for Housing; the National Association of Realtors; and NeighborWorks America.

“We are pleased to be holding the NHC Summit in Chicago, a city that has been at the forefront of developing and implementing innovative policies and programs focused on meeting the affordable housing needs of working families,” said NHC Chairman Helen Kanovsky, CEO of the AFL-CIO Housing Investment Trust. “Without question, housing has become a front-burner issue, most recently because of the vital connections that are being made between housing and community and family well-being, including its linkages to important topics such as health, education and transportation.”

In coordination with the kick off of the summit, NHC is releasing detailed findings from a compelling new study on the impact of housing and transportation on working families entitled A Heavy Load: The Combined Housing and Transportation Burdens of Working Families. The study was conducted by the Center for Housing Policy, the research affiliate of the NHC, with support from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation.

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