City leaders mull limited options to rein in racially discriminatory home lending as bankers snub hearing 

Aldermen are exploring the city’s options to disrupt entrenched patterns of discrimination in the banking industry that have made it nearly impossible for some people to buy homes in majority-Black neighborhoods. But until city leaders get banking CEOs and federal regulators on board, they may have few cards to play. 

That was one takeaway from a three-hour hearing of the City Council Committee on Housing and Real Estate on Friday, when aldermen and Chicago Treasurer Melissa Conyears-Ervin chewed over potential antidotes to the endemic lending disparities that WBEZ and City Bureau brought to the fore through a blockbuster investigation last year. Committee chair Ald. Harry Osterman (48) invited nearly a dozen housing advocates, researchers, struggling homebuyers and outside elected officials to highlight the decades-old injustice and consider how to climb out.