Overwhelming praise for Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s new pick for the Chicago Housing Authority (CHA) Board took up most of yesterday’s testimony at the Committee on Housing and Real Estate, as did monologues from Ald. Walter Burnett Jr. (27) about the importance of affordable housing and the need for local aldermen and city officials to push developers for more affordable units in new buildings.

Attendance: Chairman Joe Moore (49), Pat Dowell (3), Sophia King (4), Gregory Mitchell (7), David Moore (17), Michael Scott Jr. (24), Walter Burnett Jr. (27), Ariel Reboyras (30), Deb Mell (33)

Burnett and others strongly supported the appointment of LISC Chicago Executive Director Meghan Harte to the CHA Board. Harte served in the Richard M. Daley and Emanuel administrations, ultimately as Emanuel’s Deputy Mayor, and spent six years at the CHA, handling the agency’s voucher and relocation programs. She was greeted with a big hug and kiss before the meeting by Ald. David Moore (17), who was a CHA employee at the same time as Harte.