Single women with dependent children have the hardest time finding housing in the Chicagoland area, said Sociology Professor Kathy McCourt.

McCourt, chairman for the sociology department at Loyola University of Chicago, has worked extensively with various research projects on the issue of housing based on gender and race. Her particular focus examines the housing situation for women in the Chicago area.

McCourt will speak to NIU students Wednesday at 8 p.m. in Faraday Hall about the problems Chicagoans face in obtaining housing. Her lecture will focus particularly on the problems faced by female-headed households, including the accessibility and feasibility of housing to women.

The lecture is based on information McCourt gathered during a study on Metropolitan Fair Housing Alliance, a study which attempted to find the acceptability and feasibility of integrating the Chicago suburbs.

“Housing for single women is a big problem in the Chicago area, and it is a problem that is growing nationwide,” McCourt said.

The affordability of housing is a problem for women because women tend to have the added responsibility of children. Housing choices are limited-need by accessiblity to child care, public transportation and shopping, she said.

“I think one important point to look at is the housing industry is based on a patriarchical model. However, there are feminist planners and designers who have suggested alternatives for the housing situation that relieve the women of such burdens,” McCourt said.

McCourt also was involved in a study concerning the integrating of Chicago neighborhoods through the Home Equity Program, a plan which would guarantee the value of a home for five years. Homeowners can join the program by paying a fee to have their house assessed. If the homeowner tries to sell his house and cannot receive full assessed value for it, the program will pay the difference.

Money to pay any differences would come from a self-imposed tax, McCourt said. Several areas will be voting on the referendum in the mayoral election today, she said.

“The point is to undermine the fears people have if a community goes through ethnic or racial changes,” she said. “We are trying to give people a sense of faith that the community will continue to be a viable, middle-class community despite these changes.”