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A new report released Monday is critical over the lack of public housing in the suburbs. In some respects, the report is right on. In others, it doesn't quite tell the whole story. The Chicago Fair Housing Alliance released a first-of-its-kind study that analyzed the residency of every public assistance voucher holder in the six-county region. As Daily Herald staff writer Joseph Ryan reported Monday, the study found most of the more than 56,000 voucher holders in 2003 were living in poor and minority communities. For example, more than 75 percent of blacks using vouchers live in communities with a population more than 30 percent black; more than 68 percent of Hispanics using vouchers live in areas that are more than 30 percent Hispanic. Does that suggest in and of itself a problem in the suburbs? Not necessarily. We agree, for example, with John Day, DuPage Housing Authority president, that in many of these cases the voucher holders are living where they want to live or choose to live because that is where their support network is, such as friends and churches. And we agree with Day and the Cook County Housing Authority officials that the main problem is a lack of federal funding. That has caused waiting lists that are years long. In DuPage, for example, no new entries have been allowed on the waiting list for two years. What can be done? The report calls for more federal funding. We agree that would help. It also calls for additional low-cost suburban housing. Again, we agree on that point and, further, agree that suburban officials look at providing tax breaks to bring in more affordable housing. We don't agree that the suburbs need a law like Chicago that requires landlords to accept vouchers - also known as Section 8 housing. But local officials need to do more to change the perception that Section 8 housing automatically means crime, drugs and deteriorated units. Beyond helping poor minorities find affordable housing, Section 8 also helps the elderly and the disabled. Landlords need to be more welcoming to Section 8 tenants and residents in our more affluent cities and villages need to be more open-minded. For example, a battle now in the courts over an assisted-living facility for seniors in Oak Brook led to this comment from a nearby homeowners association president: "You're going to end up tearing down this building. Someone with money doesn't want to live with somebody without." One positive from a report like this one is that it raises awareness, which hopefully leads to better solutions than court battles. "There is plenty of blame and responsibility to go around. Everyone needs to be more honest about this and step up to the plate," said Chris Klepper, director of the Housing Choice Partnership Council.