 In November, 1987, Shiller's first budget cycle, she recommended to the Budget Committee that the City cancel a federal grant for the Uptown Chicago Commission (UCC), a 32-year-old community group in Uptown that often contended on issues with the Heart of Uptown Coalition, of which Shiller was co-chairman with Walter "Slim" Coleman. The recommendation came during Budget Committee hearings on the distribution of $ 95.1 million in federal Community Development Block Grants. Mayor Washington's budget recommendation included a $ 20,000 grant to UCC to facilitate residents applying for home improvement loans. The UCC's service area included the adjoining 48th Ward, whose Alderman Kathy Osterman also supported the funding. Shiller requested that the committee deny the UCC its grant. Shiller accused the UCC of helping developers displace low-income Uptown residents. After heated debate, the Budget Committee voted 9 – 5 in favor of Shiller's amendment to remove the grant for the UCC.
