November December 2002

The surest evidence of our national housing crisis can be found under the city's viaducts, or in the city's emergency shelters, or in the nooks and crannies of the newly rehabbed Lower Wacker Drive, where the encampments of homeless men and women have become semi-permanent. Evidence of the national housing crisis can even be found, however, in well-off suburbs like Highland Park, an upscale community of luxurious, expansive homes and manicured lawns located on Lake Michigan's North Shore.

Friday, Oct. 4, was the last day for the residents of 4525 S. Federal St. in the Robert Taylor Homes to be neighbors. The building was being closed in preparation for demolition. The Chicago Housing Authority closed a number of buildings in Robert Taylor this fall to make way for a new mixed-income community they have promised to build in its place.

Robert Taylor Homes residents aren't the only ones getting charged about their high electric bills. As RJ has reported over recent months, many of the residents in Robert Taylor Homes have electric bills in the amounts of $500 to $22,000, and in some cases more. These unpaid bills are a problem for those residents who are being relocated under the Chicago Housing Authority's Plan for Transformation.

As summer turns to fall and the leaves change from a garden green to a burnt pumpkin orange to a dark chocolate brown and a lemon sunny yellow, some South Suburban mayors are seeing red when it comes to Chicago Housing Authority residents relocating to their suburban areas.

Former Robert Taylor Homes resident Lobeta Holt became another homeless statistic this fall despite promises from the Chicago Housing Authority that residents would have a roof over their heads during the Plan for Transformation Holt is a 30-year-old, disabled mother of six who has paperwork to prove she is lease-compliant.

To improve the safety for its disabled, senior and family residents, the Chicago Housing Authority three years ago started paying $12 million annually to the Chicago Police Department (CPD) for "supplemental police services." These services were to include foot patrols of CHA family developments and senior buildings to control continual drug sales and gang violence.

A welcome gang of bangers had arrived, wielding hammers, crowbars, screwdrivers and all manners of tools that workers use to get rid of the old and replace it with the new as a long-awaited renovation project for the Harold Ickes Homes went into full swing.

The Service Connector Program in Harold Ickes Homes continues to be alive and well.

HIV/AIDS is a very serious issue in the Black community as the number of African Americans infected is steadily rising, especially in low-income areas. So I went and got information from various agencies in these areas that deal with people with HIV. What I found out was shocking.

Residents of the Chicago Housing Authority are not alone in their efforts to find housing. Recent reports by housing advocacy groups and news outlets across the United States show there is a severe shortage of housing for working and non-working, low-to-moderate-income people, including those with disabilities and HIV/AIDS.

Seventy-five senior citizens were honored during a graduation ceremony this past summer for completing an eight-week program in law enforcement.

Sept. 5 started out in the usual way. At about 10:15 a.m., I started out of my apartment to go to get my mail. I saw a police truck pulling into the parking lot. A police truck usually means the cops came to a "load" - more people than they can put in the police cars.

A 28-year resident of Stateway Gardens, Francine is long overdue to get her flowers because she is always there when help is needed.

By now, if you have read Dear Resident often, you are somewhat familiar with my writing style, form and intent. As I have written many times, I believe that everything has to do with everything and everybody has to do with everybody, which I hope is reflected in my writing.