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JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2003
Myths And Urban Legends There are a lot of urban legends out there about the redevelopment
of Chicago's public housing communities. Urban legends and other
myths - like the movie 'Candyman' or stories about alligators
living in the sewer system. - are useful for frightening children
or for a scary night in front of the television.
An Invasion of Privacy? There are many issues that lie buried behind
the walls of public housing, but this is one that I wanted to shed a little light on. Many
residents in the Raymond Hilliard Homes are feeling violated by the very thought of the Chicago
Housing Authority and the development's private management firm, Holsten Realty, wanting them
to submit to a drug test in order to renew or receive a lease.
Report Criticizes CHA Relocations All is apparently not well on the home front for many public housing residents who are undergoing
the Chicago Housing Authority's massive $1.6 billion plan to turn its public housing
properties into mixed-income communities.
Seniors Complain About Renovations In mid April 2002, work began on a number of Chicago Housing
Authority senior building sites. This was the latest installment of
the plan to renovate all of the senior buildings.
Running Out of Gas Cuts to the budgets of state and local
governments are slicing into the pockets of the relocatees from public housing. Public housing
residents are not the only population affected by the budget cuts, of course. Activists and
advocates for the poor are arguing that these cuts are taking and will take a big bite out of the
pocket books of the working poor and middle-income residents as well.
Residents Sue CHA Former and current public housing residents who claimed to be
"involuntarily displaced and segregated" filed suit against the Chicago Housing Authority
on Jan 23, 2003. The lawsuit alleges that CHA "failed to provide adequate relocation
assistance and effective social services to families displaced by public housing
demolition," in violation of federal law and CHA's contractual agreements with the U.S.
Department of Housing and Urban Development and with CHA resident leaders.
Chicago's Hottest Elections I'm hot on the trails of the hottest candidates in this lukewarm
election. Though many incumbents are running unopposed, some sparks are flying in the
Windy City wind when it comes to this year's municipal race. One of the races that
is sure to be hot and sizzling and may cause a Chicago fire is the mayoral race. Mayor
Richard M. Daley announced his bid for re-election in the last year, according to his
campaign spokesperson, Julian Green.
Representing Residents There have been a lot of complaints from public housing residents
recently about the leadership in their developments. Some residents feel they are not
being properly represented by their elected representatives. Others feel that there
is always favoritism in the distribution of donated items, jobs and other things.
Some residents also feel monies are being mismanaged.
Travelling: From Therapy to Art Last year, I decided to visit one of the most amazing locations
on Earth. I decided I really needed to get a much closer view of
the Himalayan mountain range in Asia.
The New Cook County Hospital The new Cook County Hospital, named after Cook County Board President
John H. Stroger Jr. and located at 1901 W. Harrison St., opened its doors for service in
December 2002.
Stop The Violence In this article, I'll continue to describe the deplorable conditions we
live in at Ogden Courts. There are two buildings in Ogden Courts at 2610 and 2710 W. Ogden
Ave. Our buildings are only seven stories high. This means they won't be torn down in the
transformation of the CHA complexes I learned this at the last meeting we had to meet our
new manager.
Housing On State, City Agendas All I can say is that it had to happen. Finally, one of our local aldermen came forth to do something positive about affordable housing. It also looks like we are going in a positive direction statewide with the establishment of a body to which activists will finally be able to address directly their concerns about affordable housing.
Crystal Clear Views Dear Resident Greetings, salutations and peace. Peace be unto you and us all as the
threat of war looms on the horizon becoming more apparent with each sunrise and sunset.
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