Committee to Support the Bledsoe Family meeting - 9/22

NEXT EVENTS:

Saturday 9/26 - 10AM - Triangle Park (W Juneway at N Hermitage, directly behind the Howard station)
Meet to discuss next steps, collect petition signatures, and pass out fliers in the neighborhood

Saturday 10/3 - 10AM - Triangle Park
Meet to discuss next steps, collect petition signatures, and pass out fliers in the neighborhood

Monday 10/5 - 12PM - Federal Plaza (Jackson and Dearborn)
Press conference and delivery of petitions to HUD officials (BE THERE!)

Thursday 10/8 - 10AM - Daley Center (Washington and Dearborn)
Eviction hearing, picket and pack the courtroom!

WHAT WE NEED PEOPLE TO DO (email to let us know what you're working on or can work on please!)

• Organize phone calls to public officials
• Contact churches, organizations, others that can support
• List reporters, other media contacts you have
• Collect signatures ( http://www.bit.ly/rogerspark)
  
• Attend and promote upcoming events!
• Design a basic website (blogger/wordpress)
  

Updates on what's going on with the family's case at the end, here are the meeting notes:

We agreed that the key target right now is Ed Hinsberger, HUD director of multi-family housing. He has the ability to have the case dropped, so we're going to try to step up as much pressure on him and HUD as we can.

We're going to continue circulating the petition, so please get your people to sign, but Frank is going to design postcards for individual signatures to be delivered at the action on 10/5.

These will be ready for the gathering on 9/26, as will a flyer for the actions. We're going to be collecting signatures on these, and distributing flyers on this coming Saturday, 9/26, and the following Saturday, 10/3 at Triangle Park, just north of Howard, off of Paulina starting at 10AM. Please make it to these meetings.

We need to reach out to Ald. Joe Moore's office and Committeeman David Fagus, we have a pledge from them that they will intervene, but they haven't done so yet. We also need to reach out to Sen. Dick Durbin's office as well as Shaun Donovan, natl. HUD Director.

We also need to begin compiling a list of media targets that may be interested in covering the story.

Are there sympathetic organizations, churches, etc, that would be interested in supporting? We need to contact them.

We also need to organize phone calls to HUD.

background:

Erica Bledsoe, and her 3 nieces and nephews are still facing an incredibly unjust and unfair eviction. There is a critical court hearing/argument in the case on October 8, 2009 at 11 am at the Daley Center. Both sides have filed motions for summary judgment, which means that each side is asking the judge to rule in their favor without a full trial. Each side believes the facts and the law as now known support their argument that the court can rule in their favor without a trial. If the judge rules in Northpoint’s favor then the case is lost and the family will be evicted.


Now is a critical time to step up support for the family.