Erica talks about the family's struggle

Interview and photos by Megan Cottrell

You can help stop the eviction!

I've been writing about the Bledsoe Case on my blog at ChicagoNow. Today, I included a list of names, phone numbers and emails that you can call to help stop the Bledsoe family from getting put out on the street:

Northside Action for Justice has an email link on their page to send to a local HUD official. You can also call any of these local officials at the numbers below. Tell them you're against the Bledsoe eviction in Rogers Park, and you want them to do something about it:

Ed Hinsberger - HUD Illinois office
312-353-6236 x2132, Edward.Hinsberger@hud.gov

Mary Kenney - Illinois Housing Development Authority
312-836-5317, mkenney@ihda.org

Alderman Joe Moore, 49th Ward
773-338-5796, ward49@cityofchicago.org

Representative Jan Schakowsky - 9th district
773-506-7100

HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan
202-708-0417, Secretary_Donovan@hud.gov

I've put my own calls and emails into each of these officials, and I will let you know when and if I hear back from them.

Let us know who you've called and emailed in the comments! Thanks, everyone!

Canvassing North of Howard

This Saturday, a crew of about 10 folks got together to talk about what's going on with Erica's case and to begin collecting signatures on postcards (posted up here soon!) requesting that Edward Hinsberger, a Chicago HUD director, intervene to drop the case against the family. We collected about 65 signatures on Saturday, bringing us up to a grand total of about 200 folks that think that the Erica and her nieces and nephew have a right to stay in their home. We're hoping to have 500 by the time we deliver them on October 5th (sign online here).

So many people talked about problems they've had with Northpoint (the company that is seeking to evict the family) over the years, and the company seems to be widely recognized as a bad neighbor. Folks kept asking us for an explanation on why the company wanted to evict the family, and I realized how little justification Northpoint has for the eviction. There's absolutely no reason for it. The kids are on the lease, Erica is their legal guardian, and they've been model tenants. There's just no explaining why Northpoint is pursuing such a callous eviction.

We really need more folks to join us next Saturday (10/3) at 10AM at Triangle Park (Hermitage and Juneway). It's going to take a lot of outcry to stop this eviction. Please join us.

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.

Background

Northpoint management is attempting to unjustly evict Erica Bledsoe and her nieces and nephew from their apartment at 7721 N Paulina in the Rogers Park neighborhood of Chicago. This apartment is the children’s home, and after the tragic loss of their grandmother who lived in the apartment and cared for them, Northpoint is adding insult to injury by seeking to evict the family.

Erica Bledsoe has stepped up to take care of her nieces and nephew and is trying to preserve the children’s home and keep them in the community that they grew up in. She deserves the support of the community and the management company during this trying time. Northpoint, a company that receives substantial taxpayer money, is showing complete disregard for the well being of tenants and families in this building.