Join us Monday in Court

On May 6th, 2010, the Chicago Anti-Eviction campaign, friends and neighbors, packed Courtroom 1404, to support Carol Vialdores, who is facing the eviction of herself and her 4 children from their AIMCO/Northpoint apartment. The trial was delayed until Monday, May 10th, as it took over 3 hours to select 6 from 24 possible jurors. Why the difficulty? As it turned, while 2 people were excused because they had evicted people before, and didn't feel they could be impartial, most of the candidates were excused because they expressed real discomfort with putting a family out, especially in this economy. Evidently, the majority of a theoretically random population, (sharing only that they are registered voters), share the same gut reaction to eviction as Carol and her supporters.

This is no surprise to the Chicago Anti-Eviction Campaign, (inspired by the tremendous work of tenants in post-apartheid South Africa). According to Sheriff Tom Dart's office, there are about 3,300 evictions pending in Cook County--these include many subsidized housing and foreclosure evictions, (affecting both home owners as well as tenants in foreclosed rental property). It seems that everyone has either lost a home themselves or knows someone who will. These displacements also have a lot in common in terms of who loses and who gains. Just as corporations like AIMCO figured out how to make money from owning/managing subsidized housing, big banks figured out how to sell, package and resell sub prime loans. What's more, just as families of color were sold the worst of the bad home loans, it is disproportionately women of color who are displaced by eviction--many of them single moms with young kids, just like Carol. In the case of the latter, one wonders how a depression era housing program, (Section 8), ever became a for profit industry. Maybe it's time we talk seriously about how poor communities can take back housing and land, so we aren't forever repeating this cycle of baiting and displacing.

The Chicago Anti-Eviction Campaign has been organizing and doing direct actions around the issue of housing as a human right. Actions have ranged from a public pressure campaign which stopped the Bledsoe Family's eviction (AIMCO), to a human blockade that stalled the Forrest Family's eviction (H.J. Russell). What's clear is the importance of tenant and community organizing around the issue. Tenants must learn their rights, connect with community groups working on housing issues, and know that if they are prepared to fight for their housing, a group is growing that will support them. Ask Erica Bledsoe how good it feels to fight back and keep your home. Ask Carol Vialdores how it feels to have such a large group organizing support and sitting with her in court. In fact, ask her Monday: Join us at 1:30pm in Rm 1404 of the Daley Center, to support Carol through a trial that will decide whether or not she and her kids have a home.

Holly Krig
Chicago Anti-Eviction Campaign
ChicagoAntiEviction.org
630-258-8552