Eviction Trial highlights manipulation of CHA's "Good Conduct Rules"

Chicago Anti-Eviction Campaign Press Release
August 22, 2011

When: Monday, August 22, 2011 at 2:00pm.
Where: Richard J. Daley Center, 50 W Washington, Courtroom 1404
What: Jury trial for H.J. Russell (agent for Chicago Housing Authority) vs. Sandra Jones (tenant).

Note: Preliminary matters in chambers with the judge (either Sheldon Garber or Leonard Murray) and jury selection may cause the actual trial to begin on late on Monday or early Tuesday. 

BACKGROUND:  The issue in the case is whether the CHA lease, under which CHA is attempting to evict Sandra Jones, included a 25-page single space set of "good conduct" rules.  Ms. Jones lives in a row house in Cabrini Green where, because of its location near the Gold Coast, the tenants live in a virtual plantation not only because of "good conduct rules" copies of which are not given to some residents, were not explained to them (as required by CHA and HUD "rules") and are incomprehensible to most residents even if they were given copies, but also because of 24/7 video surveillance, police harassment and gangs who, it is believed by the residents, pay CHA underlings to operate and prey upon residents in the area.

On February 16, 2011, Ms. Roberta Rendles won her case, H.J. Russell/CHA vs. Roberta Rendles, because the separate four-page document (known as "Lease Part 2") she signed--that was later found by the Court to be sufficient on its own to form a valid lease--did not have a series of boxes checked off that, if the check marks had been there, would have legally made the "good conduct rules" (known as "Lease Part 1") a legal part of her lease. The boxes were not checked and the Court ruled that CHA could not, therefore, evict Ms. Rendles based on an alleged violation of those rules.

In Kim Janssen's Sun-Times article on the Rendles case, "Blank box allows CHA tenant to keep her home," the CHA claimed this was a one-time slip up. Attorney Ed Voci and other volunteer lawyers with whom he has been working beg to differ as other tenants in the same situation are coming forward.  However, it appears that CHA may present leases that, magically, no have the boxes checked-marked. Jones' lawyers will claim they have done this after the fact. 

Members of Chicago Anti-Eviction Campaign and other residents of Cabrini Green, many of them facing evictions under the same "rules," will stand with Ms. Jones in court to fend off the looming eviction.


Press Contacts: Attorney Edward Voci 312-287-8624 / Willie JR Fleming 312-287-7228
Chicago Anti-Eviction Campaign

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