Chicago Anti-Eviction Campaign

2012-01-26T11:45:00.000-08:00

Do you want to get involve with a Grassroot organization fighting for the human right to housing?

Join the Chicago Anti Eviction Campaign tonight!

What:Chicago Anti Eviction Campaign weekly meeting

When:Thursday jan 26 6:30 pm

Where: 1401 e 75th street chicago illinois,60619.

Why: Housing is a Human Right we not going without a fight

Who: Tenants,Activists,Organizers,Homeowners,Lawyers,and you!

Photos from the Jan 19th Weekly Community Meeting

2012-01-20T10:57:00.000-08:00

Describing the history of the Chicago Anti-Eviction Campaign

Explaining how the foreclosure process works in Cook County
and how we can keep people in their homes by fighting back

Coming up with solutions to the rash of foreclosed and abandoned
houses, particularly on the city's South and West sides

Getting commitments to support families facing eviction
because of the foreclosure on their building

Media: Chicago Anti Eviction Campaign/Occupy Our Homes MLK Holiday Canvass

2012-01-19T12:00:00.000-08:00

Occupy Our Homes Launches City-Wide Effort To Reach Out To Homeowners Facing Foreclosure For Martin Luther King, Jr. Day

2012-01-18T09:06:00.000-08:00

On January 15 and 16, 2012, a coalition of Chicago housing-rights organizers did a city-wide day of canvassing under the banner of Occupy Our Homes. From five different locations in all parts of Chicago about 150 volunteers went out into the neighborhoods knocking on doors.  FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Occupy Our Homes Launches City-Wide Effort To Reach Out To Homeowners Facing Foreclosure For Martin Luther King, Jr. Day.

What:
A coalition of Chicago community groups begin a city-wide canvassing effort targeting homeowners facing foreclosure and the neighborhoods affected.

When & Where:

January 15, 2012-

10 a.m.- Meeting Point/Training Session:
Centro Autonomo, 3460 W. Lawrence Ave.

11 a.m.-to- 3 p.m.
Neighborhood Canvassing: Immediately after training sessions, canvassers spread out to adjoining neighborhoods to speak directly to homeowners facing foreclosure.

Martin Luther King, Jr. Day (January 16), 2012-

10:00 a.m.- Meeting point/Training Sessions
West Side: 2655 N. Melvina Avenue (a home under foreclosure).
South Side: Sankofa Fight Back Center For Human Rights, 1401 E. 75th Street.

11:00 a.m.- Meeting point/Training Session
North Side: Rogers Park Community House, 7463 N. Ridge Blvd.

11a.m.-to- 3p.m.
Neighborhood Canvassing

Contact: Loren Taylor (773) 750-6909

In commemoration of Martin Luther King Jr. Day 2012, a coalition of Chicago community groups working under the banner of Occupy Our Homes begins a pro-active, city-wide effort to connect with homeowners facing foreclosure. A combination of community residents, students & other concerned citizens will join experienced housing-rights organizers and participants of the Occupy movement to speak directly to affected homeowners & their neighbors.

This series of coordinated actions marks the second year that Chicago community groups went out on MLK Day to inform homeowners of their rights and to offer assistance to help families stay in their homes.

In Cook County over 21,000 properties went into foreclosure in the first half of 2011, adding to the tens of thousands already in the process. In today's economic climate, these properties will likely add to the estimated 100,000 abandoned residential units in Chicago. (Sources: Woodstock Institute, U.S. Census Data)

Quite often financial institutions "don't know that behind those numbers are real people," says 17-year old Yessenia Tellez. With help from community groups, her family successfully fought foreclosure & eviction (by HSBC Trustee Bank) from their Belmont-Cragin home. A student at Foreman High School, Yessenia watched her grades fall as she stressed over her family's struggle with the foreclosure process. But she advises other families going thru foreclosure "not to give up. It's something worth fighting for."

Participating groups include the Chicago Anti-Eviction Campaign, Communities United Against Foreclosure & Eviction, Albany Park Neighborhood Council, Albany Park Autonomous Center/Centro Autonomo and other faith-based & community groups. Many of these organizations participated in the recent nationwide "Home For The Holidays" actions coordinated by Occupy Our Homes, an umbrella group started by Occupy Wall Street participants to address the issues of foreclosures & bank-initiated evictions.

"The perverse economic inequality we now see has caused an unacceptable number of home foreclosures & evictions," said Loren Taylor, a representative for Occupy Our Homes. "Financial institutions have shown little regard for how this affects families and neighborhoods- Occupy has responded by putting the issues of foreclosures & evictions at the forefront of the movement."

"If we stay quiet, it's always going to stay the same," Yessenia said.

Please visit:
www.occupyourhomes.org
http://chicagoantieviction.org/
http://stopeviction.wordpress.com/

J15-16: Citywide Foreclosure Canvass on the King Holiday

2012-01-09T23:52:00.000-08:00

NO MORE EMPTY HOMES!
 NO MORE HOMELESS FAMILIES!

VOLUNTEER TO HELP CHICAGO
OCCUPY OUR HOMES

Over the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday weekend, Chicagoans are reaching out to help families facing foreclosure. Join neighbors and other volunteers to help keep families in their homes.

Sunday, January 15th
- Training begins at 10am -

Centro Autonomo,
3460 W. Lawrence Ave

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, January 16th
- Training begins at 10am -

Southside:
Sankofa Fight Back Center for Human Rights

1401 E. 75th St (Corner of Dorchester and 75th)

Westside:
2655 N Melvina Ave

(west of Austin, south of Diversey)

- Training begins at 11am -

Northside:
Rogers Park Community House

7463 N. Ridge Ave

RSVP @ http://tiny.cc/J16 or (312) 287-7228

For more information:

www.chicagoantieviction.org / www.stopeviction.wordpress.com / www.occupyourhomes.org

More Than a Roof-United Nations 1st Official Mission on Housing Documentary feat. Chicago Anti Eviction Campaign

2011-12-22T12:30:00.003-08:00

More Than a Roof from NESRI on Vimeo.

Media: Round up of Coverage of #D6 National Day of Action

2011-12-15T08:42:00.000-08:00

Here is a round up of the news coverage of the Chicago Anti-Eviction Campaign's participation in the December 6th National Day of Action to Stop and Reverse Foreclosures:

   The Rachel Maddow Show, The Personal Side of 'Occupy'

   First Business News, "Occupy" in Homes

   Free Speech TV, Re-Claiming Foreclosed Homes

   Chicago News Tips, Occupying Foreclosures

   We the People Media, Occupiers, Officials, Try to Help Homeowners

Also, for ongoing coverage of the nationwide efforts to stop evictions and foreclosures, log onto Occupy Our Homes.

On #D6, Cleaning up and Repairing a Vacant home for Homeless Families

2011-12-07T20:52:00.001-08:00

On December 6th, the National Day of Action to Stop and Reverse Foreclosures, the Chicago Anti-Eviction Campaign unveiled the work that is being done on a vacant, single-family home that was abandoned by the owner after repeated attempts to negotiate a loan modification with her lender, J.P. Morgan Chase bank. In the ensuing months, this "walk away" home was vandalized, sprayed with grafitti, and stripped of its pipes, sinks, and heating units. With permission from the owner, the house has been cleaned up and will be used to house a single mother, a grandmother, and a college student, all currently homeless.

The Chicago Anti-Eviction Campaign, Occupy the Hood Chicago, Occupy Chicago and a crew from the neighborhood work to fix up an abandoned home for a homeless family.

The next door neighbor speaks with JR Fleming about the ensuing problems connected with abandoned properties and thanks CAEC for their work.on the December 6th National Day of Action to Stop and Reverse Foreclosures.

The Chicago Anti-Eviction Campaign along with members of Occupy Chicago, Occupy the Hood Chicago, Occupy Altgeld, Southside Together Organizing for Power (STOP), Southsiders Organized for Unity and Liberation (SOUL), Take Back the Land Madison, Operation Welcome Home, the Mental Health Movement, and others talk to the media about the December 6th national Day of Action to Stop and Reverse Foreclosures.

...Talking about what moving into this house would mean to her and for taking back control of our neighborhoods.

...Sharing some of the history of this house and the importance of putting homeless people in vacant and foreclosed properties.

With "Homes for the Holidays," local activists reclaim South Side “Walk Away” Home for Homeless Families

2011-12-06T02:30:00.000-08:00

When: Tues, Dec 6, 2011, 3:30 p.m.

What: Rally and Press Conference in support of Homeless Families who will be moving into building left vacant after Mortgage Modification denials.

Where: 8730 S. Throop St., Chicago, IL 60620

Four months ago, Cook County Sheriff’s officers evicted Shirley Henderson and her grandchildren at gunpoint from their Dolton, IL home after Accredited Home Lenders foreclosed on her. Since then, she had been homeless, staying with friends and at the local shelter. But on Tuesday she will be unveiling a home she has reclaimed with the help of activists from the Chicago Anti-Eviction Campaign (CAEC) and Occupy the Hood Chicago (OTHC).

“Why must anyone have to live in a shelter or on the street or in their car, when there are vacant homes or homes that they are currently living in available for them to continue to live in,” asked Shirley Henderson. “What society wants to put their subjects out on the street?”

Located in the Auburn-Gresham neighborhood, this home was abandoned by its owner in April 2011 after her lender, J.P. Morgan Chase, rejected her applications for a loan modification. Left to be one of Chicago’s more than 174,000 vacant properties, this “walk away” was ransacked by vandals who spray painted graffiti on its walls and stripped its rooms of pipes, sinks, and other fixtures. After getting permission from the owner and support from her neighbors, members of the Chicago Anti-Eviction Campaign and Occupy the Hood have used volunteer labor and donated materials to rehab this building so that it can house Ms. Henderson and two other homeless families.

“In our neighborhoods, too many people are walking away from their homes because Wall Street banks won’t work with them,” explained Chicago Anti-Eviction Campaign volunteer Toussaint Losier. “This action is a practical example of how the community can fight back by turning an eyesore into an asset, putting homeless people into peopleless homes.”

Tuesday’s rally is part of the December 6th national Day of Action to Stop and Resist Foreclosures coordinated by Occupy Our Homes in over twenty cities. The goal of this Day of Action is to highlight the way that the foreclosure practices of Wall Street banks have left those in the 99% homeless and their neighborhoods blighted by boarded up, bank-owned buildings. The Chicago Anti-Eviction is a local affiliate of the national Take Back the Land network, which has been helping to lead Occupy Our Homes. With chapters across the country, Occupy the Hood is a grassroots network of activists and organizers seeking to connect disenfranchised people of color with the Occupy Wall Street movement.

Earlier in the day, Ms. Henderson will also join members of the CAEC and OTHC at other actions, including a housewarming party for a family that has moved into a bank-owned building in Belmont-Cragin and the board up of a vacant home by elementary school students in the Austin neighborhood.

For more information:

Shirley (English) 312-907-3961
Toussaint (English) 773-287-7228

Media: Occupy Homes: Protesters Target Foreclosures on Dec. 6 'Day of Action'

2011-12-06T02:01:00.001-08:00

By Roland Li | December 5, 2011 8:26 PM EST | International Business Times

Occupy Homes, an offshoot of Occupy Wall Street, will protest in foreclosed and vacant properties in around 25 U.S. cities, on Tuesday's "Day of Action," promoting what organizers call the "basic human right of housing."

Along with Occupy Wall Street protesters, the movement will bring together affordable housing activists, tenant groups, homeless advocates and other civic groups, who will march on one of the most visible legacies of the economic crisis.

Despite recent modest gains in employment, the national housing markets remains bleak. Home prices have descended steadily downward throughout the year, according to the Case-Shiller Housing Index, while nearly a quarter of U.S. homes have underwater mortgages, according to CoreLogic.

"I think it's a natural evolution," Max Rameau of Take Back the Land, one of the national organizers, told International Business Times.

Rameau has been advocating for community-controlled land since 2006, and his cause received a boost after the Occupy movement coalesced a few months ago. But with many groups being uprooted from public spaces, physically occupying troubled homes brings a continued, tangible presence of the movement, he said.

"You can't organize except face to face," he said. "You can't do that through Twitter."

Throughout the country, local organizations will act in an orchestrated -- but diverse -- effort.

Chicago has thousands of vacant properties, and activists there will target three separate homes on Tuesday to refurbish and move families in.

"We're trying to show that these properties are having a detrimental impact on the community," said Willie J.R. Fleming of the Anti-Eviction Campaign. "What we're trying to do is give control of the land back to the community. We're not asking for human rights. we're enforcing our human rights."

Activists in East New York, Brooklyn, also plan to move a family back into a foreclosed home.

In Portland, Ore., protesters will hold a conference at the home of a couple, both of whom have cancer and are at risk of eviction. Later, it will visit the local sherrif's and county assessor's office and enrcourage police to stop enforcing evictions, said Taran Connelly of Unsettle Portland, one of the groups involved.

"People should have more to say than banks who played a roulette game," he said, adding that the group was working with three other properties that are facing eviction before the holidays.

In Madison, Wis., organizers will "liberate" a residence owned by Bank of America, said Monica Adams, a local spokeswoman for Take Back the Land. It will be the third property the group has targetted -- at previous properties, banks have sent police or installed full time security, said Adams.

“We need to fundamentally transform our relationship with land in this country,” she added.

Tim Franzen, a spokesman for Occupy Atlanta, said local protesters plan to disrupt three morning foreclosure auctions at the largest local county courts. Civil rights leader Joseph Lowery will give a speech, and later, Occupy Atlanta will set up tents at two homes, which are in danger of eviction fromJPMorgan Chase.

One home had one of the "worst predatory loans" he has seen, Franzen said, with a $312,000 value that ballooned to $1 million, after interest, for a retiree. The second home is owned by an Iraq War Veteran who was injured by a roadside bomb and is on 90 percent disability with a fixed income, according to Franzen. She lives with her girlfriend and two children.

"This is a person who literally put her life on the line and paid the price for it," said Franzen. "And now JPMorgan wants to snatch it."

Although major banks, along with Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, have placed a temporary moratorium on evictions between Dec. 15 and Jan. 2, activists call the move a public relations gesture.

"A real moratorium is created to fix something. This is not a real moratorium," said Franzen. He called for a 12-month moratorium, where local home prices are reassessed and mortgages are paid based on present values.

And while he agreed with the sentiment of "housing as a human right," Franzen said that Occupy Atlanta was specifically targetting the lenders.

"Tomorrow is really about challenging the banks. It’s about challenging the economic system that’s snatching up people’s homes," said Franzen. "People are getting ripped off. The American people are getting ripped off. That is an intolerable injustice."

Both federal regulators and some state attorney generals have taken legal action against banks and lenders, and the government recently made over four million mortgages eligible for independent review.

But protesters aren't satisfied. In the coming months, they plan a "spring offensive" of occupying and targeting more properties in each city.

"We think if we raise the scale, that'll lead to the policy changes we want to see happen," said Rob Robinson of Take Back the Land. "We're all working together. That's the fantastic part about this for me."

To report problems or to leave feedback about this article, e-mail: r.li@ibtimes.com

Solidarity: Help Maria Save Her Home

2011-12-06T00:10:00.001-08:00

Maria Dolores Calvillo, who lives at 7250 N. Claremont in Chicago, has asked IndyMac/OneWest Bank to work with her numerous times, but has gotten only obfuscation and unresponsivenesss in return. Call bank lawyers Pierce and Associates at 312-346-9088. Press 3, then press 5, then 3. Tell them to work with Maria Dolores Calvillo instead of auctioning off her home. Leave a message if no one picks up.

Ms. Calvillo has sought the support of housing organizations and did as she was asked in order to apply for a loan modification. Her home, however, is scheduled to go to auction Dec. 5. If it does, Calvillo, her daughter-in-law and her two grandchildren will be kicked out. She has ultimately decided to speak out against foreclosures and evictions this holiday season, and she’s not alone.

Although she earlier fell behind on mortgage payments, “Now, I am the owner and director of a day care center. I can pay,” Calvillo says. “I’m not hiding. I’m not running away. I want to keep my home.”

Communities United Against Foreclosure and Eviction, along with supporters of Calvillo have launched a call-in campaign, asking her banks’ lawyers to work with the families this holiday season instead of going after them.

Help us take back this Home!!!!!

2011-12-04T09:44:00.000-08:00

We need volunteers! We are currently taking over a foreclosed property at 8730 S. Throop and we need to get it cleaned up and repaired for the December 6, 2011 "Home for the holidays."

We will be moving a homeless woman and her young daughter into this home. Please come on December 4th and 5th at 12:30pm. Bring any tools/supplies that you think would be beneficial. And please spread this around. It is time to move homeless people into peopless housing. Let's take back our communities!!!!

Thank you.

Solidarity: Occupy our Homes in Chicago - Dec 6th Day of Action Against Foreclosures

2011-12-04T09:43:00.000-08:00

Chicago,IL - December 6th - National Day of Action to Stop and Reverse Foreclosures

 10am @ the Southwest corner of Riis Park, thecorner of Narragansett ave and Fullerton ave to meet before going to an 11am pressconference and housewarming event for a family that has taken over a vacant,foreclosed building in the Belmont Cragin neighborhood. Ineligible for rentalassistance, this family has finally found a home of their own in one of the174,000 vacant homes in Chicago.   

For more information: 
Communities United Against Foreclosure and Eviction 

 Sabrina(english) 815.243.1984 

Chris (english) 847.226.5302 

Lily (espanol) 773.759.2155 

Silvia(espanol) 773.664.2878

  11am @ 4943 W. Van Buren st, a vacant, bank-owned thatthe South Austin Coalition (SACC) will be cleaning and boarding up. This actionwill be done in conjunction with staff, students, and parents of the nearby MayElementary school, who have complained for months about the dangers posed bythis vacant home. Unable to get the city or the owner, Citibank, to take responsibilityfor properly maintaining the building, elementary school students, staff andparents will work with community activists to clean it up before determining ithow it can best serve as a community asset.  

For more information: 

South AustinCommunity Coalition (SACC) 

Elce (english) 312.213.3989 

SACC office (english)773-287-4570  

3:30pm @ 8730 S. Throop st, a vacant, single-family home that wasabandoned by the owner after repeated attempts to negotiate a loan modificationwith her lender, J.P. Morgan Chase bank. In the ensuing months, this "walkaway" home was vandalized, sprayed with grafitti, and stripped of itspipes, sinks, and heating units. With permission from the owner, the house hasbeen cleaned up and will be used to house a single mother, a grandmother, and acollege student, all currently homeless.   

For more information: 

ChicagoAnti-Eviction Campaign  

Shirley(english) 312.907.3961

 Toussaint (english) 773.287.7228

2011-12-04T09:29:00.000-08:00

Home for the Holidays/National day of action home prep for dec 6

Today 1230 pm

8730 s throop chicago illinois

become a part of history as we liberate and prepare a house for another single parent

call 312 803 7304 for more details bring any itemes that will help clean and beautify

this home for the homeless

Occupy The Hood Chicago & The Chicago Anti-Eviction Campaign Begin Their “Warm-Up” For “Home For The Holidays” Actions Against Bank Foreclosures & Illegal Evictions

2011-12-02T04:13:00.001-08:00

When: Friday, December 2, 2011 at 1:00 p.m.

What: Press conference by Occupy The Hood Chicago & the Chicago Anti-Eviction Campaign regarding
   recent take-over of bank-foreclosure home and details of next week's actions to reclaim abandoned
   homes.
Where: 11651 S. Artesian Avenue (near Western Avenue), Chicago IL.

Contact: Loren Taylor (773) 750-6909

Occupy The Hood Chicago (OTHC) and the Chicago Anti-Eviction Campaign (CAEC) will hold a press conference Friday, December 2 at 1:00 p.m. to talk about efforts to fight the bank foreclosure and tenant eviction of a home on Chicago's Southwest side.

The press conference will be held at the home, located in Chicago's Beverly Woods neighborhood. Among those speaking will be Shirley Henderson, the property's owner and landlord. Henderson is currently fighting foreclosure by Chase Bank- although her tenants had lost their jobs and were unable to pay rent, Henderson (who also lost her job) allowed them to stay in the house while she attempted to make new arrangements with the bank. The tenants were evicted the day before Thanksgiving while preparing dinner.

“The sheriff didn't even let them put the food away,” Henderson said.

Assisted by OTHC & CAEC, Henderson and her tenants re-entered the house earlier this week. When the bank's property manager (State Banc Real Estate Brokerage) attempted to change the locks, they were told by officers of the Chicago Police Department that it was a matter for the Sheriff's Office, and the tenants were allowed to stay.

J.R. Fleming of CAEC said that this is an example of efforts that will take place next week during the “Home For The Holidays” actions on December 6, 8 and 9th. The actions are a part of efforts taken by the national Take Back The Land network- similar actions are planned in at least ten cities nationwide. All actions are designs to pressure the big banks to stop foreclosures & evictions that are devastating our
communities.

“If an ordinary person like Ms. Henderson can show compassion to her tenants during these hard times, then why can't the banks do the same?” Fleming said.

OTHC & CAEC will be joined at the Friday press conference by various Chicago groups participating in the Home For The Holidays actions, including Communities United Against Foreclosure and Evictions, the South Austin Coalition, Occupy El Barrio, and by individuals from Occupy Chicago.

“This is a diverse and city-wide coalition and we won't sit still while the banks destroy our communities” said OTHC representative Loren Taylor. “This is what occupation of our neighborhoods will look like.”

Media: Groups Aim to Seize Foreclosed Homes in Holiday Protest

2011-11-30T22:52:00.000-08:00

Willie J.R. Fleming, co-founder of the Chicago Anti-Eviction Campaign, conducts a training session for a planned campaign to break into bank-owned foreclosed homes and turn them over to homeless families. Paul Beaty for the Chicago News Cooperative

by DON TERRY - Dec 1, 2011 - Chicago News Cooperative

Even if the winds of winter blow the Occupy Chicago protesters and percussionists off the corner of LaSalle Street and Jackson Boulevard, civil disobedience is not going into hibernation.

A coalition of community organizations, including Occupy Chicago and Occupy the Hood Chicago have been holding training sessions in recent days to prepare for a “homes for the holiday” campaign to find housing for poor women and children.

The groups plan to break into and rehab vacant bank-owned foreclosed homes throughout the city and hand them over to homeless families in a series of news conferences and “house warming’’ events on Dec. 6.

“Since this is the holiday season, we’re trying to get the banks into the spirit of giving,’’ said Willie J.R. Fleming, co-founder of the Chicago Anti-Eviction Campaign, as he conducted a training session for more than 60 people last Saturday afternoon on the South Side. “We want to hit the banks with jabs and upper cuts and everything imaginable.’’

Other groups plan to clean and board up abandoned buildings and send the banks a bill for the labor and materials. Protesters also are preparing to mount non-violent “eviction defenses’’ – standing in the way of sheriff’s deputies as they try to carry out evictions.

“During the civil rights movement they did sit-ins,’’ Fleming said. “We’re doing live-ins.’’

The “homes for the holiday” campaign is part of a coordinated nationwide effort, largely organized by Occupy Wall Street, Occupy the Hood and Take Back the Land, a Washington D.C.-based organization that since its early days in Miami in 2006 has been at the forefront of the movement to seize bank-owned foreclosed homes and move in the homeless. Demonstrators are scheduled to commit similar acts of non-violent civil disobedience on Dec. 6 in Atlanta, Boston, Miami, New York and several other cities, which organizers hope will serve as a dress rehearsal for larger actions in the spring. Organizers say they plan a series of demonstrations, marches and eviction protests across the country starting in March and focusing on the issues of foreclosures, corporate excess and economic inequality.

“It is a first step in a very long upward battle,’’ said Evelyn DeHais, a member of the Occupy Chicago press committee. “We’re going to put out a call to action to as many people as we can. The idea is to inspire this kind of action throughout the winter and beyond.’’

The Cook County Sheriff’s Department is responsible for conducting evictions. Frank Bilecki, a spokesman for Sheriff Tom Dart, said that no one in the sheriff’s foreclosure and eviction unit had heard about the events planned for Dec. 6 until contacted by the Chicago News Cooperative this week.

“All of our eviction teams will be aware of it now,’’ Bilecki said. “We have to make sure we’re ready for it.’’

The Chicago Anti-Eviction Campaign training session on Saturday included tips on “how to canvas, how to talk with neighbors/community to get them to support and get involved in defense when necessary, how to identify properties and assess damage, how to support homeowners going through foreclosures, how to take back the land and Occupy Everything,’’ according to its website.

Max Rameau, founder of Take Back the Land, spent Monday and Tuesday in Chicago conducting training sessions before traveling to Miami to do more. At a storefront art gallery in Bridgeport Monday night, he told a largely white crowd of more than 60 Occupy Chicago supporters that the goal of the movement was to “cost the banks money’,’ but more importantly “to start a community conversation about housing as a human right.’’

“What we are doing is illegal,’’ Rameau said. “We are intentionally breaking the law. We’re saying the law is crap and we want to break it.’’

He said Take Back the Land targets only bank or government-foreclosed homes and only after searching property records and canvassing neighbors to rally support. He said the shortest time a family has lived in “a liberated’’ property was two weeks in Madison, Wis. “We made a tactical mistake of moving a black family into an all-white neighborhood,’’ Rameau said. The longest amount of time has been almost three years and counting, he said.

Last June, the Chicago Anti-Eviction Campaign moved a homeless woman and her four children, who were living in their van, into a foreclosed, vacant two-flat on the South Side. They are still there.

In an interview, Rameau said the Dec. 6 campaign was organized because “occupiers were starting to begin to think about what is going to happen in the winter and some people realized it didn’t make the most sense to just fight to try stay in these outdoor spaces.’’

The housing campaign, he added, was also a way to make the months of occupation and protest “more relevant to people of color.’’

“You don’t just defend a park,’’ Rameau said. “You defend people’s homes. That’s what’s relevant.’’

In preparation for the Dec. 6 event, Communities United Against Foreclosures and Evictions moved two sisters and their six children into a vacant bank-owned house in the Belmont Cragin neighborhood on the Northwest Side. The group also plans to move a family into a vacant house in Rogers Park as part of the campaign.

Another group, SOUL – Southsiders Organized for Unity and Liberation– is planning to seize a vacant bank-owned house and move in a homeless family in mid-December. After that, the group hopes to do it again and again.

“We need to raise the stakes,’’ said SOUL’s Byron Hobbs. “We’re looking at sustained occupation of several properties on the South Side.’’

The South Austin Coalition on the West Side has located a vacant house to take over on Dec. 6 but it must be rehabbed before a family can move in, said Elce Redmond, an organizer. He said the group also will clean and board up an abandoned house frequented by drug addicts and prostitutes down the street from an elementary school.

“We’re going to send the bill to the bank,’’ he said.

Community Teach In and Training on Reclaiming Community Land and Properties

2011-11-24T10:51:00.000-08:00

Community Teach In and Training on Reclaiming Community Land and Properties

Imagine vacant abandoned properties being used to house the homeless,Imagine vacant abandoned commercial spaces being used as community centers,feeding centers,training centers etc...Imagine Vacant lots being used to create urban farms...Well Imagine no more...Let's get it done join us along with Occupiers as we release A How To Occupy,Take Back the Land, and Reclaim our Community

The Chicago Anti Eviction Campaign/Occupy the Hood Chicago/SACCC/ Take Back The Land Chicago
will be holding a joint training on how we successfully took over 2 foreclosed properties in Chicago. here are event details

Training will include how to canvass
how to create a rap sheet or script universal rap sheet will be provided
how to talk with neighbors/community to get them to support and get involved in defense when necessary
how to identify properties and assess damage
How to support homeowners going thru foreclosures
How to take back the land and Occupy Everything
this training is preparation for Dec. 6th National Day of Occupying Homes Occupying the Hood Occupying Everything,Taking Back Our Land and World!
Please Come with Unity in Heart and Spirit
One Love for the People
Amandla Owethu
All Power to The People

2011-11-22T10:06:00.000-08:00

Chicago Anti Eviction Campaign/Take Back the Land Chicago/Occupy the Hood Chicago

Community Teach In and Training on Reclaiming Community Land and Properties

Location Ms. Sis Place/Sankofa Fight Back center for Human Rights

1401 e 75th street Chicago Illinois 60619

Tour of Chicago Anti Eviction Campaign Reclaimed spaces also

Saturday 10/26/2011 3:30 - 6:30 pm

Video: Gold Medal Olympian John Carlos accepts Chicago Anti-Eviction Campaign T-shirt

2011-11-13T16:58:00.000-08:00

Gold Medialist and Olympic Project for Human Rights leader John Carlos receives Anti-Eviction Campaign t-shirt during visit to Chicago in October.

Media: Chicago Anti-Eviction Campaign/Take Back the Land as part of the Occupy Homes coalition

2011-11-13T16:53:00.000-08:00

Chicago Anti-Eviction Campaign referenced in the Friday, November 11th report on the new Occupy Homes coalition

...AMY GOODMAN: Give me an example of a house that was foreclosed, the family gone, that you, quote, "liberate," that you go into, and what the bank’s response is, and the police, the local authorities’ response.

MAX RAMEAU: So, we’ve had a few in Miami that we’ve done. And we just did one in Chicago. There’s a young lady in Chicago named Martha who we moved into a vacant home that had been vacant for quite some time in Chicago. We went there, scouted out the neighborhood—and that’s through the Chicago Anti-Eviction Campaign—scouted out the neighborhood, looked at the house, found the house in good condition. Then we talked to all the neighbors and said, "Look, this place is empty. We have a family that needs a place to stay. We would like to move them. It will help out the family. It’ll improve your neighborhood, because you won’t have so many vacant homes in the neighborhood. We’d like to have your support for it." And we held a press conference, moving the family in, and all of the neighbors came out and supported that. And we’re there, and the family is still there. And that’s been three months or so. And the neighbors have signed onto pledges agreeing that if the police come to try to evict that family, they’re going to block the eviction, physically block the eviction there. And that’s with the Chicago Anti-Eviction Campaign in Chicago....