8th Ward Alderman Downplays Pill Hill Residents Opposition to Proposed Low Income Section 8 Housing Coming to Ward
A Press Conference in opposition to the proposed Senior building will be held in front of the alderman’s office at 8539 S. Cottage Grove Ave., Wednesday, April 25, at 1 PM. 8th Ward residents are urged to attend
After successfully blocking a marijuana facility and pawnshop from coming into the 8th Ward – both supported by 8th Ward Alderman Michelle Harris – residents are again up-in-arms with the alderman, battling her efforts to bring in a proposed low income Section 8 Senior housing building at 9329 to 9429 S. Stony Island Ave., in Pill Hill, a middle and upper middle class neighborhood.
Residents in the Calumet Heights (Pill Hill) area are angry; and they’ve made their feelings known many times over. They have expressed their dissatisfaction with her at several community meetings where she was invited to attend but didn’t show up to hear what they had to say about her plans to infiltrate the community with the facility– which they see as negative to the community.
Nonetheless, Ald. Harris has ignored their opposition to the proposed Montclare Calumet Heights Senior Building which will consist of 134 units, 7 Story tall.
Harris tries to belittle and downplay community opposition to the facility. In an interview with a local publication, Harris stated that the project had a large amount of support and tried to marginalize opposition support, describing them as a “small group” of people in the ward that don’t support her. That couldn’t be further from the truth.
At a scheduled meeting at St. Ailbe Church that was canceled without community knowledge, about 200 people showed up for the meeting on a rainy cold day to voice their opposition to the project and to let their voices be heard. The meeting was canceled because of a telephone call by someone who falsely used the name of another person that was known to some church members. When the woman found out her name was falsely used, she called the church and complained, and the room reservation was canceled.
Residents have long expressed opposition to Montclare Calumet Heights Senior building coming to the Calumet Heights (Pill Hill) community. They’ve said many times over, “We Don’t Want It”
Speakers at the Press Conference will be:
Pamela Bratcher-McMillan, Concerned Citizen
Rev. Harold Bailey, Founder & President, Probation Challenge
Jerry Brown, Community Activist
Linda Hudson, Candidate for 8th Ward Alderman
Kenyetta Hunter, Community Activist
Marcel Bright, Retired Journalist
