By Pamela Bratcher-McMillan

Despite several studies that reveal low income housing high rises never made the cut, and that the city of Chicago has torn down many of these low income housing high rises all across the city, the 8th Ward alderman and the city are hell-bent on bringing the Montclare low income Section 8 housing project into the Pill Hill and Calumet Heights community, an affluent middle and upper middle class neighborhood. The studies found it was a plan that failed (low income high rises).

The alderman and city want to erect a low income high rise housing project consisting of 134 units, 7 Story, in the Pill Hill and Calumet Heights area, one of the most affluent black communities in the city of Chicago. It is believed by many that this is a continuing effort to run Blacks out of the city. Two city agencies – a commission and committee –  approved the low income housing for the 8th Ward and are pushing to deliver the 7 story, low-income Trojan Horse to this middle and upper middle class black community which will be located at 9329 to 9429 S. Stony Island Ave. It’s not so much about the senior low income housing project, but they have the audacity to take away a much needed business real estate that could  economically empower the community.

When I thought about this proposed housing project, I felt that the supporters of this plan are trying to squeeze a very unattractive square into a round peg off on the neighboring community, giving the impression that it is a gift to low income seniors in the community.  But a Trojan Horse immediately came to mind. I did a web search to see did others see it that way, and they did.

There are many buildings being built in downtown Chicago. And surely, there are market rates and low income units that could be used in developments downtown as well. Many residents in the 8th Ward are wondering if this proposed building they want to bring to the South Side is an attempt to keep Chicago segregated. The market housing in the low-income units will displace people in the community as rents and taxes will go up. It’ll start with this one bad idea and will balloon out of control.

And because 8th Ward Alderman Michelle Harris lacks foresight, the community has to take the reins on this and try to keep the Montclare housing project out of the ward. The community will have to save themselves from this catastrophic idea that she would allow to take place.

Nearby beaches, highways, Indiana, and with the Obama Library coming, the South Side of Chicago has it going on. The Pill Hill community residents have built and beautified the Calumet Heights area, and now strangers want to capitalize on their hard work that was done over the past forty plus years and walk away with it. Shame on them, shame on the alderman for not having the insight to see what is taking place, and shame on residents who’ll sit idly back and let it happen.

By the way, usually on these types of projects “25-30” percent of the units go at the lower rates and the rest are market rates when developers take on projects such as this. The proposed low-income senior housing in the Pill Hill area would be just the opposite. It’s a fact that most of this type zoning is done in black communities and most of the time Blacks lose out because of it.

In areas comparable to the Pill Hill community in non-black areas that oppose rezoning, downzoning takes place instead of upzoning? The bottom line is, the new building will cause taxes to go up, rents to go up while really only accommodating a 134 unit building. These projects are normally used to strong-arm areas that reject unnecessary rezoning. Low income communities of color are aggressively targeted for purpose of gentrification. The only person that will profit from these catastrophic affects this will bring about is the developer and those that they have made deals with.

To be continued:
Zoning board meeting is May 9, at 10:00 am
City Council Chambers
City Hall, 2nd. Floor

By Rev. Dr. Harold Bailey

President & Founder of Probation Challenge

& The PCC Network

Did Mayor Rahm Emanuel & Alderman Michelle Harris Conspire Together to Bring a Low Income Section 8 Senior Building to the 8th Ward?

That’s what I’m being told by several sources who strongly believe that Mayor Rahm Emanuel, along with 8th Ward Alderman Michelle Harris, conspired to bring the proposed Montclare low income Section 8 Senior housing project to Pill Hill, a prominent, middle and upper middle class section of Chicago’s  8th Ward.

The proposed development would be located at 9329 to 9429 S. Stony Island Ave.,  which consist of 134 units, 7 Story tall; a strip of land where 8th ward residents earlier were successful in running out Street Prostitution/Pimps and other undesirables who sought to take over a community of hard-working taxpayers and organized home-owners.

Just recently, 8th Ward residents blocked a marijuana facility and pawnshop from coming into the ward, projects supported by Alderman Harris.

Allegedly the proposal was conceived months ago without residents being made aware of downtown’s intents.

Another ‘hush venture’ in the community was to have medical marijuana dispensed close to a school but the project was shut down. This project was also at the direction of Alderwoman Michelle Harris.

It’s understood that any venture in Chicago regarding construction must be approved by the City Council and Mayor Rahm Emanuel. For certain, what’s done in the dark will surely come to the light.

To be continued:
Zoning board meeting is May 9, at 10:00 am
City Council Chambers
City Hall, 2nd. Floor

By Hazel Trice Edney

“I was a member of Faith Temple Pentecostal Church here in Salt Lake City, Utah and I was the business manager for the church. And we ran into a problem just trying to get a commercial loan for the church. And I said, ‘Well, that’s it.’ I said, ‘I think I’ll just try doing this myself.’ I became a loan officer. I got really good at it,” she said. “And I was able to get more people loans so I just took it from there and here I am today.”

	Lois Johnson speaks on homeownership during the recent Stateswomen for Justice Luncheon at the National Press Club. PHOTO: Roy Lewis

Lois Johnson: The number one thing is lack of knowledge. But, it’s people of all backgrounds who have this lack of knowledge – not just African-Americans. I’m finding out a lot of this because I’m in a lot of states and I’m finding out that it’s more African-Americans who don’t own homes than it is other nationalities. I’m available to all people. The problem with our people is that we often don’t have all the information we need. Yet, the lenders and the bankers they go to are more willing to give others what they need to help them. I watch this. When I started a career in mortgage banking, I saw so many minorities being turned down. And they have the same qualifications as Caucas

People ask mortgage and homeownership questions after Johnson speaks at the recent Stateswomen for Justice Luncheon. PHOTO: Roy Lewis

ians who didn’t get turned down. Probably some of them got approved who should not have gotten approved, but it was because of the help that was given to them. They were told what to do. So, within the guidelines, we should provide our people the information that’s needed to acquire a loan and refer them to the right agencies that can help them.

By Jerroll Sanders

Starbucks has proven to be one of America’s most responsible corporate citizens. In 2014 following the shooting of 18-year-old Michael Brown in Ferguson, MO, by Officer Darren Wilson, then Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz took action when other corporations remained silent.

Starbucks launched its national “Race Together” campaign that encouraged Starbucks’ baristas (workers) to write “race together” on customer coffee cups to spur conversations about race within Starbucks locations. Months later in 2015 following the shooting of Walter Scott, Starbucks CEO Howard D. Schultz was again venturing into the arena of race relations while appearing on stage at Spelman College-a historically-black women’s institution-as part of a panel discussion on the book titled, “Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria?”

Again and again, Starbucks has been at the forefront of corporate America when it comes to cultivating a society where all people matter.

As President and CEO of ONUS, Inc.-a national organization committed to Resolving Longstanding Problems that Seem Too Big to Fix, I firmly believe in the power of boycotts. Following the killing of Michael Brown, ONUS conducted one of the most effective and long-standing boycotts in Ferguson, MO, against Sam’s Club and Walmart.

Both stores routinely called upon Ferguson Police to arrest Black men who verbally challenged managers’ decisions. Unlike Starbucks, Walmart, Inc. doubled-down in support of its employees’ hateful actions and made no apology for saddling good citizens, who happened to be black men, with unwarranted police records. Walmart then relied upon its deep purse to vigorously defend its deplorable actions.

Starbucks is no Walmart. While I firmly embrace boycotting as an effective tool of free speech, boycotting cannot and should not be Black America’s one retort to offensive acts carried out by individual employees representing what has proven to be a good corporate citizen. I do not mean to imply that Starbucks is perfect; I surmise that Starbucks still has internal issues related to race and diversity.

Nonetheless, I appreciate the steps Starbucks’ CEO and Board of Directors have and are taking in response to the incident in Philadelphia, such as the swift issuance of a public apology, public rebuke of the offending employees’ actions and the planned shutdown of Starbucks outlets nationwide for diversity and customer service training. Starbucks is demonstrating that its promise to do better is far more than a mere gesture designed to quiet a public uprising.

Starbucks has earned what millennials refer to as “street cred.” Consequently, the Corporation deserves grace when employees make missteps or engage in discriminatory actions rooted in personal perspectives. While I am confident Starbucks will make right with the young men who were wrongfully arrested in Philadelphia, I urge its leaders to again take the corporate lead by helping to revamp policing in America nationwide.

The Uniform Reporting Law Enforcement Improvement Act (URLEIA) is the solution to America’s policing problem and will effectively revamp policing from the ground up. Corporations, like citizens, have a responsibility to ensure policing nationwide is guided not by the whims of individuals and powerful conglomerates but by the constitutional and humane application of law.

Learn more about URLEIA by visiting www.ChangeIsOnUs.org. Learn more about Jerroll Sanders who is a business executive, author of The Physics of Money: If You’ve Got My Dollar, I Don’t, diversity expert, and strategist by visiting www.jerrollsanders.com.

The 8th Ward community overwhelmingly oppose the 7 Story, 1-2 Bedrooms low income Senior Housing facility proposed to be built in the 8th Ward near Pill Hill Homes, but the alderman is ignoring their wishes

By Pamela Bratcher-McMillan

As I observed the Community Development Commission meeting yesterday in City Hall, I realized that the 8th Ward alderman was more of a facilitator than an administrator.  When she read the items in her notes one by one, it felt as though she was giving a report to her supervisor instead of selling the idea of why an oversized, low income senior housing development should be allowed to be built in the Pill Hill community.

And as quickly as the vote was acted upon by the Commission, it came across as a predetermined decision, that the committee knew beforehand how they would vote before the meeting started. Obviously, the committee wasn’t interested, didn’t care, or wasn’t concerned about what the community had to say. The 8th ward alderman took the mic and proceeded to say that 99% of the ward supported the Calumet Heights project.  Not so!!!! And her remarks were immediately met with “not true” criticism from several people in the audience. A large part of the 8^th Ward community is angry and insulted that she would even make a move to bring the low income, Section 8 housing into their middle-and upper-middle-class neighborhood.

Secondly, the alderman has not met with the immediate community about this Senior Housing Project, the ones that will be most affected by this low income, 7 -story building with 1-2 bedrooms, with a “100-person waiting list”, down from the 400-500 person list her staff mentioned last week in a community meeting. The alderman did hold a developers meeting last week at a Senior Housing development on East 78th Street, pitching the project to what appeared to be a room full of its residents, and she told them there was a “200-person” waiting list.

The alderman failed to attend the meeting at St. Felicitas Church or at St Ailbe Church where 200 angry residents showed up for a meeting only to find it had been canceled. Many of the residents learned about the project through word of mouth, from other residents who had heard that the alderman was trying to bring it in. And believe me, they were not happy campers when they got the news. They were fiercely angry.

And although, about 8 or 10 people stepped up to the mic to express their opposition to the 7 story 1-2 bedrooms low income housing at 9329 to 9429 S. Stony Island Avenue, the Community Development Commission members – who do not live in the community, sided with the alderman.

The Community Development Committee, a small apathetic committee of folks that aren’t familiar with the area, to the horror of most in the audience, continued to vote in the face of a majority of community opponents who unanimously did not want to allow the development to proceed. This after listening to a trumped-up presentation by the 8th Ward Alderman, ignoring earlier community member comments about their concerns for losing their privacy with the huge building over their single family homes and their property value taking a dive.

The 8th Ward alderman aggressively pushed it through, and has yet to meet with the Pill Hill community, even after being sent two invitations to meetings.

What doesn’t the 8th Ward alderman get about the immediate concerns of the community that is affected by this project? The community doesn’t want it! She went on to say that in the Montclare building, another senior building in the 8th ward, that those residents had no complaints about the building being next to their homes. What does that have to do with an area where residents in homes are concerned? Her smug mockery is why the area is losing patience with her quickly. Someone in the audience at the meeting said her “attitude reaps of someone who has been in political office for too long and doesn’t care about the community. We know how we shouldn’t vote in the aldermanic election the next time around. We hear constant lies and a lack of transparency. We want our young people to find the area attractive, and we want to live and continue to grow it.  And this will only take the neighborhood down.”

It is obvious that the alderman does not care what the community wants, as per her past and present agendas for the ward.  It appears that she’s willing to spin stories – whether factual or not – to get what she wants in the 8^th Ward. One wonders if the alderman is complacent or passive aggressive when people push these ideas off for development? Or has she received a directive beyond her control to carry out at the expense of the community?

To be continued…

Next Meeting:

Chicago Plan Commission Meeting
City Hall, 2nd floor City Council Chambers
121 N. LaSalle Street
April 19th at 10:00 am

Time for change…

A half-century ago, the Fair Housing Act was enacted to prohibit discrimination in housing based on race, color, creed and national origin. The law also supported NAREB’s efforts toincrease Black homeownership which we believe serves to increase wealth and other economic outcomes for Black Americans.

We have since experienced highs and lows in the journey towards economic empowerment and Black homeownership. While sometimes challenged, we are not discouraged. And, we have learned vital lessons along the way.

The National Association of Real Estate Brokers (NAREB) has advocated for Black Americans to own their homes since 1947, and we are proud to play a leadership role in that struggle. But this is not a solitary endeavor. We must grow a “Community of Concern” by partnering and actively involving civil and human rights organizations, community-based and social service organizations, business groups, and the faith-based community-our oldest and most trusted institution. We must collaborate to create strong, viable communities that help to stabilize Black Americans and their families through homeownership.

In 1970, two years after the passage of The Fair Housing Act, Black homeownership was 41.6 percent. It reached its height in 2004 at 49 percent. Today, Black homeownership stands at 42.1 percent, almost the same as nearly 50 years ago. The economic downturn of a decade ago hurt many Black homeowners with high foreclosures, upside-down mortgages, and financial upheaval from which many are still struggling to recover.

Today, economic segregation remains a problem. Urban centers, long the home of Black Americans, are being gentrified. Many with deep community roots are being forced out by rising taxes and skyrocketing housing values.

While obvious obstacles like Jim Crow segregation no longer exist, we still face formidable obstacles to owning homes. Obstacles like credit scoring, which is based not on how diligently we pay our bills, but on how much consumer debt we can amass. Obstacles like crippling student debt, which impacts Black Americans deeply. Obstacles like unfair mortgage lending practices.

Despite these challenges, we know that wealth can be built through education, through financial literacy, through creating and growing our Community of Concern to support homeownership. This is how Black America educates its children and how we set up businesses-by using equity from our homes to invest in ourselves, our families and our futures.

We stand on the shoulders of NAREB founders and visionaries like Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. who spoke to NAREB in 1967 about the need for “middle-class Negroes to … publicly identify with the problem of poverty which engulfs the life of the masses.”

NAREB’s motto is “Democracy in Housing,” and we will continue to fight for that. We must continue to be vigilant. We must continue to EDUCATE Black Americans, to ENCOURAGE Black Americans, and do everything we can to EMPOWER Black Americans to build wealth, to build stability, and to invest in our futures through that most fundamental part of the American Dream: homeownership.

Jeffrey W. Hicks is the 30th president of the National Association of Real Estate Brokers.

By Pamela Bratcher-McMillan

Once again, the alderman of the 8th ward had the opportunity to talk to residents immediately affected by the low-income senior housing she tried to sneak into the neighborhood, but she didn’t show up. Why is the alderman evading the very people she said she had the support of in the community meeting last week?

According to 8th ward staff that attended the meeting, they have been working on this development since 2015, but no one attending the meeting knew about it, except them! If you are new to this, especially Pill Hill residents, what the 8th Ward alderman is trying to do is force a private and publicly owned 7 story, 1-2 bedroom, 134 unit mammoth shadowing over your homes.

Unlike the community meeting last week, attended by what looked like most of the residents that lived in the Montclare residence on 78th street. It appeared most of the people that attended the meeting never left the building. Another interesting thing that came out about their waiting list (since last week meeting it has gone from 200 to 400-500 people according to them) was that many of the residents at that location would be coming to the proposed location on Stony Island Ave.  You can’t help but wonder how those units were issued out and have a waiting list, and no one knew about it coming in the Pill Hill area.

8th Ward Alderman Staff Representatives

Although this 38.6 million property being developed by MR Properties, LLC, a private owned company in Des Plaines, Illinois, made contributions to several of the current 8th ward alderman’s’ organizations. (You can request a copy of the contribution list for the 8th Ward Alderman) which is approved by the Illinois Housing Development Authority on September 29, 2017. And the community didn’t know about it. When concerned citizens found out about the scheduled zoning meeting, somehow it was rescheduled and staff couldn’t give the community an idea when it would be ready. I might add that three of the alderman’s staff sent to once again attended the meeting to fill in for the 8th Ward alderman were ill-prepared and hostile when they couldn’t answer some important questions, often returning questions with personal questions unrelated to the issue.

One of the 8th Ward Representatives, when asked how much of the community property taxes were supporting the TIF money being used with the proposed development, was misinformed that TIF money only came from businesses and not citizens when it does, instead of being given an answer. They obviously showed up with no real data. An audience member also pointed out to the alderman’s staff member that she needed to curb her tone which was way out of line and disrespectful to the concerned citizens in the room.

They are also floating around mixed materials. Some say the building will only house 62 year old seniors with a maximum income of $44,250 while other handouts from the alderman’s office state “For people age 55 years and older with an annual income that does not exceed $31,680 for one person, or $36,180 for two people.”

It was also pointed out to the 8th Ward alderman’s office by an audience member that people want to protect their life investment, and they should understand it. “Something is amiss here. Something doesn’t smell right,” was also stated by an audience member. There is an obvious lack of transparency on the alderman’s part, and it was also discussed that there may be some issues with an alderman that runs unopposed to not look out for the good of the community. It was pointed out by another audience member that it was important to develop a community for young families, including the types of businesses they like to frequent to help develop the community. They have the buying power.

There was a lot of enthusiasm on the part of the alderman’s staff to keep discussing issues that had nothing to do with what the residents were there for which ate away valuable discussion time. Concerned Citizens stressed the importance of scheduling another meeting with the alderman because she did not attend the other two meetings the organization had invited her to attend, but stressed that they didn’t want the alderman to hold any more meetings at any senior housing complexes. “No career type jobs will be created so young people can continue to live in the community” said Jerry Brown.

A young man at the meeting asked why young people had been excluded from the meetings to make decisions about what takes place in the community. And the whole room was fed up with the alderman’s exclusions and lack of transparency, mentioning that the office needed to be monitored because a lot was probably going on with the community not being included.

The question was raised about eminent domain, would it  be used to seize homes to alleviate traffic issues if necessary that will be caused by cars coming off the highway from under the viaduct at a high speeds on Stony Island Avenue at 94th street.

Jerry Brown, Community Activist & Concerned Citizen of the 8th Ward

99.9% of people at the meeting were totally against the development coming to the community, and said they would fight it. Someone asked why the community wouldn’t be included in decisions about what comes into the neighborhood, and the answer was they were. The room was met with responses that it didn’t include the immediate community, and why would the whole 8th Ward make a decision about a part of the Ward they don’t live in, and won’t come directly in contact with?

Jerry Brown, a concerned citizen and community activist who lives in the 8th Ward community, stated that he will be paying for a precinct survey, out of pocket, for the proposed location. He also pointed out that public and private money will be used; that CHA is providing subsidies for this project, and the Chicago Low Income Trust is also providing money. Low Income Housing Trust can provide units that could be made available for homeless leaving shelters, homeless people, people leaving drug facilities, etc., to live in the building and was agreed to by the 8th Ward Alderman’s staff that it is true.

If you are concerned about these developments taking place around your homes without your consensus, the Concerned Citizens of the 8th Ward is asking that you attend the following meetings to voice your concerns about this project taking place in your neighborhood without your input.

Please come out and support the people that have been fighting for you to keep your community a family and business area; and let the Community Development Commission and Chicago Planning Commission know our community is not up for grabs. There will be buses provided by the Concerned Citizens of the 8th Ward for people that need a lift downtown.

Community Development Commission Meeting
City Hall, 2nd floor City Council Chambers
121 N. LaSalle Street
April 10th at 1:00 pm

Chicago Plan Commission Meeting
City Hall, 2nd floor City Council Chambers
121 N. LaSalle Street
April 19th at 10:00 am

Concerned Citizens Organization and 8th Ward residents are facing head-on challenges in the 8th Ward

By Pamela Bratcher-McMillan

“The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.”- MLK

Concerned Citizens of the 8th Ward

Once again, the Concerned Citizens of the 8th Ward and some 8th Ward residents have overcome tactics to thwart their activities when trying to inform the community of unwanted developments that only serve a few, but are being forced on the 8th Ward community overall. The Concerned Citizens scheduled meeting at St. Ailbe Church to inform the community of a development that many in the area don’t want was canceled without notice. Reportedly, an unknown caller had called the church sometime ago to reserve the meeting room and falsely used the name of a person several people at the church was familiar with. When the falsely accused woman called the church and complained the meeting was canceled. When attendees arrived at the meeting, and after standing in the rainy-cold for awhile, they were told by an 8th Ward alderman’s staff person stationed in the parking lot passing out brochures about Montclare, that the meeting had been canceled. It was a full-parking lot of cars and disappointed people due to the meeting being canceled. The proposed 134-unit, 8 story low income Montclare building for senior citizens is defiantly opposed by the community but very much sanctioned by the alderman. The Concerned Citizens of the 8th Ward were disappointed but not discouraged that the meeting had been canceled. They quickly relocated everyone to an alternate location because they felt it was too important to let the mishap obliterate them or stand in the way of getting the word out about what was taking place in the community, including a new seven story 1-2 bedroom low-income senior housing development without input from the community. That was quick thinking on the part of Linda Hudson, a candidate for alderman of the 8th Ward, who understands the importance of not letting a situation that some would have given up on and gone home stop her from informing the community. This instantaneous recovery shows that Hudson thinks on her feet (even in the rainy-cold).  That is why we need Hudson for 8th Ward alderman. She won’t give up on getting the community involved and empowered. Let’s hope St Ailbe learned from this and will develop a fail-safe system to confirm persons who call in to use the meeting room. Perhaps a confirmation number could be issued when a meeting is scheduled, and it would have to be used to cancel the meting or with a follow-up call.