Father Pfleger declares victory in getting an accord from two area stores

By Chinta Strausberg

With close to 150 supporters by his side including 17-year-old gunshot survivor Ondelee Perteet and mothers whose children were killed, Father Michael L. Pfleger late Friday night declared a victory after two area grocery store owners, accused of selling loose cigarettes to minors, agreed to sign the Faith Community of Saint Sabina’s new “Community Agreement Form” that ensures an African American will be hired from the community.

Armed with a stack of these forms, Pfleger, who continues to hold Friday, 6:30 p.m. marches throughout the Auburn-Gresham community calling for peace and an end to violence, focused on three “trouble” stores. Pfleger is meeting with a third storeowner today who yesterday threatened to sue him. The two are now talking peace.

However, while Pfleger quickly securedt two agreements from storeowners who throughout the week had refused to return his calls, he ran into a lot of drama at the M&M Food Mart, 1642 W. 79th Street. He accused the store of selling loose cigarettes to minors and after the store clerk refused to sign the agreement, Pfleger called the police.

After a flurry of calls by the clerk, the owner ultimately arrived accusing Pfleger of being anti-Arab and claiming more than 1,000 Arab merchants are up-in-arms over his demand that they hire a black from the community or he would shut their stores down. When Pfleger told him he has been in touch with Arab leaders and they are not happy with these stores, the owner denied that and threatened to sue the priest.

When Pfleger, who had vowed not to leave until the agreement was signed, asked the clerk asked the clerk o to call the owner on his cell phone, that conversation became very heated.

In talking to the owner of the M&M Food Mart, Pfleger let him know they were waiting for the police because twice a minor purchased loose cigarettes Friday and Thursday. “I’m going to press charges,” Pfleger told the owner reminding him that neither is legal.

Still talking to the owner, Pfleger said, “What do you mean harassing you? I am not harassing your business. You’re harassing my neighborhood. I live here. Where do you live? Chicago is a big city,” said Pfleger when the owner told him he lives in Chicago. “I live here in this neighborhood,” said Pfleger.

“Oh, you’re going to bring me trouble because I’m bringing you trouble,” Pfleger told the owner in response to his threats. “ Pfleger gave his employee the Community Agreement Form and told the owner, “You can be as angry or as threatening to me as you want. You said you’re going to make trouble for me. I am not making trouble with you. I just want a good store. I’m not trying to run you away. I am not anti-Arab. I’m not anti-anything. I’m anti-wrong,” Pfleger told the owner.

“I’m harassing Arabs and Middle Eastern businesses”? asked Pfleger in response to the owner’s accusation. “But, you’re selling loose cigarettes to minors in the neighborhood I live in. Oh, the Arab store owners are talking about what I’m doing. Tel them to do the right thing, then,” Pfleger said. He told the owner he has spoken to Arab leaders who told him he was tired of “some of these stores that are disrespecting the community.”

“I am not over doing it, sir,” Pfleger said. “You’re over doing it. I don’t care if all the Arab storeowners are mad at me. You think that bothers me? This is not an Arab thing. This is a right thing. Right, not white,” Pfleger said reminding the owner he was waiting for the police reminding him that he will not tolerate his selling loose cigarettes to minors. “You don’t seem to understand that you may not care, but we care…. If that is a problem to you, if I’m a problem to you, I live at 78th and Throop. I’m not going nowhere.”

The owner called back and allegedly told Pfleger he gives a church across the street $500. Pfleger said, “You give who $500 every month”?

By then, the owner arrived at his store and again accused Pfleger of being anti-Arab. “I’m not anti-Arab. I’m anti-wrong,” Pfleger told the owner. Pfleger called the store a “menace” and that he gets numerous complaints about the M&M store.

The store license is registered to Lailafsalah-Safi. A gangbanger came up and talked to Pfleger about his concern over Pfleger’s marches.

After accusing Pfleger of  being anti-Arab, the owner said the had of the Arab Mosque is very upset with PPfleger. “I promise you. I will shut this (store down). I have seven kids. How do you feel in shutting my business down”? he asked Pfleger who said, “and I care about your kids and I care about our kids.”

The owner told Pfleger “Father, do you know that on every corner in Chicago they are selling weed. I do a lot for the community….” Pfleger told him, “What ever you are selling if it’s illegal I’m against it.” When the owner told Pfleger, he is trying to get himself a name, the supporters laughed. “How are you, sir,”? asked Pfleger. The owner said he is 35. “I’m 63. Do you think I care about a name.”

The two went back and forth with Pfleger reminding him he had people come to his store buying cigarettes every day. They were minors. Pfleger said he will not ignore it.

Later, the store owner shook hands with Pfleger and said he wants to meet with him Monday morning. He took a copy of the Community Agreement Form.

Pfleger’s supporters began singing, “Peace today is mine.” After the police arrived, and it took a long time for them to come to the store, the officers checked the store’s licenses and after taking the clerk and the owner in the back of the store out of view of the public, emerged and said, “The owner wants you to leave his store and don’t come back.”

A stunned Pfleger told the officer, one who wore a white shirt, this is a public store and the owner can’t keep people from coming there, the officer repeated the owner’s demand that they leave and stood in the entrance blocking any entry into the store.

While police did issue a citation to the owner who has to appear in court on Wednesday, August 8, 2012, 10:30 a.m. at 400 W. Superior in Room 102, there was a lot of drama going on between Pfleger and a store employee who refused to sign the agreement which lists the store name, address, phone, owner’s name, store manager’s name, years in business, the number of employees including how many African Americans are working there.

Pfleger is demanding that these stores hire an African American from the community or he will shut them down. The agreement calls for the owners to sign and agree to hire an African American to work at their store, to not participate in any illegal activities at their place of business, agree not to operate a dirty, unclean business or allow people to gather outside their stores.

Earlier, Pfleger stopped at the Throop Food Mart, 1259 W. 79th Street where after the clerk called the owner, the he signed the agreement.  Pfleger explained he is not trying to shutdown the store but wants merchants to respect the community.

Pfleger and his supporters went to the Phillips 66 Gas Station at 79th and Ashland where Pfleger pointed to a man with a white shirt and red hat he says is selling loose cigarettes to minors. When one man denied the allegation, Pfleger said, “Ultimately, if he sells them on your property, you’re the one who is going to get arrested.”

The man said he has filed a complaint against that man. “If you go in the store and ask for a cigarette and you tell them see the guy outside, that’s not good. That means you’re with it.” When the man denied it, Pfleger told him someone he sent there was told to see the guy outside. The gas station owner later signed the form and had it delivered to Pfleger before the march ended.

The march ended at the steps of Saint Sabina’s rectory where Pfleger said, “When we first did this at the gas station, they (the police) put him in their squad car and make an example of him, we are not getting that kind of cooperation now. Obviously, the tone afterwards was the police were more protective of them than us and that is unfortunate because we are trying to work them. This is not about anti anything.”

Referring to the years he took on the stores for selling drug paraphernalia which led to a state law banning these drug equipments and the lessons he learned back then, Pfleger said, “You got to make an example of these stores…. People who come in communities and open these stores be they black, white, brown, they don’t care. They are just here to make money; so we got to make them do right. No one is just going to do right. You got to make them do right.”

Pfleger is asking his supporters to call the City Hall Consumer Service Department by dialing 311. “Grandma told me the squeaky wheel gets the oil. We’re going to become a squeaky wheel,” said Pfleger.

In declaring a victory, Pfleger said, “We stopped business from going on (at the M&M store), and they know we are serious.”

When asked about the Express Food Mart located at 77th Street where Pfleger and his supporters found outdated food and Pfleger got the store manager to admit he sold loose cigarettes to minors and was selling drug paraphernalia, Pfleger said the store has allegedly hired a black who says he is retired and is satisfied with making $5.00 an hour. That isn’t good enough for Pfleger who said, “That’s not acceptable. That’s slave labor. We want minimum wage. We want a legitimate job.”

Referring to WVON’s Mark Wallace, who was also present, Pfleger said he is putting out the message for 50 churches to each go out into the community to call for peace and an end to violence. Pfleger is urging everyone to join him next Friday, July 6, 2012, at 6:30 p.m. “We have to keep the pressure up,” he said.

Chinta Strausberg is a Journalist of more than 33-years, a former political reporter and a current PCC Network talk show host. You can e-mail Strausberg at: Chintabernie@aol.com.