Neighbors, Friends Protest Eviction, Exploitation of Senior Citizen and her Family by Cook County Public Guardianship

Picket and Press Conference – Monday, 8/18 – 11:15 a.m.  – 69 W. Washington Chicago, IL

Chicago, IL -  Neighbors, friends, and supporters of Mildred Willis and her family will rally at the offices of the Cook County Public Guardian, Robert F. Harris.

After weeks of failing to get a response to their repeated requests for a meeting, those concerned about this family’s fate will demonstrate outside of the offices of the Public Guardian’s Adult Division, calling upon this office to follow Willis’ wishes in releasing her from the care of the state and allowing her to return home. This demonstration comes as the Public Guardian’s office has repeatedly refused requests to release her, moving, instead, to evict Willis’ daughter and granddaughter and sell Willis’ South Side home.

According to Willis’ family members, an “unscrupulous lawyer” tricked them into placing her under a limited Guardianship. Since 2012, Willis, 74, has repeatedly asked to return to her home. Instead, the Guardian’s office nearly lost it to a foreclosure by Charter One Bank, until the Chicago Anti-Eviction Campaign helped them to reverse this process. Once the foreclosure was halted, Mildred stated to her probate judge, “I only need dialysis. Please order the guardian to send me home.”

But, Mildred’s wishes have been ignored by Judge Carolyn Quinn of the Probate Division. Instead, Judge Quinn has authorized the Guardian’s Office to do whatever necessary, including evicting Mildred’s daughter and grandson, to cover the cost of  keeping her in a nursing home. Instead, Mildred just wants her freedom back to spend the remainder of her days with family, friends and community.

Even though Mildred has repeatedly asked Judge Quinn to “Please….please let me go back to my home,” the Adult Guardianship Division of the Cook County Public Guardian’s office is firmly resolved to keep Mildred in a nursing home.

Carrie Fung, the attorney working on Mildred’s case at the guardian’s office, has moved Mildred from the Renaissance At 87th Street nursing home to the Symphony nursing home, while strictly limiting her visitors, and depriving Mildred of her family and friends.

In spite of her children’s best efforts to fight it, the guardian’s office secured an eviction order against Mildred’s daughter and grandson in May 2014. While they claim that they needed to sell the house to cover the  cost of her nursing home confinement, they continue to ignore that Mildred wants to leave her nursing home and come back to her family. She does not want to see them evicted. But the sale of her home will make it impossible for her to have a home to come back to.

What: Picketing office of the Cook County Public Guardian

When: Monday, August 18^th at 11:15 a.m.

Where: Adult Guardianship Division, Cook County Public Guardian, 69 W. Washington, Chicago, IL

For more information, contact the Chicago Anti-Eviction Campaign 773-236-055