Logan Square Neighborhood Association latest news

Englewood Renters Left Without Electricity, Gas Due To Foreclosure: 'We Were Left In The Dark' (VIDEO)

Fri, 17 May 2013 12:00:00 -0600

Eight members of the Shaw family, including a 14 month-old baby, have been living without gas or electricity for nearly a week, according to parents Shantisha and Ezekiel. Their two-bedroom garden apartment in Englewood, on Chicago’s South Side, is flooding and has mold damage. The two apartments above them are vacant, with broken and boarded-up windows.

“We can’t live like this any more,” said Shantisha Shaw, 36, regarding the home she’s shared with her family since February 2011. A stroke survivor, Shantisha is permanently disabled and lives with her husband and six children.

The Shaw’s landlord was foreclosed upon last year and Freedom Mortgage Corp. took over the deed for the building on December 14, as indicated by the Cook County Clerk of the Circuit Court.

But neither Shantisha, nor her husband, Ezekiel Shaw, said they were notified the building was being foreclosed upon. They said they were not given a 90-day notice to vacate, nor were they provided any instructions indicating where they should send their monthly $550 rent — which includes utilities — following the foreclosure.

The Shaws say they were not provided with any landlord or contact information pertaining to who would be responsible for maintaining the property after the foreclosure.

“We’ve been left in the dark, literally,” said Ezekiel, 45. “What are we supposed to do?”

He said he’s been given the run-around:

In February the Shaws received an eviction notice from Pierce & Associates, a leading Chicago-based foreclosure law firm.

“Demand is hereby made upon you for immediate surrender of possession of the above premises,” the February 4 letter, identifying Pierce & Associates as attorneys for Freedom Mortgage, states.

“But we don’t have any money, I don’t know what they expect us to do,” said Shantisha.

She said the building's utilities were shut off last week and “it’s been like hell”:

It is under these conditions that the Shaw family is receiving support from the Keep Chicago Renting Coalition, which hosted a press conference and rally this week outside the family’s home at 6936 South Green St.

According to the group, city law — the Chicago Residential Landlord Tenant Ordinance — requires that landlord notify renters about foreclsoure filings within seven days of the legal action. The coalition also notes that the Illinois Mortgage Foreclosure Law obligates those who take over foreclosures to notify renters of their acquisition of the property within 21 days of securing it. None of this happened in the case of the Shaw family. Additionally, Pierce & Associates should have given the Shaw family 90 days to vacate the premises, the coalition alleges, as mandated by the federal Protecting Tenants at Foreclosure Act of 2009.

The coalition of community, social service and labor organizations also alleges that Freedom Mortgage violated the Chicago Residential Landlord Tenant Ordinance by failing to maintain the property after they acquired ownership.

“We want Freedom Mortgage to assume responsibility as new owners of the property, and we need Pierce & Associates to apply best practices regarding renters’ rights,” said Dan Kleinman, policy director for Action Now. “When a law-abiding tenant is willing and able to continue paying rent, they deserve the opportunity to keep their lease. And if the bank absolutely refuses, they need to provide a form of compensation that dignifies what the renter is going through.”

The group has reached out to the office of Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan. Kleinman said officials expressed interest in helping the coalition pursue the correct means of redress for the Shaw family.

“We need to send a clear message to, not only banks, but the legal firms that represent them, that the law has to be followed and renters’ rights have to be respected,” he said.

Kleinman accused Pierce & Associates of “constructive eviction”, which is the illegal practice of rendering a property uninhabitable in the interest of persuading a tenant to leave the premesis on their own volition.

“The Shaws have done nothing wrong,” he said, noting the buildings’ other tenants have already been “scared out.”

He added that if, or when, the Shaws leave their home, the building stands to sit vacant and potentially depreciate property values in the neighborhood and provide a haven for crime and vandalism.

Meanwhile, Patricia Fron, buildings program administrator for the Lawyers Committee for Better Housing, said banks fighting against establishing a landlord-tenant relationship is a popular trend in the Chicagoland area.

“We’ve found that it’s common practice for banks — they don’t want to be landlords,” she said, adding financial institutions most likely don’t want to be held responsible for property maintenance.

Fron agreed with Kleinman that Pierce & Associates are practicing “constructive eviction.” She said the “intimidating” eviction letter and shut off of utilities was an “effort to constructively evict the tenants from their homes instead of taking them through the proper eviction channels.”

The Lawyers Committee for Better Housing is a member of the Keep Chicago Renting Coalition, as is the Albany Park Neighborhood Council; Action Now; the Brighton Park Neighborhood Council; the Chicago Coalition for the Homeless; the Kenwood Oakland Community Organization; the Logan Square Neighborhood Association; the Metropolitan Tenants’ Organization; SEIU*-HCII; and Unite Here Local 1.

But Fron said she, and the coalition, are not entirely sure why banks recoil at the the idea of tenant-landlord relationships. From their perspective, she said, it would seem to make more sense to continue the renting relationship:

Participants in Wednesday’s demonstration outside the Shaw’s home, said the family’s situation underscores Chicago’s need for the Keep Chicago Renting Ordinance.

The proposed ordinance, introduced in July by lead sponsor Ald. Richard Mell (33rd), would require additional notifications to renters and extend leases when a building is foreclosed upon.

The proposal, which has veeb endorsed by Mayor Rahm Emanuel, would also require lenders who acquire foreclosed buildings to either pay tenants $12,000 per unit to move or maintain the renters’ lease until the building is sold, with a maximum 2 percent rent increase from year-to-year.

"This compromise ordinance ensures that tenants maintain their rights if their building is foreclosed," Kathleen Strand, a spokesman for Emanuel’s office, told the Chicago Tribune. "Under current law, renters do not have long-term security and receive no assistance with the costs associated with relocation once their building enters foreclosure.

The legislation has 43 co-sponsors and sits in the Chicago City Council Committee on Housing and Real Estate. According to the Keep Chicago Renting Coalition, the bill will likely see a vote by the city council on June 5.

“The Keep Chicago Renting ordinance would help keep families, like the Shaw family, in their homes while avoiding further vacant properties in our city,” said Diane Limas, president of theAlbany Park Neighborhood Council, during Wednesday’s press conference.

Limas said the ordinance holds banks and their affiliates accountable for their actions. She accused lenders, like Freedom Mortgage, of not caring about tenants:

For now, the Shaw family said they have no choice but to wait. Ezekiel is an out-of-work chef and Shantisha can’t work due to her disability. They said they can’t afford to move, and have already spent a sizeable portion of their savings.

A representative from Pierce & Associates could not be reached for comment.

Kleinman called the Shaw family “innocent victims” of a broken system.

Ezekiel said he hopes the Keep Chicago Renting Coalition helps his family get the utilities turned back on.

If the utilities are not turned back on, Ezekiel says “we really don’t know” what to do next:

Tenant group sues Chicago Housing Authority

Fri, 17 May 2013 12:00:00 -0600

WBEZ/Katie O'Brien

Displaced tenants of Cabrini Green filed a lawsuit against the Chicago Housing Authority in an effort to return to their neighborhood after redevelopment.

After the last iconic tower fell, the Cabrini Green row houses were all that remained of the public-housing complex.

Its residents should have been able to return after the row houses were renovated.

But only a quarter of the 586 units were rehabbed.

Elizabeth Rosenthal represents the Cabrini-Green Local Advisory Council. She explained that residents stand to lose much more than fair housing.

“It’s an area of opportunity. It has access to good schools, access to jobs, it’s on public transportation lines--there’s that new Target going right there,” Rosenthal expanded.

In response, CHA spokesperson Wendy Parks stressed that there are no fixed plans for the Cabrini homes in question.

“We have said in the past that we are committed to adhering to the needs of CHA residents. We did not specifically state what that would look like with regard to revitalization of Cabrini homes,” Parks said.

The agency plans to invite CHA residents and area stakeholders to provide input on any proposed plan for the area--no date for those meetings has been set.

Other Coverage

1. 05/16/13 WLS - Cabrini-Green residents sue CHA over renovated units

2. 05/16/13 DNAinfo Chicago - CHA Broke Promise to Rehab Cabrini Rowhouses, Lawsuit Alleges

3. 05/16/13 Emanuel's CHA plan challenged

4. 05/16/13 Housing Coalition Criticizes Giveaway to Private Developers

CHA Broke Promise to Rehab Cabrini Rowhouses, Lawsuit Alleges

Thu, 16 May 2013 12:00:00 -0600

CABRINI-GREEN — A community group of some of the last public housing tenants in the Cabrini-Green rowhouses has filed a lawsuit against the Chicago Housing Authority, claiming the CHA reneged on a promise to keep hundreds of housing units.

The residents of those 440 rowhouse units, which are now fenced in and boarded up, agreed to temporary relocate in 2008 so that their homes could be fixed up, but construction never started.

Now, the Francis Cabrini Rowhouses are likely to be torn down and turned into mixed income housing, while those who had agreed to temporarily move away are left out to dry.

Continue

Cabrini-Green residents sue CHA over renovated units

Thu, 16 May 2013 12:00:00 -0600

May 16, 2013 (CHICAGO) (WLS) -- Long-time tenants are suing the Chicago Housing Authority for allegedly reneging on pledges to return them to their neighborhood after redevelopment.

The Cabrini-Green Local Advisory Council filed its lawsuit in federal court today.

Chicago has been demolishing or renovating public housing for years to provide poorer residents more livable conditions.

The lawsuit says the CHA renovated a quarter of the Cabrini units -- then set aside just a small portion for public housing.

The council wants them all designated for public housing.

"Public housing in not a bad word. Public housing is a safety net that needs to be preserved, rehabilitated or built new," said Jessie Avraham, from the Chicago Housing Initiative.

"The agency is working with a planner and the Near North Working Group to develop a plan for the future of Cabrini -- including the row homes," the CHA said in a statement.

Housing Coalition Criticizes Giveaway to Private Developers

Wed, 15 May 2013 12:00:00 -0600

Titus Kerby, Lathrop resident and leader, addresses the press.

Liz Brake, Jane Addams Senior Caucus leader

“Mostly federal money, state money, city money. At Oakwood Shores, the developer has $100 in equity and a $345,000 mortgage loan. The rest is public money,” said Brake. Liz Brake crunched numbers for the Jane Adams Senior Caucus and asserts the CHA’s public private partnership is basically privateprofit on public money.

Brake says after 30 years of affordable rents, new CHA developments will revert to private control for the following 69 years, a plan the Chicago Housing Initiative likens to the city’s parking meter deal.

The Initiative seeks leasing of now vacant apartments to ease the backlog of 60,000 families seeking CHA housing plus an end to CHA privatization plans.

Emanuel's CHA plan challenged

Wed, 15 May 2013 12:00:00 -0600

UPDATED – While Cabrini Row House residents prepare to challenge CHA plans for mixed-income development, CHA resident leaders and housing advocates are questioning Mayor Emanuel’s update to the agency’s Plan For Transformation.

The Cabrini-Green Local Advisory and supporters will hold a press conferenceThursday morning (May 16 at 9:30 a.m., 530 W. Locust) to announce “a new initiative to protect the Carini Row Houses,” according to a release from the Legal Assistance Foundation.

Row House residents have called on CHA to fulfill the promise in the original PFT to rehabilitate the development as 100 percent public housing; that plan was put on hold in 2011.

Meanwhile, resident leaders and community organizations called on the CHA board to reject the mayor’s plan and return to the drawing board — and to heed input from the public, including an emphasis on preservation and rehab of existing units rather than subsidizing private development as the most cost-effective way to meet CHA’s obligations.

The Central Advisory Council, comprised of elected leaders of CHA developments, criticized the mayor’s plan for lacking specifics on how CHA will complete construction of replacement housing and ensure families of their right to return to homes they were displaced from.

Few proposals from CAC’s detailed Strategies and Recommendations Report issued last year were incorporated in the mayor’s plan, the group said.

They called for reforming security programs which “harass law-abiding residents” but fail to make developments safe, and for elected representation for public housing residents living in mixed-income developments.

The Chicago Housing Initiative, consisting of community organizations representing tenants of subsidized housing, challenged Emanuel’s claim that 85 percent of the PFT’s promised 25,000 replacement units have been provided. With thousands of rehabbed units remaining vacant, “the number [of occupied replacement units] is closer to 18,000,” said Leah Levinger of CHI.

Last year the group revealed that CHA receives millions of dollars in operating funds from HUD for units it has failed to lease out.

Under pressure from HUD, CHA has begun leasing vacant units in scattered-site housing, but in some cases the agency is limiting it to residents making 50 to 80 percent of area median income, Levinger said. One speaker yesterday was a Wal-Mart worker turned away from public housing for not having a high enough income to live in public housing.

Levinger drew parallels between the Emanuel’s plan to step up investment in private developments and the parking meter privatization deal. The PFT’s mixed-income developments have been a “massive transfer of assets to private control,” at great benefit to private developers but with little advantage to taxpayers and the public.

Typical “public-private partnerships” involve 95 percent public financing, no developer equity, and millions of dollars in up-front development fees, she said. In return, private developers control the land with a 99-year lease, while affordability agreements only extend for 15 to 30 years.

And according to CHI, public-private mixed-income records have a poor record of meeting housing production goals. At seven development where over 5,000 units were promised by developers, less than half were ever provided.

The CAC and CHI are calling for preserving and renovating existing public housing stock, including Lathrop Homes, Cabrini Row Houses, Altgeld Gardens and West Haven Homes, and rebuilding housing for displaced families at Ickes Homes, LeClaire Courts, Cabrini-Green, and the State Street corridor.

UPDATE – CHA has issued the following statement:

“As part of Chicago Housing Authority’s new strategic initiative, ‘Plan Forward: Communities that Work,’ CHA is committed to building strong, vibrant communities throughout Chicago. Currently, the agency is working with a planner and the Near North Working Group to develop a plan for the future of Cabrini, including the row homes. However, CHA has not announced any decision on the future of the row homes. In the coming months, CHA will invite CHA residents and area neighbors to provide their input on our proposed plan for the revitalization of Cabrini. Our goal is to increase the quality of life and economic opportunities for CHA residents and the entire community.”

Ordinance Aims To “Keep Chicago Renting"

Wed, 08 May 2013 12:00:00 -0600

Members of the Logan Square community had an active presence on the second floor of City Hall Wednesday, May 1 as the Committee on Housing and Real Estate passed an ordinance to help keep Chicago renters in their homes after their buildings face foreclosure.

Proponents of Keep Chicago Renting (KCR), the coalition that proposed the ordinance, donned orange shirts and held signs protesting “pointless evictions” and abandoned buildings while lead sponsor of the ordinance, Alderman Richard Mell (33rd ward), spoke to press in favor of the ordinance.

“We’re saying, let’s not create more abandoned buildings. Let’s not toss people out on the street without giving them the opportunity, and if the banks do want to toss [the tenants] out, make them pay the tenants,” said Mell to press.

Community members in attendance included three Logan Square aldermen who sit Committee on Housing and Real Estate (Ray Suarez, 31st ward; Scott Waguespeck, 32nd ward; and Ariel Reboyras 30th ward) and the Logan Square Neighborhood Association (LSNA), which is a member of KCR. Additionally, renters who have been evicted from their residences or left in buildings without running water and electricity gave their testimonies to the council and urged them to pass the ordinance.

As seen by the presence of boarded windows and overgrown lawns, Logan Square is not a stranger to the foreclosure issue, and KCR is active in helping renters whose buildings face foreclosure in the neighborhood.

“We have been able to do a lot of outreach to homeowners and renters in Logan Square,” said Daniel La Spata, co-chair on housing and land use for LSNA. “In Logan Square a majority of the buildings under foreclosure are multi-unit buildings, so we have been able to do a lot of work with those tenants.”

Current protections allow tenants 90-120 days to remain in their leases before foreclosure eviction is enforced, but many renters lack legal savvy and are played by lenders and banks who knowingly violate tenants’ rights through notices threatening board-ups and eviction. The new ordinance seeks to create a strong disincentive on eviction and explicitly inform renters of their rights as tenants. But what if the property owner or bank absolutely does not want the tenant to remain living there? In the proposed ordinance, they are required to compensate the tenants with $12,000 in relocation fees.

Broken down, the $12,000 includes upfront costs for a new apartment, funds for potential increases in rent, rental application and moving fees, cost of searching for a new apartment, and compensation for disruptions from involuntary moves.

The ordinance, while presenting the option of compensating tenants to leave their homes, has a main goal of establishing a policy solution to keep renters in their homes and avoid the creation of more vacant properties in Chicago, according to La Spata.

Benefits of this ordinance would not only provide assistance to renters being bought out by banks and other services, but also could help reduce crime in neighborhoods plagued by foreclosed buildings.

Although crime in Chicago saw an overall 27 percent decrease from 2005-2012, abandoned buildings and vacant lots have become crime incubators with a 48 percent increase in reported criminal activity in abandoned buildings and vacant lots for the same seven-year span, according to an April 2013 report from the Lawyers’ Committee for Better Housing (LCBH).

The report also presents two heat maps that show a distinct “overlap between vacant properties and areas experiencing highest levels of crime.” Of course other components factor in, but it cannot be a complete coincidence that neighborhoods with a vast number of vacant properties also have the highest crime levels.

From 2009-2011, eight percent of Logan Square’s 19,995 rental occupied housing units were impacted by foreclosure, according to LCBH. And our neighbor to the south, Humboldt Park, saw a whopping 20 percent of their 11,125 rental occupied housing units affected by foreclosure in the same three-year span. Sure, Humboldt Park is a different neighborhood, but they are our neighbors and their foreclosure and crime issues really hit close to home.

The ordinance will sit with the Committee on Housing and Real Estate until it is presented to the full City Council. Read the proposed ordinance and keep up to date on its progress here.

More Information:

Emanuel administration PPT on Keep Chicago Renting (E-mailed to Aldermen 4-30-2013).pdf

Ninos ayudan a detener la violencia

Fri, 26 Apr 2013 12:00:00 -0600

Ya que la violencia con armas sigue en aumento en Chicago, un grupo de alumnos de la Esquela Media Ames ayudo a hacer u n cambio por una ciudad mejor. Los alumnos crearon un informe de sequridad comunitaria en el cual describieron sus recomendaciones de lo que debe cambiarse con el fin de ser una comunidad mas segura y menos violenta. Cuatro representantes estudiantiles se reunieron con el Concejal Maldonado el 17 de abril para entregar el informe, el cual fue aprobado.

"Siento que nosotros como ninos hacemos diferencia, tal que nuestra generacion no sea violenta," dijo Jasmine Marchan, una de cuatro alumnos que entragaron el informe al concejal. "Fue una gran oportunidad, y a que no muchos ninos de nuestra edad lo conocen."

Los alumnos crearon el informe usando datos colectados del Concilio pro Paz y Liderazgo (PLC, por sus siglas en ingles) 2012 que identifico que areas de la comunidad sienten seguras e inseguras los alumnos. Las recomendaciones incluyeron adiestramiento juvenil a oficiales de policia, programa de mentores policia juventud, patrullaje, alumbrado en el parque y comercio amigable a jovenes.

"Los alumnos estaban ansiosos ya que fue su primera reunion con un oficial electo. [Compartieron] las recomendaciones con el y este se sorprendio. Estuvo de acuerdo con varias de las recomendaciones y quiere que los alumnos sigan los pasos necesarios. Los alumnos estaban muy emocionados de que sus voces fuesen oidas y esperan ver como sus recomendaciones haran una comunidad mas segura," senalo Karla Castilla, coordinadora del Concilio pro Paz y Liderazgo en Ames.

Antes de que el informe fuese llevado al concejal, fue entregado al director ede la Escuela Media Ames, Turon Ivy, quien animo a los alumnos a trabajar duro. "Cada vez que encendemos la TV, vemos algo acerca de violencia, vemos algo que afecta a nuestros Jovenes, nuestras familias, nuestros barrios, nuestras comunidades," senalo Ivy a los alumnos. "Lo que ustedes estan haciendo justo ahora es fundamental para ayudar a cambiar el paisaje de lo que esta sucediendo, no solo en nuestras escuelas, sino tambien en la comunidad."

El concilio pro Paz y Liderazgo de Ames, parte de Elev8 Chicago, es un grupo de 15 alumnos de 7th y 8th grados cuya meta es crear una sociedad joven-adulto para mejorar su escuela y comunidad. El concilio es dirigido por el Reto Mikva.

Para mas informacion sobre el informe Recomendaciones pro Securidad Comunitaria, llame a Karla Castilla al (312) 863-8351 o envie un e-mail a Karla@mikvachallenge.org.

Kids help to stop violence

Fri, 26 Apr 2013 12:00:00 -0600

As gun violence keeps increasing in Chicago, a group of students from Ames Middle School helped make a change for a safer city. The students created a community safety report in which they outlined their recommendations on what needs to be changed in order to become a safer and less violent community. Four student representatives met with Alderman Maldonado on April 17 to present the report, which was approved.

"I feel that us as kids make a difference so our generation won't be a violent one," said Jasmine Marchan, one of the four students who presented the report to the alderman. "It was a great opportunity because not a lot of kids our age get to meet him."

The students created the report by using data collected from the 2012 Peace and Leadership Council (PLC) that identified what areas in the community students felt safe and unsafe about. The recommendations included youth training for police officers, police-youth mentoring program, patrolling, lights in the park, and youth-friendly business.

"The students were anxious because it was their first time meeting with an elected official. [They shared] the recommendations with him and he was surprised. He agreed with several of the recommendations and wanted the students to follow up on the next steps. The students were very excited that their voices were heard and look forward to how their recommendations will make their community safer," said Karla Castilla, Ames Peace and Leadership Council coordinator.

Before the report was brought to the alderman, it was presented to the Ames Middle School principal, Turon Ivy, who encouraged the students to work hard. "Every time that we have a tendency to turn on the television, we see something about violence, we see something that affects our yout, our families, our neighborhoods, our communities," Ivy told his students. "What you guys are doing right now is critical in helping to change the landscape of what's taking place, not only in our schools, but also in the community."

The Ames Peace and Leadership Council, part of Elev8 Chicago, is a group of 15 seventh and eighth graders whose goal is to create youth adult partnership to improve their sschool and community. The council is facilitated by Mikva Challenge.

For more information on the Community Safety Recommendations report, contact Karla Castilla at 312-863-8351 or e-mail karla@mikvachallenge.org.

Ninos ayudan a detener la violencia

Fri, 26 Apr 2013 12:00:00 -0600

Para mas informacion sobre el informe Recomendaciones pro Securidad Comunitaria, llame a Karla Castilla al (312) 863-8351 o envie un e-mail a Karla@mikvachallenge.org.

Tribune: Banks, real estate industry expected to oppose ordinance

Thu, 25 Apr 2013 12:00:00 -0600

Lenders that repossess rental buildings in Chicago — or anyone who buys a rental building at a court-ordered foreclosure auction — would have to pay tenants $12,000 per unit to move or offer them rent-controlled extended leases until the building is sold, under a proposal supported by Mayor Rahm Emanuel.

Dubbed the Keep Chicago Renting ordinance, the proposal is the latest iteration of efforts that began last summer to help renters when their buildings fall into foreclosure and become bank-owned.

But unlike last year's plan, the current proposal goes further than mandating additional notifications to renters and extended rental periods.

After a rental building goes through foreclosure and is sold at auction, tenants with a lease would have to be offered $12,000 per rental unit to move or a one-year lease at a cost of no more than 102 percent of the prior 12-month period's annual rent.

Most foreclosed properties are repossessed by lenders, but any entity that buys a foreclosed rental building at a judicial sale would have to follow the ordinance. The rules would not apply to someone who buys a building in a private transaction after the auction.

The ordinance would cover all rental properties in Chicago, including single-family homes, a condominium unit that functions as a rental or a multifamily building.

"It's really a good ordinance because it gives the banks an opportunity to keep buildings occupied until they sell them," said Ald. Richard Mell, 33rd, the sponsor of the ordinance. "It gives the banks another opportunity to keep the neighborhood in much better shape."

The proposal is expected to generate opposition from the real estate industry, which fears it will cause investors to lose their appetite for properties in a hot rental market, and from banks, which will have to choose between paying fees to vacate buildings or become landlords.

There also is concern that banks will either walk away from properties in foreclosure so they don't have to legally take possession of buildings, creating so-called zombie foreclosures, or that once the buildings do become bank-owned, they will be sold at below-market values to quickly absolve banks of their responsibilities under the law.

Last year, 1,970 multifamily buildings went through the foreclosure process in Chicago, and 90 percent of them became bank owned, according to the Institute of Housing Studies at DePaul University.

"This compromise ordinance ensures that tenants maintain their rights if their building is foreclosed," said Kathleen Strand, a spokesman for the mayor. "Under current law, renters do not have long-term security and receive no assistance with the costs associated with relocation once their building enters foreclosure. Mayor Emanuel's support for this ordinance is one piece of this administration's efforts to mitigate the effects of the foreclosure crisis and vacant buildings on the economy and public safety."

Other cities, including Los Angeles and San Francisco, have passed laws that offer as much as $18,000 and $15,000, respectively, to displaced tenants of foreclosed buildings. A group of 16 public policy and neighborhood groups originally proposed $14,000 of relocation assistance.

"It's certainly our hope that they would keep the tenants in the building in order to avoid the fee," said John Bartlett, executive director of the Metropolitan Tenants Organization. "But if they are going to empty the buildings, and my guess is that still will be the choice of some, there is a uniform fee of what it's going to cost. Right now, the cash for the keys is all over the map."

In Chicago, the average amount offered to tenants is about $6,000, estimated Diane Limas, board president of the Albany Park Neighborhood Council.

Community groups have worked over the past few years to beef up tenant protections within the city and to make renters aware of local ordinances. Still, most groups and legal aid attorneys say they continue to deal with illegal eviction issues.

Within 21 days of taking ownership of a foreclosed rental building, owners would have to notify most tenants of their rights under the ordinance. The proposed ordinance also would require entities that purchase foreclosed rental properties at court auctions to register those properties with the city and pay a $250 fee.

"I wouldn't say we're punishing the banks," Limas said. "What we don't want to see is any more of what we've seen in the past."

The proposal is expected to be heard May 1 by the City Council's Housing Committee.

mepodmolik@tribune.com

hdardick@tribune.com

LSNA Leaders will be attending a City Council Housing Committee Hearing on the "Keep Chicago Renting Ordinance" on Wednesday, May 1, 2013 from 10-noon at City Hall. If you would like to participate please contact John McDermott with Logan Square Neighborhood Association. 773-384-4370, x38.

COUNTDOWN to I Love Logan Square Party & Live Auction

Tue, 16 Apr 2013 12:00:00 -0600

Auctions * Loteria * Drinks * Food * DJ * Dancing

$10 donation at the door

What?
Party Fundraiser for Logan Square Neighborhood Association
When?
Saturday, April 27th 7pm-12am
& remember the Famous Live Auction starts at 8:30
Where?
Hairpin Arts Center, 2800 N. Milwaukee Avenue, 2nd Floor (above Payless with panoramic view of six corners of Kimball / Diversey / Milwaukee).

The LIVE AUCTION, once again led by auctioneers Raul Islas and Sara Mathers, will be back and punchier than ever. Bring your checkbook!! Auction kicks off right after 9pm. Live and silent auction prizes will include:

Delicious home cooked mole dinner for up to 6 by Eva Salgado
90 minute photo session for family, children or fun by Stephanie Salgado
Make-up session with up-and-coming make-up artist Sandra Rojas
Handmade, reclaimed, unique, antique shelving unit from Chris Jansen
Ride to the grocery store for major shopping with Sterling Haukom Anderson
Two Bulls tickets to a home game from Jason Dyme
Resume writing tips from a professional editor
Succulent boneless sirloin steaks from Allen Brothers
House cleaning by Liz Jansen
Ahoy! Family and Friends Sailing Party, with Captain Jim Walz
Martini and Margarita bar for 20 friends, by Hector Soto
Mexican fiesta cooking lessonos for up to 12 by Monica Espinoza Soto
Autographed Andrew Bird Poster donated by Ekonomisk Management
Baseball autographed by Robin Ventura donated by White Sox
Limited Edition Chicago Bears Lithograph donated by Chicago Bears
A Pie for all seasons -- 4 lucious pies AND a lesson in the art of pie making
90 Minute Massage by Roshani Saraiya
Personalized nature walk with Cook County Odonata Monitor Sandi McNichols
Hair Loft Spa Item donated by Hair Loft
Gift Certificates to Wolfbait and B Girls for locally designed merchandise
Doggy Spa treatment with Soggy Paws
Locally brewed Half Acre Beer Growler, T-shirt AND pint glasses
Life of Pi(e) Homegrown fruits and handmade crusts. Six pies through out the year donated by Alicia Locher.
Chicago Gospel Music History Tour, from Deborah McCoy
Bilingual Boot Camp donated by Multilingual Chicago

And much much more...

You may RSVP here at the Facebook Event Page and share with friends and networks.

Parent Mentor Program Celebrates Statewide Expansion, Urges Legislators To Continue Funding (Video)

Fri, 05 Apr 2013 12:00:00 -0600

The Parent Mentor Program that started in Chicago’s Northwest side neighborhood of Logan Square more than 17 years ago celebrated its statewide expansion today with an approximately 500-person conference atRichard J. Daley College.

In one year’s time the Parent Mentor Program more than doubled its presence in schools across the state, increasing from 28 schools last year, to 57 today. Participants gathered at today’s conference came from cities ranging from Moline to Niles.

They shared stories from their classrooms, discussed challenges and successes, made a plan for where they’d like to see the program in 10 years and also wrote letters to Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan (D-Chicago), asking him to support additional funding for the program.

“We think the parent mentor program should be in every school,” said Joanna Brown, lead education organizer for the Logan Square Neighborhood Association (LSNA). “There are a lot of kids who need special attention, especially second language kids who come from a different culture from their teacher; they need that connection with a person who can relate to them personally.”

Illinois’ dire fiscal situation — nearly $100 billion in an underfunded pension system and a $9 billion backlog of bills — has threatened to consume education funding. In early March, Gov. Pat Quinn’s budget proposal called for a 3 percent cut, approximately $400 million, from education funding.

“There’s a lot of energy around this program, and when you talk to people you discover that principals are loving it, teachers are loving it and students are thriving,” said Brown. “We need to make that support well known.”

Last year, the Parent Mentor Program was allocated a $1 million grant from the Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE), which worked in collaboration with the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights (ICIRR) to expand the program across the state.

Trained parents are now incorporated into more than 400 classrooms across Illinois. Training is provided by 13 grassroots organizations, including founding organizations like the Logan Square Neighborhood Organization and Southwest Organizing Project.

Working through the newly-formed Parent Engagement Institute, the statewide organizations train parents to work in conjunction with teachers in the classroom for two hours, Monday through Thursday. After reaching 100 volunteer hours, parent mentors receive a $500 stipend.

But Brown says she doesn’t know what will happen if the program isn’t funded next year. In addition to seeking a repeat of the $1 million the program was allocated last year, Brown said she’d like to see an additional $2.5 million to help the program expand even further.

“Primarily low-income and minority, African American, Latino and other immigrant groups, women are basically underutilized,” she said. “They’re home with their kids and they can’t get a nine-to-five job because of language barriers or what have you; they may have lots of talents and nobody is asking them to use them. The school is the perfect place to open the door and utilize their energy and talents.”

Organizers from the Parent Mentor Program delivered letters from Illinois’ participants to Madigan’s office today.

“We really need your help to keep the Parent Mentor Program growing,” the letters read, encouraging Madigan to support funding.

Organizers also had an introductory meeting scheduled with Senate President John Cullerton (D-Chicago) today, aiming to boost his enthusiasm for the program. They plan to travel to Springfield on April 18 to campaign lawmakers at the Statehouse.

“The students’ response to us is awesome,” said Christina Torres, a parent coordinator with LSNA. “A lot of our parents live in the community, so students connect with them in the classroom and it really improves the classroom environment.”

Here’s more from Torres:

Organizations that have spread the Parent Mentor Program to their communities include Arab American Family Services, the Brighton Park Neighborhood Council, Casa Guanajuato Quad Cities, the Developing Communities Project, Enlace Chicago, Family Focus Aurora, the Logan Square Neighborhood Association, Mujeres Latinas en Accion, Niles Township ELL Parent Center and Open Communities, the Northwest Side Housing Center, the Southwest Organizing Project, the Southwest Suburban Immigrant Project and The Resurrection Project.

State Reps. Dan Burke (D-Chicago) and Silvana Tabares (D-Chicago) also visited the conference and expressed their support.

Born in Zacatecas, Mexico, Yuliana Sanchez, 29, a parent mentor at Talman Elementary School for two years, said she wants to see the Parent Mentor Program expand nationwide so that her sisters in California could also participate.

“Now that I’m in the school I see that I can be somebody, I can take an English class and a GED class, it’s never too late to be someone in life,” said Sanchez .

Sanchez works with eighth-grade students and said that because she’s “on the same level” as the students, they find her approachable.

“The students help me just as much as I help them.”

####

MORE about the Parent Engagement Institute.

HUD seeking Letters of Support for historic preservation of Lathrop Homes

Tue, 26 Mar 2013 12:00:00 -0600

Dear Lathrop Homes residents, alumni, neighbors and allies --

The U.S. Department of Housing & Urban Development (HUD) is seeking letters from various organizations assessing the potential for historic preservation of the Lathrop Homes and commenting on the scenarios released by the development team in November.
These letters can come from a wide variety of organizations, or from individuals with expertise or knowledge (letters can be e-mailed in PDF format). LSNA needs your help to reach out to appropriate groups and people. Please let us know your suggestions.

For example, letters could come from:

Groups involved with architecture, landscape architecture and the history of those subjects
Groups involved with public housing history or policy
New Deal history groups
Ethnic, cultural and civil rights organizations that could address Lathrop's ethnic & cultural history
Local historical societies
Neighborhood & community groups
Agencies located on site at Lathrop or that work with Lathrop residents
Housing advocacy groups
Housing development practitioners
Scholars and "experts" in any of the above areas.

In their letters, organizations should:

ask HUD to list them as a Consulting Party in the Lathrop Homes Section 106 process.* HUD will keep Consulting Parties informed about upcoming meetings relating to Lathrop & historic preservation.

comment on why historic preservation makes sense at the Lathrop Homes -- in terms of the quality of the architecture and landscape, in terms of Lathrop's social and cultural history, and for more practical reasons (buildings are structurally sound, units can reconfigured, revitalization could be completed much sooner & at lower cost, etc.)

comment on positive & negative aspects of the three scenarios presented by the development team, especially with regard to historic preservation but also in terms of the impact on access to public and affordable housing, density and traffic issues, etc.

To see visuals of the 3 scenarios: visit http://www.lathropcommunity.org. Scroll down until and you will find a video and a PDF summary for the Riverworks, Gateways and Greenscapes scenarios. (Riverworks and Gateways would preserve some of the existing buildings; Greenscapes would only preserve the power plant.) Although the development team has already announced some changes since the release of the scenarios in November, HUD encourages Consulting Parties to comment on the scenarios.

In addition to looking at the scenarios, we recommend reviewing the pdf updated 'Facts & Figures' sheet, which provides you with all the basic numbers for Lathrop today, our preservation vision, the CHA's guidelines from 2010, the developers' scenarios from November, and the revised numbers the developers' have announced since then.

Letters should be mailed to...

Mr. Steven E. Meiss, Director
Illinois Office of Public Housing
HUD
77 W. Jackson, 24th Floor
Chicago, IL 60604

...or e-mailed as a PDF to Meiss through his staff person Erik Sandstedt at Erik.R.Sandstedt@hud.gov.

Please also e-mail that PDF to me so we can keep copies of as many letters as possible. Thank you!

John McDermott
J.McDermott@LSNA.net

UPDATE: Here are several resources that could be helpful in preparing your organization's letter to HUD to comment on the case for historic preservation at Lathrop and on the three scenarios proposed last November.

First, here is what HUD received from the development team, Lathrop Community Partners, last month (HUD then forwarded these documents to the current Consulting Parties):

The Lathrop Community Partners' draft Section 106 Public Participation Report which includes a 12-page April 2011 "Initial Report" on historic preservation by then-LCP consultant Vince Michael. (This big file also includes many attachments, such as the power point used by LCP in their Kickoff Meeting and Workshops in November & December 2011.)
A Chronology of CHA Compliance with Section 106 requirements. Check out the entry for June 20, 2012: At this meeting, CHA claims, HUD and the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency agreed that LCP's "upcoming series of community meetings as part of the Lathrop planning process will fulfill the Section 106 public input requirement." Because of this, it makes sense to include comments about the planning process in your letters.
LCP's 2-page Summary of Community Input on the three scenarios presented in November 2012.

Second, here are preservation studies and fact sheets that you may want to cite or quote in your letter.

The nomination to list Lathrop on the National Register of Historic Places, written by public housing historian and Lathrop ally Elizabeth Milnarik. Since this nomination was successful, and forms the basis for the Section 106 process, this is an especially good document to cite. (Here is our one-page fact sheet on what the National Register listing -- formally awarded one year ago -- means for Lathrop.)
Preservation Chicago's 2-page fact sheet on Lathrop's architecture and landscape from 2007, which remains a good quick resource.
Landmarks Illinois' 16-page preservation study with great photos and several renderings by architect Joe Antunovich. )For example, on page 8, Antunovich shows how an existing Lathrop building could be renovated to include a library branch, a coffee shop or other similar uses at ground level.)
Also included in this set of files is the development team's 9-page analysis of its community survey results from November & December 2012. We recommend reading the last few pages first. The developers presented parts of this analysis to Hamlin Park Neighbors in January and South Lakeview Neighbors in February.

Logan Square churches unite to fight Chicago violence

Mon, 25 Mar 2013 12:00:00 -0600

A group of churches on Chicago's Northwest Side united on Palm Sunday to form an anti-violence network that encourages community members to step up and promote peace in the streets.

Inside the basement of St. Luke's Lutheran Church in the Logan Square neighborhood, leaders and members of several community organizations spoke to more than 50 people — including little children — about the root causes of violence, from poverty to homelessness to unemployment.

Speakers encouraged the crowd to be a "personal remedy for violence" by doing what they can to influence public policy, safely intervene in street violence and encourage city leaders to expand educational and employment opportunities.

"In the long term, addressing the issue of guns may be necessary, but it's not sufficient," said Lori Crowder, executive director of the Alliance of Local Service Organizations, one of the groups that sponsored the event. "Otherwise, if we don't do this, Chicago could look like Detroit in the next 10 years."

With long green palm leaves in their hands, Jessica Castro, 35, and her three children arrived after Palm Sunday services to hear what the organizations had to say. Castro said she wanted to pass along any information to her children's schools.

Castro said she's nervous sometimes when her children leave home because of all the violence she hears about. "I worry about them more now (going out) than when I was growing up," she said.

Organizers told the crowd they would like crime in the community to disappear over the next 10 years.At the beginning of the forum, people gathered in the front of the room as they sang, chanted and held signs calling for an end to the violence. Some who attended also shared stories about losing jobs, spending time in prison and dealing with violence in schools.

Marianne Deacon committed to helping the panhandlers she gives food or money to after learning that StreetWise — a magazine sold by the needy — offers jobs to those who are homeless or risk losing their homes.

"We have so many resources, and we're just not using them," said Deacon, 61, who lives in Logan Square. "There are many things I can take from this and share with my neighbors and the people I love."

Logan Square Churches and Social Service Agencies come together for Palm Sunday Peace Rally

Sun, 24 Mar 2013 12:00:00 -0600

Dart calls for halt to illegal evictions

Wed, 20 Mar 2013 12:00:00 -0600

Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart is telling a Chicago property management company to immediately stop illegal eviction notices to renters whose buildings are the subject of foreclosure proceedings.

Dart has ordered CHIProperties to stop threatening its renters and to stop misrepresenting the law.

Members of the Keep Chicago Renting Coalition protested outside CHIProperties offices at 1512 North Fremont Street this morning.

Dart says the company has been posting notices that instruct renters in properties that are subject to foreclosure proccedings that they are trespassers and must move out immediately. This notice also reads that the eviction process has started, even if a suit has not been filed.

When a bank wishes to evict tenants in a foreclosure they must do so through the court system. Sheriff’s deputies then carry that eviction out.

Dart is asking CHIProperties to give him the addresses of every property in which these unlawful notices were distributed.

Luis Islas was living in such a unit with his wife and children. They were given a notice that the sheriff was coming. He says CHIProperties then boarded up the building while his family was still living in it.

“This company and banks, they think they can do whatever they want,” Islas said. “But it’s not right.”

“This is common decency we’re talking about here, and following the law,” Sheriff Dart told reporters. “There is a process. People have 90 days.”

Sheriff Dart said anyone who has received such a notice should contact his office.

A person answering the telephone at the CHIProperties office said the company will have nothing to say.

Reportan graves problemas administrativos en escuela de Logan Square (Video)

Wed, 20 Mar 2013 12:00:00 -0600

Katy Penaloza KPHS sophomore and LSNA student leader.

Illegal Evictions Protest: Sheriff, Alderman Join Fight

Wed, 20 Mar 2013 12:00:00 -0600

LINCOLN PARK — The Cook County Sheriff and a Chicago alderman joined a protest against illegal evictions Wednesday.

"This is insane," said Sheriff Tom Dart outside the Lincoln Park offices of CHIProperties Inc. "This is wrong. People have rights. And the people involved, they know this. I'm so tired of this."

Two dozen protesters marched Wednesday morning from the CTA Red Line station at North Avenue and Clybourn Street to the CHIProperties office at 1512 N. Fremont St. to draw attention to the plight of Luis Islas.

The West Rogers Park rents in a building that's in foreclosure, and he said he received a notice from CHIProperties warning that he had 48 hours to "vacate" the building.

The letter threatened that "a sheriff constable will come to the property with a locksmith, change the locks, and escort you off the property regardless of your personal belongings" if he did not make immediate arrangements with the office to move.

He said workers subsequently tried to board up the building with his family inside.

"They think they can do whatever they want, but it's not right," Islas said.

Dart said the notice given to Islas and others like it "completely and totally disregard what the law is."

"They're not legal. They're not from our office," Dart said

He and others in the protest pointed out that federal and state laws call for landlords to give at least 90 days notice before such an eviction can take place, with a legal process established before the sheriff's office actually executes the eviction.

Dart said he had delivered cease-and-desist letters to CHIProperties and another realty firm believed to have sent out similar notices. He added that he was consulting with the Illinois Attorney General's Office on further legal action.

"Renters are being treated unfairly, and we need to hold banks accountable when they break the law," said protest organizer Nancy Enobena of the Albany Park Neighborhood Council.

Dart said banks could be held accountable if they knowingly hired a realty company to carry out such an eviction threat.

The Albany Park council, other neighborhood organizations and Ald. Walter Burnett Jr. (27th) got involved because the issue dovetails with the Keep Chicago Renting Ordinance, which calls on mortgage holders to allow renters to remain in foreclosed properties until those properties are sold to another owner.

"If this ordinance was in place, my family would not be affected," Islas said.

Burnett said aldermen seeking to pass the anti-eviction ordinance, including lead sponsor Ald. Richard Mell (33rd), were making progress in negotiations with the Emanuel administration and Ald. Ray Suarez (31st), chairman of the Housing Committee, who has been accused of stonewalling on it. He expected the ordinance to be ready for passage in May.

"It don't make sense to put the people out," Burnett said. "We're all in agreement that it's a no-brainer to keep people in these buildings."

Mike Stanek, of the Logan Square Neighborhood Association, led protesters in an attempt to meet with CHIProperties representatives, but they were refused admittance.

"They don't care about breaking the law or the devastating effect these notices have on families," said Diane Limas of the Albany Park council. "This is just plain wrong, and it's got to stop."

A CHIProperties employee said the person whose name was on the questionable eviction notices has since left the firm, but not over the notices. Otherwise, the firm declined to comment.

Dart said anyone who receives such a notice should contact his office about the firm that sent it, "because we're gonna have a little chat with them in a hurry."

Anyone receiving such an illegal eviction notice can call 773-674-7710.

###

More Press Coverage:

WGN TV video

ALERT: Keep Our Parent Engaged! Save Parent Mentor Program!

Tue, 19 Mar 2013 12:00:00 -0600

Breaking News!!!!

URGENT! Call your legislators in Springfield NOW! A delegation of parent mentors are in Springfield right now getting ready to testify at the Appropriations-Elementary & Secondary Education Committee. CALL YOUR LEGISLATORS NOW and LET our VOICE be HEARD!!!!!! ASK them to "SAVE PARENT MENTOR PROGRAM!"
Thank you for your leadership on Parent Mentors!

Noticias de Ultima Hora!
URGENTE! Llama a tus legisladores en Springfield AHORA! Hoy un grupo de personas viajaron a Springfield para testificar a favor de la necesidad de fondos monetarios para nuestro programa de padres mentores. La audencia para testificar en el comite de educacion esta programada hoy a las 3:00 pm. TU PUEDES AYUDAR desde aqui, SI, puedes llamar a tus legisladores pidiendo que apoyen los fondos para la continuacion del programa de padres mentores.

Gracias por tu iniciativa y liderazgo en Padres Mentores!

- - - - - - - - - -

Dear Members and Leaders,

This nationally recognized parent engagement program, "Parent Mentors," has been cut from the Governor's recent budget. Today at 3PM in Springfield, parents, children and educators will be testifying at the House-Elem and Secondary Ed Appropriations hearing.

The Parent Mentor Program is a cost-effective parent engagement and immigrant integration model that enhances early childhood development, creates safer, stronger communities, builds stronger relationships between parents, teachers, and students all while transforming the lives of the parents involved in the program.

This year, the Parent Mentor Program expanded in 13 communities across Illinois. The program now exists in 45 schools, empowers 400 parents, provides 10,000 students with additional classroom support and gives 400 teachers a helping hand everyday.

Please read the following testimonies from Parent Mentors and school administration about the impact this program is having in their lives, schools and communities:

“This program for me in my life means a new beginning and a reason to look forward to the future. Personally, this will help me in looking ahead and will help me to realize in these difficult times there are options to open roads in very different ways. It is also important because it could help my children with their school projects in a better way.”

– Maria Palomera, Parent Mentor

“I feel more connected to this country as this is the first job I’ve had here. I try to do my level best in all matters and I am thankful for this opportunity.”

– Amber Ahmar, Parent Mentor Coordinator at Madison School

“This program has elevated my moral by giving me productive and positive tasks. It also makes helps me understand the difficulties that students face and the remedies to solve them. Being an immigrant and young mother, being selected for this program is an achievement for me. I thank the schools for giving me the chance to serve.”

– Maria Ahmed, Parent Mentor

“The Parent Mentor Program for Skokie School District 68 means... meaningful engagement of parents in the real work of schools: teaching and learning. It is also an opportunity to develop voice and leadership potential among parents who may not have had a path to achieve those goals or to model those characteristics for their own children. The Parent Mentor Program helps to build strong families which in turn builds strong schools and communities.”

– Dr. Frances McTague, Superintendent of Skokie School District 68

“After recently completing my master's program in ESL, I've realized the importance of getting our ESL population involved, not only so they understand how US schools operate, but to help build a sense of community within our Devonshire Community. The Parent Mentor Program is a fabulous program and it allows us to do just that. The students are very excited to see people from their 'cultures' walking around the building and assisting in our classrooms.”

– Meghan Kearns, 3rd Grade Teacher at Devonshire School

Housing project preserves quality in time of tear-down

Sun, 17 Mar 2013 12:00:00 -0600

Jonathan Fine was walking through the old housing project looking for the right words.

Georgian art deco fusion? Georgian eclectic with art deco thrown in? Colonial Revival?

Whatever the right words are, they're not ones typically associated with Chicago public housing. But then, the Lathrop Homes aren't typical.

"This is the best public housing complex Chicago has ever had," Fine said. "It doesn't need to be erased and replaced."

It was Friday morning and as Fine walked along the curving walkways, past the empty low brick buildings, nothing moved but a few geese nibbling at the winter grass. The only sound was the hum of traffic at the intersection where Diversey Parkway meets Damen and Clybourn avenues.

"What's wrong with these trees?" said Fine. "What's wrong with the scale of these buildings? What's wrong with it structurally?"

In his view, nothing.

Fine is an architect, and last week, Preservation Chicago, the group he runs, issued its annual "Chicago 7" report, a list of the city's most endangered architecturally valuable buildings.

On the list were a bank, a church, a former hotel and, less predictably, this public housing complex that sits on 31 acres of coveted property next to the Chicago River.

"Would you believe you're in the middle of the city?" he said. "It's beautiful. Soothing."

The Julia C. Lathrop Homes were built in 1938, during the Great Depression. The development resembled a college campus, with trees and wide lawns, whimsical finials at the rooftops and brick arches that gave way to courtyards. Among its prominent designers was Jens Jensen, the landscape architect who also designed Lincoln Park.

"Notice the quality of the workmanship," Fine said, pointing to the impeccably laid brick. "These buildings were meant to last for the ages."

But in Chicago, this is the age of the tear-down.

For a decade, as Chicago demolished its public housing high-rises, Lathrop's fate has been uncertain. Will it all be razed? Some of it? Will housing remain for the poor and working class?

The public hearings on its redevelopment have frustrated many preservationists, as well as the remaining residents and some people in the nearby prosperous neighborhoods who worry about congestion from new high-rises and big-box retail.

"Opaque," Fine said, describing the planning process.

About the time he said that, a security car rolled up the walkway. The guards told us we couldn't be on CHA property without permission.

We gave them our business cards, then crossed the street to the portion of Lathrop where people still live, and there we met Titus Kerby. We walked with him a few yards, to a courtyard filled with old trees.

"You have 31 acres of great design," Fine said, "but what also makes Lathrop great is that it's a community."

"It's a diverse community," said Kerby, who transferred to this section of Lathrop when the rest was emptied.

About the time he said that, the security car rolled up again.

We couldn't stand there without CHA permission, the guards said. Even with a resident? Even with a resident.

After they threatened to call police, we went to visit Aida Maisonet.

Maisonet is 76 and lives in a spotless apartment with plastic flowers in the window and a plastic sheet on her gold sofa. She welcomed us in to inspect the interior features of the Lathrop Homes.

"The buildings are made of concrete," Fine said. He knocked on a wall to show how sturdy it was. He tugged on the stairway railing to show how solid.

The kitchen and two bedrooms were small by modern standards, but pleasant. The floors were level.

"There's nothing wrong with this," said Fine. "These were built with public funds. What they're proposing is to use public funds to destroy them and they're asking for more public funds to build something new."

Fine is not a public housing advocate. His group didn't recommend saving other housing projects. But he does see a connection between preserving these buildings and preserving a community for people short on clout and cash.

His Friday visit gave him another glimpse of how difficult it can be for Lathrop residents to advocate for themselves.

"If I, as an upper-middle-class white male who owns my own home, was threatened with arrest for daring to step on the property to have a conversation with a resident," he said, "I can't even begin to imagine the oppression the residents of CHA have to live under every day of their lives."

mschmich@tribune.com

Defienden fondos de programa educativo y de integración de inmigrantes

Thu, 07 Mar 2013 12:00:00 -0600

Leticia Reyes, una madre de un estudiante de kínder está preocupada, pide a los legisladores y a Pat Quinn, gobernador de Illinois, que no corte los fondos al programa “Parent Mentor Program”, que dice, le permite a los padres involucrarse en la escuela, mejorar su autoestima y la relación con sus hijos.

A través de ese programa Reyes asiste a una maestra de tercer grado en la escuela Seward, en el barrio de Las Empacadoras.

Unos 10,000 estudiantes, de 13 comunidades del estado, podrían dejar de recibir el apoyo que les ayuda a mejorar académicamente, en vista que el “Parent Mentor Program”, dejaría de ser financiado.

El programa, que cuenta con reconocimiento nacional, fue establecido hace un año por la Coalición de Illinois pro Derechos de Inmigrantes y Refugiados (ICIRR) y desaparecería si la legislatura vigente aprueba el recorte a los fondos a la educación que propuso Pat Quinn, gobernador de Illinois el miércoles.

Quinn propuso un recorte de $400 millones a los fondos a la educación, en su presupuesto 2014. Si eso sucede, por lo menos 400 padres, en su mayoría inmigrantes de bajos ingresos, dejarían de trabajar con los maestros de unas 45 escuelas, según ICIRR.

La finalidad del programa, financiado con $1 millón, es impulsar académicamente a los estudiantes, mientras integra a los padres al sistema educativo.

“El programa capacita a los padres, les ayuda a iniciar una relación de ayuda mutua con los maestros, y durante el transcurso mejoran su comunicación con sus hijos, su inglés y ayudan a los maestros”, dijo Ahlam Jbara, subdirectora de ICIRR.

Jbara comentó que en el momento cuando las escuelas están sobrepobladas y los maestros abrumados, el estado debe mantener los fondos a programas que apoyan a profesores, estudiantes y padres, “no recortar” los fondos.

Mayra López, organizadora comunitaria en Proyecto Resurrección un proveedor de “Parent Mentor Program”, comentó que los padres están dos horas en el aula ayudando a los maestros y un día a la semana asisten a talleres de desarrollo social y liderazgo, donde aprenden sobre el funcionamiento del sistema escolar, asuntos de inmigración, o el funcionamiento del sistema político en su ciudad.

López dice que el impacto del programa rompe barreras y ayuda a los inmigrantes a integrarse.

De acuerdo con ICIRR, los nuevos americanos en Illinois, que conforman el 14% de la población con sus hijos, representan 1 de cada 5 residentes en el estado.

Por ellos, la organización insta a la Asamblea General a restaurar el financiamiento para el programa de padres mentores, que recibe los fondos del presupuesto asignado a Junta de Educación de estado de Illinois (ISBE), a la que Quinn propone recortar $309 millones.

Durante la presentación del presupuesto 2014, Quinn culpó a los legisladores de no haber dado pasos para reformar el sistema de pensiones del estado que le resta dinero a “las prioridades más importantes”.

“Al gobernador no le gusta la idea de recortarle dinero a la educación”, mencionó Elizabeth Hernández, representante estatal, “yo soy la primera en pensar que no debemos quitarle dinero a servicios humanos, ni a la educación por eso buscamos la manera que no suceda”, agregó.

Pero, si el financiamiento a las pensiones no se soluciona “hay que hacer decisiones fuertes”, añadió Hernández.

“Las madres participantes prestan apoyo total a la educación pública, y al integrarse benefician drásticamente a sus familias, mejoran sus habilidades para trabajar y aportan grandemente a sus comunidades”, agregó Jbara.

Jbara mencionó que la meta es recibir del gobierno estatal $2 millones para mantener y expandir el programa “crucial para la próspera y creciente comunidad inmigrante”.

Y para lograrlo, intentan convencer a los legisladores de su efectividad dando a conocer el impacto a través de las historias de triunfo contadas por madres, maestros y directores de escuelas.

ICIRR está integrada por 130 organizaciones del área metropolitana de Chicago que en 2009 funcionó con un presupuesto de $8.4 millones; y en 2010 de $8.0 millones.

Jeff Kelly Lowenstein, editor de investigaciones e información del Diario Hoy, colaboró con este informe.

SAVE-THE-DATE 04-27-13 I Love Logan Square Party

Mon, 04 Mar 2013 12:00:00 -0600

Parent mentors enhance Skokie school landscape

Thu, 28 Feb 2013 12:00:00 -0600

The new parent mentors who came to Devonshire and Madison School classrooms for the first time last week quietly made their presences felt.

Peek into classroom after classroom and there they were — helping with basic duties so the teacher was freed up to spend more time with students, working one-on-one with a student or a small group of students in some classroom activity, bonding with a student who may not speak English so fluently quite yet.

Many of the parent mentors can relate to that challenge, since they themselves came from another country to live in this area.

“This is a perfect compliment to what we’re doing,” said Niles Township English Language Learner Parent Center Director Corrie Wallace. “The possibilities with a program like this are endless. There’s so much positive for our parents, for the students and for the teachers. Everyone benefits.”

Long before the ELL Center was part of an important grant that would help launch the program in this area, Wallace was recommended a book: “A Cord of Three Strands: A New Approach To Parent Engagement in Schools.”

Author Soo Hong examined the initiative developed by the Logan Square Neighborhood Association that became the framework for the ELL Center and the two participating Skokie schools.

“How can low-income, non-English speaking parents become advocates, leaders and role models in their children’s schools?” the book asks. Three answers to that question are “induction, integration and involvement.”

Devonshire and Madison schools are among 45 in Illinois to adopt the program, backed by a $1 million grant from the Illinois State Board of Education with the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights and other community organizations. The ELL Center partnered with Open Communities, whose mission it is to “help north suburban Chicago residents come together to foster welcoming, inclusive and just communities.”

Schools chosen for the program have a high number of students from low-income families, Wallace said. In each school, at least eight parent mentors are in classrooms (but never their children’s) for a couple of hours four days a week. They receive training the fifth day.

“It’s an opportunity to do something really dynamic with our parent population,” said Devonshire School Principal Randy Needleman, who worked closely with the ELL Center. “We’ve always had the goal of getting parents more involved in the classroom and this is a great program for that.”

Needleman sees the program growing over time as parents become increasingly comfortable in a new environment.

“The sky is the limit in how this will benefit our students,” he said.

Parents did not simply walk into classrooms as soon as the ELL Center jumped on board. Extensive training, led by Jackie Cyriac, prepared them for working with teachers and students. Cyriac herself moved here from India and eventually came to the ELL Center to volunteer; Wallace knew she would be perfect to lead the program.

Training session

The week before parents visit classrooms for the first time, they gather at the ELL Center for more training. There’s palpable energy in the room because the day is nearly here. Asked how they feel today, the parents say “happy” and “excited.”

“I’m very excited because I met my teacher today,” one says.

“I can’t wait until next week,” says another.

Today also includes a guest speaker — Golden Apple Award-winning kindergarten teacher Karen Wylie, from District 73.5’s Meyer School.

“I’m a little jealous that this program isn’t coming into our district,” Wylie says.

It’s not always easy walking into a classroom for the first time, the veteran teacher explains. “Teachers are thinking all the time. We have a lot on our minds because we have to be thinking about the group as a whole.”

Her informal talk covers how to engage students in learning and reading and the importance of supporting young students.

“If a child is scared or unhappy or doesn’t think they’re smart, the brain will shut down,” Wylie says. “You do your best learning when you’re happy.”

The advice is practical and helpful. It also covers disciplinary issues that could come up, and even communication barriers since not all of the parent mentors speak flawless English.

That many parent mentors come from different countries, though, opens up great opportunities for meaningful relationships with students. About 90 languages are spoken in the homes of Niles Township students, and each classroom reflects extraordinary diversity.

The benefit of that mutual diversity has already paid off in Kitty Lierandi’s first grade class at Devonshire. The teacher said she just recently had a new student in class who speaks Arabic, a language she doesn’t know. But her parent mentor, Nada Yahya, who moved from Iraq less than three years ago, does.

Eighty percent of Lierandi’s students speak a language other than English in their homes.

“Instead of me running everything, I can think about the best ways to have these students get more adult attention,” she said.

During today’s activity, students collect data from rolling cubes; they learn early fundamentals of math and making graphs. Yahya helps distribute materials but also visits students who work in small groups. Two boys who become a bit unruly receive direct attention from her.

“I like this job and I like being here,” Yahya said. Although nervous at first, she admitted, she is growing more comfortable in the classroom every day, and students are becoming more comfortable with her.

A short distance away, teacher Ana Hrvojevic works with kindergarten ELL students with mentor Donna Parker, one of the few program parent mentors born in this country.

“It’s hard to do everything by yourself, and I’m a big believer in team teaching,” Hrvojevic said.”To have another set of eyes here, to have another person engaged in what students are doing, benefits everyone.”

Those benefits are on view this very day. Parker sits on the carpeted floor with four students working with blocks during a group activity. She immediately relates well to them, and they are warm and trusting in return to her. One girl throws her arms around her.

Parker moved with her family to Skokie only last summer — in part because of the schools and also the great diversity of the area. She wanted to become more involved.

“Kids want to see their parents in the schools — especially at an early age,” Parker said. “But it’s harder for some parents to do that, so this program is a great answer for that. It helps everyone.”

The grant covers the parent mentor program for the rest of the school year. What happens after that is still not known, but program backers believe it will prove too valuable to abandon.

“Everyone believes in this program,” Wallace said. “No one wants to see it end. Just the opposite. I want to find a way to expand it to other schools.”

HUD seeking Letters of Support for historic preservation of Lathrop Homes

Thu, 28 Feb 2013 12:00:00 -0600

Dear Lathrop Homes residents, alumni, neighbors and allies --

Groups involved with architecture, landscape architecture and the history of those subjects
Groups involved with public housing history or policy
New Deal history groups
Ethnic, cultural and civil rights organizations that could address Lathrop's ethnic & cultural history
Local historical societies
Neighborhood & community groups
Agencies located on site at Lathrop or that work with Lathrop residents
Housing advocacy groups
Housing development practitioners
Scholars and "experts" in any of the above areas.

In their letters, organizations should:

ask HUD to list them as a Consulting Party in the Lathrop Homes Section 106 process.* HUD will keep Consulting Parties informed about upcoming meetings relating to Lathrop & historic preservation.

comment on why historic preservation makes sense at the Lathrop Homes -- in terms of the quality of the architecture and landscape, in terms of Lathrop's social and cultural history, and for more practical reasons (buildings are structurally sound, units can reconfigured, revitalization could be completed much sooner & at lower cost, etc.)

comment on positive & negative aspects of the three scenarios presented by the development team, especially with regard to historic preservation but also in terms of the impact on access to public and affordable housing, density and traffic issues, etc.

Letters should be mailed to...

John McDermott
J.McDermott@LSNA.net

The Lathrop Community Partners' draft Section 106 Public Participation Report which includes a 12-page April 2011 "Initial Report" on historic preservation by then-LCP consultant Vince Michael. (This big file also includes many attachments, such as the power point used by LCP in their Kickoff Meeting and Workshops in November & December 2011.)
A Chronology of CHA Compliance with Section 106 requirements. Check out the entry for June 20, 2012: At this meeting, CHA claims, HUD and the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency agreed that LCP's "upcoming series of community meetings as part of the Lathrop planning process will fulfill the Section 106 public input requirement." Because of this, it makes sense to include comments about the planning process in your letters.
LCP's 2-page Summary of Community Input on the three scenarios presented in November 2012.

Second, here are preservation studies and fact sheets that you may want to cite or quote in your letter.

The nomination to list Lathrop on the National Register of Historic Places, written by public housing historian and Lathrop ally Elizabeth Milnarik. Since this nomination was successful, and forms the basis for the Section 106 process, this is an especially good document to cite. (Here is our one-page fact sheet on what the National Register listing -- formally awarded one year ago -- means for Lathrop.)
Preservation Chicago's 2-page fact sheet on Lathrop's architecture and landscape from 2007, which remains a good quick resource.
Landmarks Illinois' 16-page preservation study with great photos and several renderings by architect Joe Antunovich. )For example, on page 8, Antunovich shows how an existing Lathrop building could be renovated to include a library branch, a coffee shop or other similar uses at ground level.)
Also included in this set of files is the development team's 9-page analysis of its community survey results from November & December 2012. We recommend reading the last few pages first. The developers presented parts of this analysis to Hamlin Park Neighbors in January and South Lakeview Neighbors in February.