The South Side Weekly is an independent non-profit newspaper by and for the South Side of Chicago. We provide high-quality, critical arts and public interest coverage, and equip and develop journalists, artists, photographers, and mediamakers of all backgrounds.
Volume 12, Issue 14
Editor-in-Chief Jacqueline Serrato
Managing Editor Adam Przybyl
Investigations Editor Jim Daley
Senior Editors Martha Bayne
Christopher Good
Olivia Stovicek
Sam Stecklow
Alma Campos
Jocelyn Martinez-Rosales
Community Builder Chima Ikoro
Public Meetings Editor Scott Pemberton
Interim Lead
Visuals Editor Shane Tolentino
Director of Fact Checking: Ellie Gilbert-Bair Fact Checkers: Bridget Craig
Jim Daley
Patrick Edwards
Layout Editor Tony Zralka
Executive Director Malik Jackson
Office Manager Mary Leonard
Advertising Manager Susan Malone
The Weekly publishes online weekly and in print every other Thursday. We seek contributions from all over the city.
Send submissions, story ideas, comments, or questions to editor@southsideweekly.com or mail to:
South Side Weekly
6100 S. Blackstone Ave. Chicago, IL 60637
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For general inquiries, please call: (773) 643-8533
IN CHICAGO
In April, a vibrant Black and brown-, queer-, women-owned Creole fusion restaurant opened its doors in River North. Artis, owned by Brandi and Brittany Artis, aimed to provide a safe and inviting space for queer women. “Everything is in Andersonville, or it’s south, or it’s nonexistent, or it’s for the boys,” Brandi Artis told Block Club Chicago. “And this is for the girls, by the girls.”
On July 2, just months after opening, tragedy struck when a mass shooting occurred at rapper Mello Buckzz’s private album release party being hosted at the restaurant. As the event ended, a vehicle drove past and its occupants opened fire on attendees while they stood outside preparing to depart. Eighteen people were shot, and four of them lost their lives.
Since the shooting, social media and the news has been flooded with condolences, cries for communal support, prayers, and speculations about motive. Among these is a video of Alderman Brendan Reilly (42nd) blaming the victims of the tragedy in an interview with NBC5 Chicago.
“Their guests were targeted by a gangland shooting, that’s on them. They knew that they were hosting an album release party for a local rapper on the Southeast Side who had rivals, so shame on them," Reilly said.
Reilly is pushing for the City to permanently shut down the restaurant, alleging that the owners were dishonest about their intentions with the space.
"About a year ago a new operator shows up, wanting to open this restaurant as a place for inclusion and to promote the arts, no mention of album release parties for rappers," Reilly told NBC5.
Moving past the fact that music is, in fact, art, it’s arguable that a venue should not be held wholly responsible for a car full of individuals that were not at the event driving past attendees that were no longer inside of said event and shooting them. The owners of the restaurant, just like every other individual who only sought to support a popular, Chicago-born musician on the rise, are victims of a mass shooting.
While he’s decided on who to blame, CPD failed to catch the individuals who are without a doubt to blame—the shooters. Despite the sheer number of police officers that arrived on the scene, the gunmen managed to get away. Maybe if they had an expired plate sticker they would have been caught, since issuing citations seems to be one of the police department's primary functions.
Ald. Reilly seems to pick and choose which occurrences of violence are a detriment to the neighborhood and the fault of the victims and which are not. In 2021, when he was attacked outside of Boss Bar less than a mile away from Artis, there was no mention of blaming the bar’s owners.
When a fight broke out at the former Hush nightclub in River North and an individual pulled out a gun, the other gun was drawn by the club's armed security guard. Despite this effort to intervene in an altercation occurring outside of the venue, Reilly made sure the business was permanently shut down. When Reilly was jumped, it was also a bouncer that came to his aid. But there was no blame, and no threat of closure.
We live in a country with a gun problem, yet conversations about gun violence seem to sound like ridicule when the victims are Black. Are victims of mass shootings in open-carry states to blame for living there? Are the establishments who are already burdened with the aftermath to blame as well?
What about the countless fights that break out at sporting events, notoriously caused by excessive consumption of alcohol? Should Wrigley Field have its liquor license revoked?
IN
THIS ISSUE
cpd knew federal immigration agents asked for help on june 4
“I am calling from a program that is contracted through ICE, and we are seeing people here for visits, but I have a crowd of protesters that are on private property.”.
jim daley .................................................. 4
jewish activists conclude weeks-long hunger strike for palestine
Several members of Jewish Voice for Peace fasted for eighteen days to pressure lawmakers to stop authorizing arms shipments to Israel.
leigh giangreco 5
public meetings report
A recap of select open meetings at the local, county, and state level.
scott pemberton and documenters 6
lives in transition
Increased anti-trans attacks and policy from President Donald Trump’s administration are making it harder for transgender young adults to put down roots. mare ralph, city bureau 7
captivating, nourishing, sacred: what promontory point means to south siders Community members and conservationists reflect on why Promontory Point is a space ‘worth fighting for.’
The latest results and other news from the Chicago sports world.
malachi hayes 12
pilsen tenants who withheld rent legally still forced to move out
The retaliation lawsuit the three renters filed against their former landlord, Pilsen Rentals LLC, shows the limits of tenant protections in Chicago. alejandra cancino, injustice watch 14 inquilinos de pilsen retuvieron su renta legalmente pero aún se vieron obligados a mudarse
La demanda que los tres inquilinos presentaron contra su antiguo propietario, una compañía de responsabilidad limitada o LLC, muestra los límites de las protecciones de los inquilinos en Chicago. alejandra cancino, injustice watch traducido por jacqueline serrato, south side weekly ............................................... 17
Cover illustration by Lilly Sundsbak
Reilly expressed concern for residents that live near Artis who were (understandably) frightened by the shooting despite them being safe in their homes. He doesn’t seem to care about the young attendees who have no gang affiliation themselves and who went out to a music event and were robbed of the chance to go home safely that night, if at all. Those individuals don’t seem to be blaming the restaurant owners, of all people.
So why should we?
Calls Show CPD Knew Federal Immigration Agents Called for Help on June 4
An officer in the department’s “fusion” center told 911 dispatchers Homeland Security Investigations— a division of ICE—were calling for help. He also wanted to avoid media attention.
BY JIM DALEY
Call recordings obtained by the Weekly indicate the Chicago Police Department (CPD) was aware Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) officers were requesting assistance at a South Loop facility while transporting detained immigrants on June 4. HSI is a division of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), and agents wearing HSI insignia have been observed helping detain immigrants in recent months in Chicago and around the country.
The call for assistance prompted more than a dozen CPD units and several highranking officers to respond to a facility at 2245 S. Michigan that houses an ICE Intensive Supervision Appearance Program (ISAP). As federal agents brought arrested people to a waiting van, a confrontation ensued between the agents and a group of demonstrators and elected officials.
The fracas has become the focus of an investigation by the City Council’s Committee on Immigrant and Refugee Rights into whether CPD violated Chicago’s Welcoming City Ordinance, which prohibits police from assisting in immigration enforcement or sharing information with federal immigration agencies. The department has steadfastly maintained it did not.
On Wednesday, after this issue went to print, the City Council considered an ordinance that would require CPD and the Office of Emergency Management and Communication (OEMC) to share communications from the June 4 incident with the Council.
Via a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request, the Weekly obtained audio of two calls made that day, as well as records
related to a separate notification event. In the first call, made at 2:06pm on June 4, the caller identified herself as a contractor working at an ICE facility, and the OEMC dispatcher asked her to repeat that for confirmation.
“I am calling from a program that is contracted through ICE, and we are seeing people here for visits, but I have a crowd of protesters that are on private property,” the caller said. She told the dispatcher that twenty to thirty protesters were outside the facility, blocking its entrances.
“It’s a program called ISAP; we are contracted with ICE,” the caller said. The dispatcher asked if any in the crowd had weapons.
“No, no, it looks like they’re peaceful, just screaming and yelling, but they’re blocking— we can’t get in, we can’t get out. I need to be able to have all my participants coming into the [ISAP] program and not feel, not feel intimidated.”
The dispatcher said they would “send
police out” to respond. However, no units immediately did, according to records the Weekly previously obtained.
The second call to OEMC came five minutes after the first. The caller said he worked in the department’s Crime Prevention Information Center (CPIC), a “fusion” center where officers monitor video feeds and other data and provide intelligence to police on the ground. In April, WBEZ reported that federal agents from ICE are assigned to CPIC full-time, while HSI and Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) officers work in the center on a rotation.
The CPIC caller said HSI agents were on scene at 2245 S. Michigan, and claimed that HSI was a separate entity from ICE. The caller was also concerned about drawing media attention to the unfolding incident.
“You don’t want to, you know, whoever's listening on the radio, it’s not ICE, it’s Homeland Security Investigations,” the CPIC caller said. “But I guess they’re getting
surrounded. But I don’t want to put that out on—we don’t wanna make it a media thing. But they’re, you know, I don’t care what they’re doing; they’re still—if they’re getting the threats of being, you know, beat up or assaulted, we got to send units regardless of what they’re doing.”
At 2:22pm, a notification about the incident was made, according to a document the Weekly obtained from OEMC. In allcaps remarks at the top of the report, there’s a reminder to not broadcast the event over the air. The report repeatedly mentions HSI units were “being surrounded” and needed “assistance with crowd control attempting to transport several arrestees from building to vehicle [while] a large group is gathered outside.”
The document appears to indicate CPIC—which is located in CPD headquarters—was aware immigration enforcement was occurring at the ICE facility. According to police, that information was not conveyed to responding officers.
In response to a question from the Weekly, an OEMC spokesperson said the office “did not communicate that the initial caller was an ICE worker” to CPD.
In press statements, the police department has maintained its officers “arrived without knowledge of immigration enforcement occurring at the location.” Glen Brooks, CPD’s Director of Community Policing, reiterated that at the July 1 Immigration Committee meeting.
In response to the Weekly’s questions about the CPIC call, a CPD spokesperson provided a statement the department had previously released about the incident. ¬
Jim Daley is the Weekly’s investigations editor.
Deputy Chief Joe Bird and other Chicago police officers pictured outside an ICE facility on June 4.
Photo by Paul Goyette
Jewish Activists Conclude Weeks-Long Hunger Strike for Palestine
Several members of Jewish Voice for Peace fasted for eighteen days to pressure lawmakers to stop authorizing arms shipments to Israel.
BY LEIGH GIANGRECO
During one of the hottest stretches of the summer so far, a halfdozen members of the Chicago chapter of Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP) participated in an eighteen-day hunger strike to bring attention to the ongoing starvation of Palestinians in Gaza.
“In a way, this is the most acute phase of the genocide so far,” said Seph Mozes, a volunteer with JVP Chicago, which characterizes itself as a Jewish, progressive, anti-Zionist organization. “I think because of all of the domestic crises that are happening in this country, a lot of people just aren’t as aware as they were last year, so part of our goal was simply to get public attention.”
After the first phase of ceasefire talks between the Israeli government and Hamas collapsed in early March, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared a total blockade of humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip. The Israeli government claimed, without evidence, that the Hamas militants were looting supplies. The blockade dragged on for eighty days, pushing the Palestinian people to the brink of famine. After UN leaders condemned Israel, the state eased its blockade in mid-May.
But months later, both UN leaders and activists argue Israel’s promises to allow the delivery of crucial food and supplies to Gaza have fallen short. In a July 11 briefing following his latest visit to Gaza, UN World Food Programme Deputy Executive Director Carl Skau told journalists that active military operations have made it increasingly difficult for humanitarian organizations to deliver aid to the 90,000 starving people in the region. The UN was engaging with Israeli authorities to make sure the Israel Defense Forces were not
around humanitarian convoys, Skau added.
In Chicago, JVP members hoped their hunger strike would bring light to the ongoing starvation in Gaza and convince Illinois’s U.S. senators and representatives to stop authorizing weapons shipments to Israel. Six JVP members joined the hunger protest, along with a volunteer care team of doctors and other medical professionals. The strikers consumed zero calories, though they drank water with some electrolytes, said Audrey Gladson, a JVP member.
“Every day is different; your bodily autonomy is very reduced, your energy is gone, and it was something that constantly reminded us of Gazans’ daily experience, especially in the heat,” Gladson said, noting that they still had access to resources that people in Gaza do not. “Our care team was providing us with rides and wheelchairs, it was a privileged experience.”
The protesters did not set an end date to their strike and not every member was able to go the full eighteen days. Gladson completed the entire strike and ended July 3, but Mozes was tapped out by day eight, adding that members knew the risk of permanent damage to their bodies.
In Gaza, the months-long Israeli blockade could impact an entire generation, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). The WHO warned in May that the severe lack of nutrition could stunt Gazan children’s physical and cognitive development.
The strike kicked off with a rally in Federal Plaza on June 16 that included U.S. Rep. Delia Ramirez (IL-3), who introduced her “Block the Bombs” bill earlier that month. The proposal sought to prohibit the sale of U.S. weapons to Israel. Among JVP’s demands was for members
of Illinois’ Congressional delegation to sign that bill and a similar proposal from Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders. Both bills had failed to pass in the House and Senate during an April vote.
Cook County is home to the largest population of Palestinians in the country. Given that, Mozes argued the ongoing genocide constitutes a domestic rather than foreign policy issue for elected officials.
“These are domestic policy issues because they're affecting people in our own communities,” Mozes said. “One of the commitments we want to get from them [elected representatives] is that they meet with their Palestinian constituents, right? It’s great for them to meet with us as Jewish anti-Zionists and anti-Zionist allies, but they really should also be meeting with their Palestinian constituents.”
The protesters met with several members of Congressional staff and some representatives themselves. As of publication, Rep. Mike Quigley had not signed the bill, but Gladson appreciated her meeting with the congressman.
“He listened very intently,” she said. “He didn’t ask any questions in particular, but I think what I heard was a gratefulness about our dedication to this issue.”
Several representatives from the Illinois delegation had already signed onto Ramirez’s bill, including Reps. Jonathan Jackson (IL-1) Chuy Garcia (IL-4), Danny Davis (IL-7), and Jan Schakwoski (IL-9).
Last month, JVP members met with Rep. Robin Kelly (IL-2) and Rep. Bill Foster (IL-11), said volunteer organizer Joy Wang. Wang noted that those in-person meetings were important, even if she and other members understood they might not get the Block the Bombs bill passed.
“For two years there has been no red line. At no point has the U.S. Congress stepped in to say ‘no more,’ to stop arming Israel,” Wang said. “It's important that Ramirez is creating what progressive policy should look like.”
These conversations with lawmakers “were able to happen because of the hunger strike,” Gladson said.
Though Illinois Senator Dick Durbin voted in favor of Sanders’ bill to stop military aid to Israel earlier this spring, Senator Tammy Duckworth, who sits on both the Senate Armed Services Committee and the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, did not.
JVP Chicago members were able to meet with Duckworth’s constituent services staff, but noted that they wanted to speak with her legislative staffers. When protesters showed up at Duckworth’s office at the Kluczynski Federal Building downtown on July 3, they were arrested. A spokesperson for Duckworth said that when strikers arrived, the office was teleworking without any staff present.
“Any arrests or removals from the building were not made at the request of, or in coordination with the Senator or her office,” said Duckworth spokesperson Courtney Jacquin McManus. “Senator Duckworth’s staff has been responsive to JVP and recently met with JVP members in Chicago.” ¬
Leigh Giangreco is a freelance reporter based in Chicago. You can follow her work on Twitter/X @LeighGiangreco and at leighgiangreco.com.
Public Meetings Report
illustration by Holley Appold/South Side Weekly
A recap of select open meetings at the local, county, and state level.
BY SCOTT PEMBERTON AND DOCUMENTERS
June 12
At its meeting, the 2nd Police District Council—Bronzeville/Washington Park/ Hyde Park shared a packet titled "Background: Community Focused Policing Project & Workforce Allocation Study," which is part of an effort to integrate community-policing departments throughout the city. Committee Chair Ephraim Lee said that a goal is to help people “see each other” by building bridges with police officers. For about nine months, the Chicago Police Department has been gathering information about “alternate response models” from individuals, community groups, and national experts “aimed at strengthening safety citywide,” according to CPD. Respondents said they wanted, among other things, better response times, more visibility, proactive engagement with the community other than during crises, meaningful performance metrics, and more transparency. Committee member Alexander Perez attended a related conference in New York to learn more about potential methods to be used in Chicago, and the city is working with Evanston to develop Chicago’s capabilities. The Committee also discussed a vehicle violation debt relief program that ends on July 31. The program began April 1 and temporarily waives penalties and fees for “eligible parking, standing, compliance, and automated speed and red light camera violations” that are fully paid by the end of this month. Waived items may include fees for collections, late payments, and returned checks, default, tow, boot, and storage. For the most part, eligible violations include tickets for which “Notice of Final Determination has been issued on or before December 31, 2023.”
June 18
At its meeting, the Chicago Police Board remembered slain Chicago police officer Krystal Rivera and offered condolences to her family. The thirty-six-year-old Rivera was shot accidentally by her partner, Carlos Baker, as they confronted an armed suspect on the South Side, police said. Baker reportedly has a lengthy disciplinary record. Board President Kyle Cooper encouraged officers to “elect to have their cases heard before the police board,” saying forty-three cases have been heard since 2021. Two public commenters spoke. One said that police ignored a noise complaint, passing by without addressing it. Another complained that inappropriate behaviors continue because they are allowed to continue: “You blame the victim,” they told the board. The Chicago Police Board is an independent civilian body that decides disciplinary cases involving Chicago police officers.
June 24
Compliance with a federal consent decree mandating reforms in the Chicago Police Department is improving, said Maggie Hickey, at a meeting of the 4th Police District Council—Avalon Park/South Chicago/East Side/Hegewisch. Hickey leads an independent team monitoring the department’s compliance. The city has achieved “some level of compliance” in ninety-two percent of the sections detailed in the consent decree, according to Hickey’s most recent report, which evaluated the second half of 2024. The city is in full compliance with 16 percent of the sections. Court-ordered reforms were implemented in 2019 in an effort to stop CPD from violating individual rights. Last
December, the federal judge overseeing the reforms called the city’s work “unsatisfying.” The department has not yet implemented a “long-overdue” suicide prevention program, Hickey said, or ramped up scenario-based training on foot pursuits and crisis intervention.
June 26
Community members and elected officials spent hours sounding off about money troubles for the city’s schools and recent layoffs during a meeting of the Chicago Board of Education. CPS laid off 161 employees in May, with more layoffs likely as CPS wrestles with a deficit of $734 million, reported Chalkbeat. That deficit is a significant increase over a previously projected deficit of $529 million, due in part to a large pension payment to the city and the cost of taking on five Acero schools that the charter network wanted to shutter. Chicago Teachers Union (CTU) president Stacy Davis Gates told the Board that parents are asking her, “‘Why is my favorite teacher, why is the paraprofessional that takes care of us, why are they fearful of receiving a layoff notice?’” The 2025-26 CPS budget presentation is weeks behind schedule. The CTU wants district leaders to avoid more layoffs and push the state to increase CPS funding. “Chicago Public Schools has never been funded at the rate in which it deserves to be, so this is not a new issue,” Davis Gates said. The meeting also marked the first for new interim CEO Macquline King after CEO Pedro Martínez’s forced departure.
June 27
Despite stiff neighborhood opposition, the Chicago Department of Public Health (CDPH) confirmed at a public meeting the City’s intention to tear down the Damen Silos at 2860 S. Damen Ave. Permits have been approved; the demolition will not involve implosions or explosives. Data from air-monitoring stations set up to measure pollution levels every fifteen minutes have not been shared by the City. CDPH Commissioner Dr. Olusimbo Ige noted air monitoring is done by a third-party contractor, making data release problematic. City officials plan to be on site to stop demolition if necessary, Ige said. After a messy 2020 demolition of a coal plant chimney in Little Village, the city placed a moratorium on using explosives to demolish buildings. The state sold the site to a private company in 2022, which has not announced plans for the property. A petition to use the property as festival grounds and a public park, preserving the silos, had nine hundred signatures, reported the McKinley Park Development Council, a community group. “We're here because there's no trust,” said Kate Eakin, the group’s managing director, during public comment. “And so I want to point out that we are also bringing an alternative plan. We have…a petition for the city to entertain a sale to someone who cares.”
July 1
Was Chicago’s Welcoming City Ordinance violated by Chicago Police during an ICE raid in the South Loop on June 4? Council members and attendees called for an investigation at a meeting of the City Council Committee on Immigrant and Refugee Rights. As reported by multiple outlets, including the Weekly, several community members reported receiving text messages to report for a check-in with the federal Intensive Supervision Appearance Program, which is a Department of Homeland Security initiative monitoring noncitizens detained and then released pending removal or immigration proceedings. The concern is whether police violated local sanctuary city protections when they established a perimeter around a South Loop building. At least ten individuals were detained by federal agents. The ordinance prohibits police from setting up a traffic perimeter or helping federal immigration agents with enforcement. Enacted in 2017, the Illinois TRUST Act of 2017 also blocks local police from assisting in immigration enforcement. Police officials have denied working with federal authorities. CPD officers were at the location for “public safety reasons,” a spokesperson said, and did not make arrests. The committee approved a proposed measure that if passed by City Council would require CPD, the Office of Emergency Management and Communications (OEMC), and the Mayor’s Office to release all communications and records related to the June 4 operation.
This information was collected and curated by the Weekly in large part using reporting from City Bureau’s Documenters at documenters.org.
Lives in Transition
Increased anti-trans attacks and policy from President Donald Trump’s administration are making it harder for transgender young adults to put down roots.
BY MARE RALPH, CITY BUREAU
This article was published with City Bureau, a nonprofit journalism lab reimagining local news. Support City Bureau’s Civic Reporting fellowship by becoming a recurring donor.
Cal Ning doesn’t tell new people they are trans.
Ning, twenty-one, soft-spoken and polite, moved to Chicago from Lake County in January and is living with a friend in Pilsen. After finishing an associate degree, they were excited to be more independent, move to a big city and find a “more adult” job, they said.
It's been tough for Ning to get settled, and they struggled with the job search for months. In some instances, they feel it could be dangerous to reveal they are trans. Ning uses their chosen name to ensure people address and gender them correctly in interviews, but they worry this could have negative repercussions, they said.
“I have Cal on my resume, but it's not my legal name, so I don't know what to do if they try to do a background search on me,” Ning said.“I was hoping that when I moved [in January], I'd be able to find a job very quickly. That has not been the case.”
Chicago and Illinois are among the most ardent protectors of transgender civil rights in the country. Surrounded by states that restrict transgender health care and protections, Illinois has become a haven for people seeking gender-affirming care, with laws that protect patients and doctors from out-of-state prosecution and civil liability.
Nevertheless, President Donald Trump’s administration is ramping up attacks on trans people, wielding federal funding as an ideological weapon and affecting life even in “safe” states.
Targeted executive orders affecting trans people began on Inauguration Day.
People march up Dearborn Street during a rally led by the advocacy group Trans Up Front Illinois at Federal Plaza on Sunday, March 30, 2025, in Chicago. The protest was held a day prior to Transgender Day of Visibility.
Hospitals such as Lurie Children’s and Northwestern Memorial paused genderaffirming surgeries for patients under nineteen years old in preemptive compliance, while some nonprofits cancelled programs for LGBTQ+ youth. A nationwide lawsuit alleges University of Illinois Health also stopped gender-affirming care after the executive order.
In late May, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a Republican-led tax bill that cuts gender transition care under Medicaid for trans people of all ages, expanding the restrictions on care that previously targeted children. In June, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld Tennessee’s ban on gender-affirming care for minors, effectively protecting similar laws in twenty other states.
Meanwhile, some organizations that support trans people are trying to continue
their work without drawing scrutiny that could affect operations, said Ridley Holmes, youth case manager at The Night Ministry in West Town.
“I know a lot of agencies want to come out and be like, ‘Hey, we support [diversity, equity and inclusion],’ but there's a very cautious line you have to take because you could lose your funding for that,” Holmes said. “If you shut down, you can't help anybody, right?
“Maybe it's a very cynical view of mine, but I feel like ... we need to make sure that we are bringing folks in and letting them see the support that they can get, rather than screaming it to the heavens and then lose our funding [and have to] close down.”
The federal hostility has been destabilizing for young trans Chicagoans who are facing intensifying threats to their survival, while also navigating challenges
typical of most young adults: getting a job, finding a place to live and learning their way around their community and city.
‘It's difficult sometimes just to be who I am’
Trans people can struggle to apply for jobs or settle into a new workplace when they haven’t completed an expensive name change. They may also have “mismatched” IDs.
In Illinois, one must live in the state for three months before undergoing a name change. It costs $388 to change a legal name in Cook County, though a fee waiver is available for those able to document financial hardship.
Organizations such as the University of Illinois-Chicago School of Law’s Pro Bono Litigation Clinic and the Transformative Justice Law Project of IL offer free assistance, but there is usually a waiting period of a month or more.
The complex civil court process includes paperwork and filing requirements culminating in a virtual court hearing. Ultimately, the petitioner can buy certified copies of the court order for about $10 each.
Petitioners use the court order to get an updated state ID, driver’s license, birth certificate, passport or Social Security card. Since each type of new ID requires a fee and sometimes a waiting period, it is common for trans Illinoisans to have identification with different names and gender markers.
Julian, a graduate student at a Chicagoarea university, moved to the city in September. He asked that his last name and university not be identified.
“I knew I wanted to go to grad school, so I was looking at a whole bunch of programs and states that were blue or blueleaning,” Julian said. “I knew I wanted to be
Photo by Talia Sprague/for City Bureau
in a place that had good protections in place [for transgender residents].”
Anti-trans executive orders from the Trump administration threw “a major wrench into my transition documentation,” he said.
Earlier this year, Julian was waiting to update his expired passport, which lists his incorrect legal sex, because the Trump administration was not allowing people to change their gender marker. The U.S. Department of State also stopped issuing passports with the “X” marker.
In some instances, the authorities also had been confiscating documents submitted for name and gender marker changes, blocking trans people from having a passport at all, regardless of which gender marker they would use, according to the American Civil Liberties Union. Julian had planned to choose the "M" marker for his passport.
“When I went to [the] Social Security [office] last week, they were unable to update my sex on [my] Social Security [card], so now that's a mismatch between my state ID and my federal documentation,” Julian told City Bureau in April. “So who knows what's going to happen with that when it comes to filling out forms for jobs in the future and whatnot.”
In June, a federal judge in Massachusetts blocked the Trump administration from refusing to process and issue passport applications for transgender and nonbinary people in accordance with their gender identity. However, the ACLU is advising people not to apply for new or corrected passports yet, citing reports that the State Department hasn't updated its guidance to comply with the court order.
Ning, who also has not legally changed their name and gender marker, faces a similar predicament. In addition to mismatched IDs, Ning also worries about anti-Asian discrimination amid growing attacks on DEI initiatives. They recalled Trump’s antiChinese hate speech when the COVID-19 pandemic emerged.
“In this climate, it's difficult sometimes just to be who I am authentically and not stir up something,” Ning said.
‘If I was gonna be homeless, I was at least gonna be happy’
least gonna be happy.”
Queer youth face significantly higher rates of homelessness and housing instability compared to non-LGBTQ+ youth, research has shown. Those numbers are even higher among trans youth versus their cisgender peers, according to The Trevor Project, a nonprofit dedicated to suicide prevention and crisis intervention for LGBTQ+ young people.
Azazel Ramsey, twenty-four, left Appalachia in 2021, seeking queer community and a life where they could safely be themselves. Though their grandfather and brother were supportive of their gender identity, most of their family were not, they said.
They left on an early morning Amtrak train after saving money and stayed with friends in Carbondale, Illinois, for a few years. In 2023, Ramsey was hospitalized in northwest suburban Streamwood after a mental health emergency. When Ramsey was discharged in September, hospital staff took them to The Crib, The Night Ministry’s youth shelter in Wicker Park. There, they learned about Howard Brown’s Broadway Youth Center and accessed gender-affirming hormone therapy.
“When it comes to having been homeless while on hormones, I was expecting it to be really [expletive] hard,” Ramsey said. “But I needed the hormones, too … If I was gonna be homeless, I was at
the threats to their communities, shore up support and connect young people to services.
“We are seeing unprecedented moves to the state,” said Asher McMaher, executive director of Trans Up Front IL, which advocates for trans rights. “For us, it's all about education and knowing that they are seen and valid.
“Wherever you are in your transition, there are people here to support you, and we are lifting up each other's organizations to make sure we continue to provide services.”
Broadway Youth Center provides gender-affirming care for LGBTQ+ youth, as well as medical and behavioral health care for all youth ages 18-24. The organization has a drop-in center, workforce development, social services, and a variety of clubs and activities.
As Ramsey and Ning have settled in Chicago, things have been looking up. Both started new jobs, and in January, Ramsey got an apartment in Englewood through Chicago’s Rapid Rehousing Program and the Flexible Housing Pool Youth Expansion Project, administered by Unity Parenting and Counseling, Inc. This is one of numerous city and state programs that would be devastated by proposed cuts to the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s budget.
Ramsey regularly bikes and takes public transit to the Center on Halsted and Broadway Youth Center for trans-focused healthcare and social events. They are grateful for the support and stability they’ve found in Chicago and noted how the same social services are desperately needed in Appalachia.
“At BYC, that was the first time I'd been around queers, other LGBT people, who are in similar situations,” Ramsey said. “At first it scared me, so I backed away … As weird as that sounds, I wasn't comfortable around other queer people.”
‘There are people here to support you’
As Julian, Ramsey and Ning put down roots in Chicago, community organizations and nonprofits that serve trans people are banding together to raise awareness about
The community meetings the center hosts most weekdays provide LGBTQ+ clients an opportunity to express fears and frustration while receiving accurate and accessible information about news that may impact them, said Sheldon Echols, the center’s manager of resource advocacy.
“There's been a lot of concern from young people and from staff around the current regime, and just all the executive orders that went into place a few months ago,” Echols said.
The Night Ministry provides emergency shelter and case management to young people experiencing homelessness through their West Town emergency shelter, The Crib. Case managers assist young people in connecting with social services.
Center on Halsted provides TransSafe Drop-In hours, youth and adult support groups, and job training. In addition to their Lakeview location, the Center has expanded programs to their Center on Cottage Grove in Woodlawn.
Brave Space Alliance, a Black- and trans-led organization based in Hyde Park, provides a variety of mutual aid programs including a community food pantry, housing assistance, and gender-affirming clothing and personal items at The Dignity Suite. BSA also provides support groups, HIV testing and connection to services and partners with local groups on legal name change clinics.
“It is a privilege to be able to serve young people in this city, because we can serve all
Cal Ning, a poet and artist from Mundelein, is pictured at Palmisano Park on May 15, 2025.
Photo by Abra Richardson/for City Bureau)
kinds of young people and thankfully help to support and protect trans and queer youth,” Echols said.
“I just want that to continue, to evolve and to expand, as well.”
Led by Trans Up Front IL, many of these organizations convened for a massive rally at Dirksen Federal Plaza in the Loop for Transgender Day of Visibility on March 30. Thousands packed into the plaza to hear staff and representatives from a coalition of fifty organizations and elected officials speak up for transgender legal and civil rights.
The Second City Sisters, the Chicago chapter of queer and trans activism organization the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, led an affirmation for the crowd: “We exist. We will not be erased. We have always been here and we always will be.”
As the rally broke into a march, clouds gathered and soon buckets of rain and hail fell onto the group waving multi-colored protest signs, rainbows and Pride flags. In a stubborn show of strength and solidarity, streaming down the streets past government buildings and the immense sign on Trump Tower, people chanted:
“When trans people are under attack, what do we do? Stand up! Fight back!”
If you or someone you know is looking for trans-affirming support in housing, health care, legal issues and more, here's how to contact the groups mentioned in this article:
The Night Ministry
The Crib provides overnight shelter for all young adults 18-24, as well as case management
1735 N. Ashland Ave, Suite 2000
877-286-2523 or 773-784-9000
Howard Brown Health, various locations providing health services and counseling
Broadway Youth Center in Uptown provides a drop-in space for LGBTQ+ youth ages 12 to 24 who are homeless or experiencing housing insecurity. You can also receive health care, behavioral health care and more
1023 W. Irving Park Road
773-388-1600
Center on Halsted, provides health care,
youth programs, aging care, education and job support, and more for LGBTQ+ people
Youth and family programs include Chicago House TransSafe Drop-in, where trans people can get free services on Mondays and Wednesdays
3656 N. Halsted St.
773-472-6469
Center on Cottage Grove
6323 S. Cottage Grove Ave.
773-472-6469
Brave Space Alliance, a Black- and transled South Side organization providing mutual aid, housing, health services and other support
Brave Space provides drop-in services including a food pantry, housing support and clothing. The Dignity Suite offers a makeup room, den and QT shop to provide a gender affirming space
1515 E. 52nd Place, 3rd floor 872-333-5199
Trans Up Front IL. Provides one-on-one support to help families and trans people with educational, legal and medical needs. Fill out their contact form to inquire about services.
Transformative Justice Law Project of Illinois. Offers support for legal name changes, as well as workshops and resources.
203 N. LaSalle St. Suite 2100 312-558-1472
University of Illinois-Chicago School of Law Pro Bono Litigation Clinic. Provides legal services free of charge for a variety of issues, including name and gender marker changes for trans people
300 S. State St. 312-427-2737 ext. 477
Unity Parenting and Counseling. Provides housing support for struggling young people and families.
600 W. Cermak Road, Suite 300 312-455-0007
Prioritizing community voices since 2013
Captivating, Nourishing, Sacred: What Promontory Point Means to South Siders
Community members and conservationists reflect on why Promontory Point is a space ‘worth fighting for.’
BY JASMINE BARNES
On a sunny morning in May, Connie Lowery rested against Promontory Point’s limestone rocks and gazed out at the twinkling blue water of Lake Michigan.
“This is my place where I come to get all four elements,” said Lowery.
A Hyde Park resident, Lowery has been visiting Promontory Point regularly for decades and considers it essential for her well-being. The lapping waves, cool green grass, crisp spring breeze, and scattered bonfire pits envelop her in water, fire, air and earth. Promontory Point’s fifth element is the energy of human connection that radiates throughout the park.
Designated a Chicago landmark in 2023, Promontory Point has long been a beloved community space. Multiple gatherings happen simultaneously: a wedding in the fieldhouse, a family reunion by the bench tables, and a first date picnic can all happen within a few feet of each other. Meanwhile, dozens of bikers, runners, baby strollers and rambunctious dogs travel up and down the park trails.
The beloved limestone rocks that serve as stair-step revetment to Lake Michigan are a signature part of what makes the space special. They have also been the subject of intense debate and controversy over the past two decades, since the US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) and the Chicago Department of Transportation (CDOT) first proposed that the limestone be replaced with concrete in order to buttress the shoreline against rising lake levels. Those proposals faced pushback from community members, who have organized to preserve the park’s limestone and mobilize park goers toward civic engagement, in part through the advocacy of the Promontory Point Conservancy.
In recent years, USACE and CDOT
have said they are no longer considering plans to replace the limestone with concrete and want to “preserve as much of the limestone as possible.” But absent specific construction plans that commit to these values, community members are wary of what might happen. Whatever the future brings, South Siders’ fierce love for Promontory Point proves it’s more than a recreational space, but a sanctuary offering respite from the relentless pace and demands of modern city living.
The Healing Power of Lake Michigan
Emerging out of the pedestrian tunnel under DuSable Lake Shore Drive from 55th street to Promontory Point is like crossing a threshold, from the bustling city life of Hyde Park and darkness of the tunnel to the lush green trees and turquoise blue horizon of the park. By early May, Chicagoans—especially South
Siders—start frequenting Promontory Point regularly. Friends meet up for coffee, college students plan social picnics, and deep water swimmers arrive before sunrise to plunge into the cool waters.
KJ Hickers and Nikita Obeegadoo are two such friends, sitting on a park bench and enjoying each other’s company on a sunny spring day. The pair became friends in the fall when Obeegadoo moved from her home country of Madagascar to Chicago. Their relationship as colleagues expanded to a friendship that includes regular visits to Promontory Point to enjoy the weather, the view of Lake Michigan, and a cup of coffee. Having grown up on an island, Nikita finds the lake's vastness deeply moving.
“It just felt so magical,” said Obeegadoo. “There is something about being by the water and seeing the water meet the sky—seeing that horizon line and just feeling like it's endless.”
She described the sounds of the waves and the feeling the space evokes in her as “priceless.”
Hickers, who grew up in California near the Pacific Ocean, initially assumed a lake could never encompass the power and beauty of the ocean. Lake Michigan proved her wrong. Soon she started referring to it affectionately as “the Michigan Sea.”
The “infinite” feeling of the Lake that Obeegadoo describes aligns with the language architect Alfred Caldwell used when describing his design vision for Promontory Point back in a 1986 interview as “a sense of the power of nature and the power of the sea.” As the third largest body of fresh water in the country, the waves change dramatically with the weather as does the color of the water and the breeze.
“I've been here seven years, and I can't predict what color the water is going to be,” said Hickers. To her, experiencing the ever-changing nature of the Lake creates a “space of possibility” that feels “vital in a time when so many things feel constrained.”
Most importantly, the quiet embrace of nature makes room for a reflection and appreciation that’s easy to take for granted in the outside world.
Lowery’s introduction to Promontory Point was also rooted in friendship. She remembers coming to Promontory Point for the first time with a high school friend over thirty years ago, and being “captivated” by its beauty.
“It was our senior year of high school, and I remember going through the little tunnel,” said Lowery. She recalls how they sat on the limestone rocks and her friend shared his visions and dreams for the future.
“He said that this was actually the place that he comes to when he came to think,” said Lowery. The seed of contemplative reflection has stayed with Lowery years
Picnic-goers sit next to a fire pit at Promontory Point.
Photo by Jasmine Barnes
later. She often walks over to sit on the limestone rocks and reflect during “high intensity points” in her life.
“No matter where I am in the city, I come here,” said Lowery.
Debra Hammond, the Promontory Point Conservancy’s treasurer, has spent years advocating for the protection of Promontory Point’s limestone rocks and speaks of them tenderly.
“When you walk down the rocks and you sit, you feel cocooned a little bit, which is really special. They fit human bodies,” said Hammond.
This human connection with the ancient power of nature grounded Hammond when she moved from Los Angeles to Chicago in 1982 to attend the University of Chicago. She credits Promontory Point as the space that helped her get through graduate school, giving her access to a large body of water that reminded her of the beaches she grew up frequenting in California.
Jack Spicer, the conservancy’s cofounder and president, also remembers first visiting Promontory Point for the first time in 1965 for a friend’s prom. Hammond and Spicer remember it as the place they shared their first kiss, a little over a decade ago— what Hammond calls the beginning of a “late-life romance.”
Hammond and Spicer both know the importance of Promontory Point from a preservationist standpoint, but also understand it as the setting for some of the most profound moments we have in life: to grieve, rejoice, and love.
‘A space worth fighting for’
There is a long history of community organizing to protect Promontory Point’s natural beauty and accessibility.
In the 1950s, the U.S. Army leased land from the Park District for a radar site at Burnham Park with towers up to 150 feet tall, surrounded by a barbed wire fence. In the 1960s, locals began protesting, and the towers finally came down in 1971.
Around that same time, in the spring of 1967, the Human Be-In events that started in San Francisco as part of the 1960s counterculture made their way to Promontory Point. The South Side space was a rarity in Chicago, supporting the convergence of people from many racial and economic backgrounds. The peaceful
gathering was an affront to the ongoing racial and class tensions that were present throughout the city.
In 2000, a new era of resistance was sparked when CDOT first presented plans to replace the historic limestone revetments at Promontory Point with concrete. Community members created the Community Task Force for Promontory Point and the “Save the Point” community initiative focused on protecting its historic limestone. Spicer would later co-found The Promontory Point Conservancy, to continue doing this work under the more sustainable structure of a non-profit.
The conservancy has conducted four engineering studies, primarily funded by the community, to show that the seawall can be repaired and rehabilitated. Their proposed design plans detail ways to keep the park’s natural beauty intact and keep the space consistently open to visitors.
“[They can keep] as much as 80 percent of the park open at any one time. They can just fix it in pieces. They don't have to close the whole park,” said Hammond. “They could fix it in less than a year, if the weather permitted.”
In a statement to the Weekly, a spokesperson for CDOT stated that, “No design work has begun on the Promontory Point segment of the Shoreline Protection Project” and that “project partners are working with the Promontory Point Conservancy, the Advisory Council on
the frigid beauty of the winter as much as the comfort and warmth of the summer.
Through their conversations with community members, they’ve heard moving statements. A cyclist from Little Village shared that Promontory Point is “the only peaceful place in the whole city where she can decompress.” Another person shared that “the veil between the spiritual world and the physical world is thinner here.”
“People come here for nourishment and nourishing themselves and their families and their communities in ways that are specific to this space,” said Hickers.
This summer will be Obeegadoo’s first in Chicago. She hopes to keep taking regular runs along the lakefront path and is excited to have picnics at the park now that the weather’s warming up.
Historic Preservation and the Illinois State Historic Preservation Officer to develop a Programmatic Agreement for the planning, design and construction of the Promontory Point segment, which will guide the design process to ensure compliance with the Secretary of the Interior Standards for Historic Preservation.”
The statement continued: “Because the design phase has not yet started, there is no confirmed construction schedule, start date, or cost estimate at this time. Any future construction remains several years away. These details will be developed during the design process and shared with the public as planning progresses.”
Earlier this year, the Promontory Point Conservancy hosted a series of ten community meetings to discuss the studies and get community input on what should happen to the Point. The community’s concerns were clear. “They want to be able to swim. They want to keep it peaceful, and they want to keep it safe,” said Hammond.
Hammond distributed a supplemental survey to people who utilize Promontory Point to better understand the impact the space was having on visitors. With over 500 responses to date, she found an overwhelming number of respondents identified the Point as a “safe place”— contradicting the often stereotypical narratives about the South Side.
Her research also shows that people visit Promontory Point year round, enjoying
Lowery anticipates being invited out by her brother-in-law for barbeques and beach days, though she’s mostly looking forward to having some quiet time with the water.
“I need The Point,” said Lowery. “After eight months of winter—because we don't have fall—we fall in love with this place all over again.”
The deep love people have for the space is evident in the rituals and traditions people have created with the space. Deep water swim groups have been meeting on the peninsula since the 1920s, even before the park was built. Others have left their unique mark in the limestone contributing to the over 450 carvings made by Point visitors over the decades.
“This is the type of space worth fighting for and doing what needs to be done to keep this space open for future generations,” said Hickers.
Red and blue stickers proclaiming “Save the Point” are posted on lamp polls and water fountains throughout the park, serving as a constant reminder that the green space can’t be taken for granted.
“People's identities are woven [into the space] and vice versa,” said Hammond.
“This is about people making sacred space, and that’s a powerful thing.” ¬
Jasmine is a writer, facilitator and community builder living in Hyde Park. You can learn more about her work at www.jasbarnes.com.
Photo by Jasmine Barnes
BY MALACHI HAYES
Welcome to the South Side Sports Roundup! Check back every month for the latest news and updates on everything South Side sports fans need to know.
White Sox conclude rough first half, mourn 2005 playoff star
The White Sox entered this week’s All-Star Break as the worst team in the American League. They’re on pace for 109 losses, which would be the secondmost in team history. Compared to last year’s record-setting 121-loss team, though, that 109-loss pace somehow seems like a breath of fresh air.
With just a single full-season playoff appearance since 2008, many fans still harbor serious doubts about the organization’s chances of returning to respectability. But the bar being so low means that even with the losses piling up, some are taking note of their oh-so-barely better play as of late.
“Last season and [at] the very start of this season, not only would they lose, they would do something you’ve never seen before,” longtime fan Sam Bartlett told the Weekly, likening some of last year’s plays to clips “from a sports blooper VHS tape.”
At twenty-nine, the Hyde Parker has seen little but losing in his time as a fan. That being the case, like many supporters, he’s managing to find humor in the South Siders’ futility. “They’re a cute little baby phoenix right now,” he added. “I’m hopeful. Like, the kind of hope you feel in the moment right before you crack open a fortune cookie.”
Off the field, the Sox community is mourning the loss of former closer and fan favorite Bobby Jenks, who passed away this month at age forty-four after a battle with stomach cancer. The right-hander
played a pivotal role in the team’s 2005 championship, recording the final three outs of their World Series win over the Houston Astros. He made a pair of AllStar Games in six seasons on the South Side and retired with 173 saves, second in team history.
Speaking of All-Star Games, rookie starter Shane Smith was selected as the Sox’ representative in this year’s festivities. He’s the first rookie in team history to appear in the game, and just the second Rule 5 draft pick to make the team in his first year, following Miami’s Dan Uggla in 2006.
With twenty-three-year-old shortstop Colson Montgomery now in the fold, the Sox will look to make significant improvements in the second half. Montgomery made his MLB debut on July 4 after spending most of the last three years as the top-ranked minor leaguer in the organization. They’ll try to start on a high note when they resume play this Friday in Pittsburgh against the lowly Pirates.
Reese earns Player of the Week honors as Sky remain near bottom of standings
At the Wintrust Arena on Cermak and Indiana, the Chicago Sky are entering their own All-Star Break with a disappointing 7-14 record, good for tenth out of thirteen teams in the WNBA. With better play as of late, including a statement win over the 19-4 Minnesota Lynx, a lowseeded playoff spot is still within reach. But it will take a substantial improvement in the second half to climb that mountain.
On the brighter side, second-year star Angel Reese has taken her game to a new level, averaging an unheard of 18 points and 15 rebounds per game since June 22. Reese was named Conference Player of
the Week for the week of July 1, and days later was selected to her second All-Star Game. Though her 14.0 PPG and 12.6 RPG are nearly identical to last year’s averages, her assists per game (3.8) and shooting percentage (44.6 percent) have seen substantial upticks.
It was a significant month off the court for Reese as well. On July 9, she announced her first signature shoe, Reebok’s first WNBA outlay since 1997. As a part of the shoe release, Reese was also revealed as a cover athlete for this year’s edition of NBA 2K, the video game market’s flagship basketball game.
Meanwhile, with franchise icon Courtney Vandersloot on the mend from a torn ACL sustained last month, journeywoman guard Rachel Banham has become a name to watch. A ten-year veteran, the Minnesota native appears to have found another level to her game in Chicago, averaging 12.6 PPG on 44 percent three-point shooting since being inserted into the starting lineup last month.
The team also honored fellow Sky icon Allie Quigley on July 9, making her number 14 the first to be retired in franchise history. Quigley, a Joliet native who attended DePaul University, ranks second to Vandersloot in Sky history with 3,723 points and 684 assists, and first with 504 made three-pointers.
The Sky will take on Caitlin Clark and the Indiana Fever in a highly anticipated game to be held at the United Center on July 27. Clark missed the team’s last road trip to Chicago, a 79-52 blowout by the Fever.
Bulls narrowly miss lottery win, select French forward in draft
Fans of the Chicago Bulls somehow endured even more heartbreak during last month’s draft lottery, when the team narrowly missed a miraculous rise to the number one overall pick. They instead earned at the number twelve spot after losing a coin toss to the Dallas Mavericks,
who finished with an identical record to the Bulls, and were subsequently awarded the eleven seedin the lottery ranking. That spot then became the improbable lottery winner, putting Dallas in a position to acquire consensus top pick Cooper Flagg, widely considered the best US-born prospect in over a decade.
Instead of Flagg, the Bulls used their pick on forward Noa Essengue, an eighteenyear-old native of France who spent last season playing in the German Bundesliga. The pick received mixed reviews due to the expectation that Essengue will require a substantial amount of development, and is unlikely to significantly contribute to the team for several more seasons.
Bears open training camp, prepare for preseason
Though it’s hard to believe, football season is fast approaching, with Chicago Bears rookies expected to report to the first practices of training camp this coming weekend on July 19. Numerous starting spots are expected to be up for grabs as coach Ben Johnson prepares for his first season at the helm, with Johnson noting during last month’s offseason work that “we only do this once a year and it’s an evaluation. We’ll circle back in training camp…to see who we can trust to catch [or] throw the ball.”
Their first preseason game is scheduled for Sunday, August 10 against the Miami Dolphins. Their regular season debut is set for September 8 as fans wait with bated breath to see whether second-year quarterback Caleb Williams can grow into his massive potential after an inconsistent rookie campaign. ¬
Malachi Hayes is a Bridgeport-based writer and South Side native.
Illustrations by Kristel Becares
Pilsen Tenants Who Withheld Rent Legally Still Forced to Move Out
The retaliation lawsuit the three renters filed against their former landlord, Pilsen Rentals LLC, shows the limits of tenant protections in Chicago.
BY ALEJANDRA CANCINO, INJUSTICE WATCH
This story was produced by Injustice Watch, a nonprofit newsroom in Chicago that investigates issues of equity and justice in the Cook County court system
By the time three Pilsen tenants began writing letters to their landlord requesting repairs in May 2023, water was dripping from the ceiling of a third-floor hallway even on sunny days.
“Right outside my unit, there is water leakage from the fourth floor and damage in floorboards due to oversaturation,” wrote Cristina Miranda, one of the tenants, who just months earlier had moved into the four-story building on the southern edge of the trendy Mexican neighborhood.
“This water leakage is random and independent from rainy weather,” Miranda wrote.
She asked her landlord to immediately address it, along with the other pressing issues she and her neighbors had reported before—a mouse infestation, drafty old windows, and leaks inside some units.
In their letters, the tenants cited the city’s residential landlord-tenant ordinance—a 1980s law regulating leases, offering tenants some protections, and listing their rights, including the withholding of rent.
The organized tenants gave their landlord—Pilsen Rentals LLC— fourteen days to make repairs, reminded the landlord the law prohibited retaliation, and calculated how much each issue reduced the value of their unit, checking
with their attorney along the way.
When the fourteen days were up in June 2023, each withheld up to 20 percent of their rent.
The tenants had help from a nonprofit law firm and a tenant organization, and they were careful to follow every step required under the law. They were well aware of the severe consequences of making a mistake, including possible eviction.
They also reported the issues to city inspectors, who found eighteen code violations—from exterior problems that “might admit rain or dampness into the walls” to broken light fixtures, waterdamaged walls and ceilings, a rusty porch system and the mouse infestation. The issues were severe enough for the city to
impose at least $5,000 in fines, records show.
The landlord for the six-unit building began making some repairs, but the tenants continued to withhold between 5 percent and 25 percent of their rent every month for seven months until they were satisfied the majority of the problems were addressed.
In January 2024, the three tenants resumed paying their normal rent, ranging from $1,325 to $1,600.
For Miranda and the two other tenants—Tulsi McDaniels, who lived in a larger apartment next door, and Alex Wirt, who lived upstairs—it seemed like a win. No more mice. No more leaks. No more water damage. But what appeared to be a story of tenants successfully using
the city ordinance to secure their right to decent housing soon turned into a yearlong legal battle that would eventually end with each having to leave the homes they had fought so hard to keep.
Within weeks of the final repairs, they learned the landlord was charging them the rent they withheld, plus late fees of up to $65 per month.
In March 2024, the three tenants received notices informing them their monthly rent would increase between 26 percent and 55 percent.
The tenants’ attorney from the Law Center for Better Housing, Sam Barth, pushed back on their behalf. Barth demanded the back rent and late fees be removed, arguing the tenants had been lawful and reasonable in light of the landlord’s reluctance to move more quickly to make repairs.
But the landlords didn’t budge. Miranda, McDaniels and Wirt then filed a lawsuit, arguing the rent hikes were “extreme” and “retaliatory,” since the building’s other three tenants received far more modest increases or none at all. As the tenants fought Pilsen Rentals in court over the rent increases, the landlord filed to evict all three.
In the end, after two years of fighting in and out of court—and months of living with leaks and rodents—the three tenants agreed to a confidential out-ofcourt settlement in April forcing each of them to move out and keep quiet about their long ordeal.
Their protracted legal battle is a stark illustration of how little tenants are able to rely on laws that promised to protect
Cristina Miranda, center, and two of her neighbors formed a tenant union to pressure their landlord into making repairs to their Pilsen building. Photo by Alejandra Cancino / Injustice Watch
them in Chicago, one of the key findings in the five-part Injustice Watch series “The Tenant Trap,” first published in August 2024.
The investigation found how weakly the landlord-tenant law is enforced by judges, and how common it is for tenants who withhold rent due to lack of repairs to get their leases terminated, receive rent increases, or even get taken to eviction court. As part of the investigation, Injustice Watch profiled tenants who withheld rent—including the three in Pilsen.
None of the three tenants would agree to be interviewed for this report for fear of violating the settlement’s non-disclosure agreements. Their former landlords and their attorneys did not respond to interview requests. But from court hearings and records, Injustice Watch was able to determine some of the key portions of the settlement: the eviction proceedings against Miranda, McDaniels and Wirt were removed from their records, the late fees and withheld rent were waived, and each of the three was forgiven several months’ rent.
Pilsen Rentals walked away from the litigation without admitting any fault and were free to rent the three apartments to new tenants.
“We have yet to see any tenant win a retaliation lawsuit or come out with any kind of recognition of that retaliation,” said Maya Odendahl, a founding member of the All-Chicago Tenant Alliance, an organization that trains and supports tenant unions.
The alliance was formed from the ashes of a Logan Square tenant union whose members withheld rent, sued for retaliation, and ultimately also settled their case after all tenants had moved out of the building. In both cases, Odendahl said, tenants expressed disappointment at the final outcome of their litigation.
In theory, Odendahl said, the city’s Residential Landlord and Tenant Ordinance, or RLTO, is supposed to protect tenants. But as Injustice Watch exposed in “The Tenant Trap,” the reality is falling short, and property rights of landlords are put above the rights of tenants.
These kinds of retaliation cases are
difficult to quantify with court data, but tenants’ rights attorneys said such lawsuits are rare. Some said they’ve never litigated such a case. Another with three decades of experience could recall litigating only three such lawsuits. Barth, the attorney representing the Pilsen tenants, said he has litigated two in the last two years.
Few tenants sue, because of the expense of hiring an attorney and the limited number of lawyers willing to take these cases pro bono, the attorneys said. Also, renters often seek legal help when it’s too late and they are already facing eviction.
Had the three Pilsen tenants continued to fight their case and lost, they would have faced paying thousands of dollars to their landlord. In the eviction proceedings, the landlord asked judges to order the tenants to pay the withheld rent plus fees, damages accruing at double their rent per month, and court charges. A rough estimate of those costs amounts to more than $20,000 each, Injustice Watch found.
“Sometimes just being able to walk away debt-free with no record of an eviction is the best outcome,” Barth said in an interview. “And it’s the best outcome for both sides, because the landlord wants
grants consolidation requests. “What was my reason?” Ultimately, she denied the request again.
These aren’t the only lawsuits tenants bring against their landlords.
Some have also filed class-action suits for unsafe conditions. Others have attempted to become parties in city lawsuits against their landlords for their failure to keep buildings up to code. In those cases, tenants also face uphill battles. Class-action plaintiffs have to convince judges the tangled web of limited liability companies that on paper own their buildings are connected. Meanwhile, tenants hoping to join city lawsuits are likely to land before Judge Leonard Murray, the supervisor of the housing court section, who doesn’t believe tenants have a right to formally become parties in those cases.
Once outspoken, tenants are silenced
The Pilsen tenants were suing Pilsen Rentals LLC, the limited liability
this tenant out of their hair.”
As Barth and the tenants found out, those who do sue enter a dizzying legal system where seemingly commonsense arguments aren’t enough to win a case or even small battles along the way. Ultimately, the tenants’ demands were simple: They wanted their landlord to maintain the property. But if this case is any guide, despite protections in the law, tenants who assert their rights risk losing their home.
The Pilsen tenants were also daunted by judges’ decisions that left Barth confused, at times frustrated. For instance, his request to stop the landlord’s three “retaliatory” eviction cases until the tenants’ lawsuit was decided was denied by Judge Allen P. Walker.
Then Barth asked Judge Kathy M. Flanagan to consolidate all four cases under one judge who could understand the context of the whole case. Also, the eviction cases were moving more quickly than the tenants’ lawsuit.
Flanagan denied the request in late 2024, but in a later court hearing appeared to question her own ruling.
“What was argued to me on December 18, 2024?” Flanagan said from the bench, adding that she usually
Solutions proposed by tenant advocates
Just Cause for Eviction ordinance: If passed, this ordinance would limit the reasons for which landlords can file eviction orders against tenants to things like lease violations or nonpayment of rent. It would also require landlords to provide relocation assistance when they increase rent by 10 percent or more. The ordinance was reintroduced to Chicago’s City Council this May, and is currently stuck in the Council’s rules committee. Advocates hope to move it out.
Lifting the ban on rent control:
In Illinois, the decades-long statewide ban on rent control allows landlords to raise rents by any amount for any reason. Efforts to repeal the ban have been unsuccessful, in large part because of lobbying by the Illinois Association of Realtors. A bill introduced earlier this year by Illinois Rep. Lilian Jiménez would create a pathway for county and city governments to create exemptions to the ban. The bill is currently stuck in the Illinois House Rules Committee. A hearing is expected this summer.
The six-unit building in Pilsen (on the right with the bay windows) where three tenants lived when they withheld rent for unsafe conditions is located near the intersection of South Damen Avenue and West Cermak Road.
Photo by Alejandra Cancino / Injustice Watch
corporation that on paper owns the building on the corner of Damen Avenue and Cermak Road. It’s the section of the neighborhood that’s closer to the industrial corridor than to the art galleries and murals that made it popular, though as Pilsen has gentrified, this part has also become attractive to renters and investors alike.
Pilsen Rentals is one of dozens of companies co-managed by Paul Tsakiris, the founder of First Western Properties, a real estate firm with a vast residential portfolio in Pilsen and Little Village. The lawsuit also named First Western, but because of the strong legal protections shielding the humans behind corporations, Tsakiris was not named in the litigation.
In court records, the landlords defended the rent increases and accused the tenants of acting in bad faith by withholding rent for issues that didn’t impact them directly. For example, the landlords, through their attorneys, wrote that the leak only affected tenants on the third floor and the mouse infestation was contained to one unit where they claimed the tenant was to blame because of her lack of cleanliness.
“The court may take judicial notice of the fact that mice generally thrive in indoor areas where food is available, particularly in areas that are not kept clean,” the landlords wrote.
Even though the tenants have been silenced by their settlement, their fight has been well publicized.
The day Miranda, McDaniels and Wirt filed their lawsuit, they held a news conference outside the offices of First Western Properties in the West Loop. With TV cameras rolling, the tenants and their allies chanted about tenants’ rights and called out their landlord for retaliating against them.
“Why do we have to beg them to do what’s their responsibility as owners?” Miranda said in Spanish. “My neighbors and I started this struggle so we can have homes with dignity and security.”
“We have done everything by the book, according to the RLTO, and we are still faced with retaliatory rent increases,” McDaniels said. “Shame!”
“My first five years of living in the
apartment, there was no tenant union,” Wirt said. “I dealt with frozen pipes almost every winter. The apartment couldn’t maintain heat without an electric heater.”
While the landlord addressed some
issues, he said, the situation improved significantly after he and his neighbors started organizing. “There’s been a drastic change in their repairs and response time,” Wirt said. “That’s because we pressured them with withholding rent through the RLTO.”
Their alderman, Byron SigchoLopez, the chair of City Council’s Committee on Housing and Real Estate, took the megaphone at the end of the rally and spoke about his support for the three tenants and the need for more tenant protections to end the “unethical practices of companies like First Western.”
Immediately after the news conference, Miranda received a notice her lease would not be renewed and she was expected to be out by July of last year. McDaniels’ and Wirt’s letters followed, informing them their leases would end two months later.
The three Pilsen tenants didn’t start out wanting to fight their landlord. Miranda was a lab technician who had moved to Chicago for a job. McDaniels was a server, though through her experiences, she became a tenant organizer with the Metropolitan Tenants Organization, the advocacy group that advised them early on and pushed for the landlord-tenant law in the 1980s. Wirt was an insurance underwriter who loved his neighborhood and his apartment but was upset at what he said were abysmal conditions in his home.
In an interview last year, Miranda, McDaniels and Wirt said they felt part of a growing tenant movement. They realized they were eventually going to have to move, and it seemed unfair to them that complaining about conditions led to people losing their home. Their experience, they said at the time, had helped them understand where tenant protections were failing. And it had inspired them to help others who were going through similar experiences.
Asked about what continued to drive them, even when facing evictions, Wirt said then, “We don’t think landlords should be able to get away with this stuff.”
Mitra Nourbakhsh, Kelly Garcia, and Maya Dukmasova contributed to this report. ¬
Judge Kathy M. Flanagan with attorney Sam Barth, right, of the Law Center for Better Housing and Evan T. Voboril, the attorney for landlord Pilsen Rentals LLC, at a court hearing in January.
Courtroom sketch by Verónica Martinez
Alex Wirt at a news conference in May 2024. Wirt spoke about his experiences living in a building with code violations and why he and his neighbors formed a tenant union. Photo by Alejandra Cancino / Injustice Watch
Inquilinos de Pilsen retuvieron su renta legalmente pero aún se vieron obligados a mudarse
La demanda que los tres inquilinos presentaron contra su antiguo propietario, una compañía de responsabilidad limitada o LLC, muestra los límites de las protecciones de los inquilinos en Chicago.
POR ALEJANDRA CANCINO, INJUSTICE WATCH TRADUCIDO POR JACQUELINE SERRATO, SOUTH SIDE WEEKLY
Este reportaje fue producido por Injustice Watch, una sala de redacción sin fines de lucro en Chicago que investiga cuestiones de equidad y justicia en el sistema judicial del Condado de Cook.
Cuando tres inquilinos de Pilsen comenzaron a escribir cartas al propietario solicitando reparaciones en mayo de 2023, el agua goteaba del techo de un pasillo del tercer
piso, incluso en días soleados.
"Justo afuera de mi apartamento, hay una fuga de agua del cuarto piso y daños en las tablas del suelo debido a la sobresaturación", escribió Cristina Miranda, una de las inquilinas, quien apenas unos meses antes se había mudado al edificio de cuatro pisos en el sur del popular barrio mexicano.
"Esta fuga de agua es aleatoria e independiente de la lluvia", escribió
Miranda.
Le pidió al propietario que la solucionara de inmediato, junto con otros problemas urgentes que ella y sus vecinos habían reportado anteriormente: una plaga de ratones, ventanas viejas con escapes de aire y goteras en el interior de algunos apartamentos.
En sus cartas, los inquilinos citaron la ordenanza municipal de la década de 1980 sobre contratos residenciales, que
ofrece a los inquilinos ciertas protecciones y enumera sus derechos, incluida la retención de la renta.
Los inquilinos organizados dieron a su arrendador —(Pilsen Rentals LLC)— catorce días para realizar las reparaciones. Le recordaron que la ley prohibía las represalias y calcularon por cuánto reducía cada problema el valor de su unidad, consultando con un abogado durante el proceso.
Transcurridos los catorce días en junio de 2023, cada uno retuvo hasta el 20% de su renta.
Los inquilinos contaron con la ayuda de un bufete de abogados sin fines de lucro y una organización de inquilinos, y se aseguraron de seguir todos los pasos requeridos por la ley. Eran muy conscientes de las graves consecuencias de cometer un error, incluyendo el posible desalojo.
También reportaron los problemas a los inspectores municipales, quienes encontraron dieciocho infracciones del código, desde problemas exteriores que "podrían permitir la entrada de lluvia o humedad en las paredes" hasta luces rotas, paredes y techos dañados por el agua, un sistema de porche oxidado y la plaga de ratones. Los problemas fueron lo suficientemente graves como para que la Municipalidad impusiera multas de al menos $5,000, según los registros.
El propietario del edificio de seis unidades comenzó a hacer algunas reparaciones, pero los inquilinos continuaron reteniendo entre el 5% y el 25% de su renta mensual durante siete meses hasta que quedaron satisfechos de que la mayoría de los problemas se habían solucionado.
En enero de 2024, los tres inquilinos reanudaron el pago de su renta regular de entre $1,325 y $1,600.
Para Miranda y los otros dos inquilinos —Tulsi McDaniels, que vivía en un apartamento más grande al lado, y Alex Wirt, que vivía arriba— parecía una victoria. Se acabaron los ratones. Se acabaron las goteras. Se acabaron los daños por agua. Pero lo que parecía ser una historia de inquilinos que utilizaron con éxito la ordenanza municipal para asegurar su derecho a una vivienda digna pronto se convirtió en una batalla legal de un año que finalmente los obligaría a abandonar las viviendas que tanto habían luchado por conservar.
A las pocas semanas de las reparaciones finales, se enteraron de que el propietario les quería cobrar la renta que retuvieron, más cargos por la demora de hasta $65 al mes.
En marzo de 2024, los tres inquilinos recibieron notificaciones informándoles de que su renta mensual aumentaría entre
un 26% y un 55%.
El abogado de los inquilinos, Sam Barth, del Law Center for Better Housing, interpuso una demanda en su nombre. Barth exigió que se eliminaran las rentas atrasadas y los cargos adicionales, argumentando que los inquilinos habían actuado conforme a la ley y razonablemente ante la reticencia del propietario a hacer las reparaciones.
Pero los propietarios no cedieron. Miranda, McDaniels y Wirt presentaron una demanda, argumentando que los aumentos de renta eran "extremos" y "en represalia", ya que los otros tres inquilinos del edificio recibieron aumentos mucho más moderados o ninguno. Mientras los inquilinos luchaban contra Pilsen Rentals en la corte por los aumentos de renta, el propietario solicitó el desalojo de los tres.
Finalmente, tras dos años de disputas judiciales y extrajudiciales, y meses de vivir con goteras y roedores, los tres inquilinos llegaron a un acuerdo extrajudicial confidencial en abril, obligándolos a mudarse y a guardar silencio sobre su larga experiencia.
Su prolongada batalla legal ilustra claramente la poca confianza que tienen los inquilinos en las leyes que prometían protegerlos en Chicago, una de las conclusiones clave de la serie de cinco partes de Injustice Watch, "La Trampa del Inquilino", publicada en agosto de 2024.
La investigación reveló la poca aplicación de la ley de arrendadores e inquilinos por parte de los jueces y la frecuencia con la que los inquilinos que retienen la renta por falta de reparaciones ven rescindidos sus contratos de arrendamiento, reciben aumentos o incluso son llevados a cortes de desalojo. Como parte de la investigación, Injustice Watch elaboró perfiles de los inquilinos que retuvieron la renta, incluyendo los tres de Pilsen.
Ninguno de los tres inquilinos accedió a ser entrevistado para este reportaje por temor a cometer infracciones en un acuerdo de confidencialidad. Sus antiguos arrendadores y sus abogados no respondieron a las solicitudes de entrevista. Sin embargo, a partir de las audiencias y los registros judiciales, Injustice Watch pudo determinar algunos de los puntos
clave del acuerdo: los procedimientos de desalojo contra Miranda, McDaniels y Wirt fueron eliminados de sus registros, se condonaron los cargos extra y la renta retenida, y a cada uno de los tres se les condonaron varios meses de renta.
Pilsen Rentals se retiró del litigio sin admitir culpa alguna y quedó libre para rentar los tres apartamentos a nuevos inquilinos.
"Aún no hemos visto a ningún inquilino ganar una demanda por represalias ni reconocer públicamente dichas represalias", declaró Maya Odendahl, miembro fundadora de la Alianza de Inquilinos de Chicago, una organización que capacita y apoya a los sindicatos de inquilinos.
La alianza surgió de las cenizas de un sindicato de inquilinos de Logan Square, cuyos miembros retuvieron la renta, demandaron por represalias y finalmente llegaron a un acuerdo después de que todos los inquilinos se mudaran del edificio. En ambos casos, según Odendahl, los inquilinos expresaron su decepción por el resultado final de su litigio.
En teoría, explicó Odendahl, la Ordenanza de Propietarios e Inquilinos Residenciales (RLTO) de la ciudad protege a los inquilinos. Pero, como expuso Injustice Watch en "La Trampa del Inquilino", la realidad no es suficiente, y los derechos de los propietarios se consideran por sobre los derechos de los inquilinos.
Este tipo de casos de represalias son difíciles de cuantificar con datos de las cortes, pero los abogados defensores de los derechos de los inquilinos afirmaron que este tipo de demandas son poco frecuentes. Algunos afirmaron no haber litigado nunca un caso de este tipo. Otro, con tres décadas de experiencia, solo recuerda haber litigado tres demandas de este tipo. Barth, el abogado que representa a los inquilinos de Pilsen, afirmó haber litigado dos en los últimos dos años.
Pocos inquilinos demandan, debido al costo de contratar a un abogado y al limitado número de abogados dispuestos a llevar estos casos sin costo, señalaron los abogados. Además, los inquilinos suelen buscar ayuda legal cuando ya es demasiado tarde y se enfrentan al desalojo.
Si los tres inquilinos de Pilsen hubieran seguido luchando y perdido el caso, hubieran tenido que pagar miles de dólares. En el proceso de desalojo, el arrendador solicitó a los jueces que ordenaran a los inquilinos pagar la renta retenida más las tasas, los daños y perjuicios, que se acumulan al doble de su renta mensual y los costos judiciales. Un cálculo aproximado de esos costos asciende a más de $20,000 cada uno, según Injustice Watch.
"A veces, simplemente poder irse sin deudas ni antecedentes de desalojo es el mejor resultado", dijo Barth en una entrevista. "Y es el mejor resultado para ambas partes, porque el propietario quiere quitarse a tal inquilino de encima".
Como descubrieron Barth y los inquilinos, los que demandan entran en un sistema legal vertiginoso donde los argumentos aparentemente sensatos no son suficientes para ganar un caso o incluso pequeñas batallas en el camino. Ultimadamente, las demandas de los inquilinos eran simples: querían que su propietario le diera mantenimiento a la propiedad. Pero si este caso sirve de guía, a pesar de las protecciones legales, los inquilinos que hacen valer sus derechos se arriesgan a perder su hogar.
Los inquilinos de Pilsen también se sintieron intimidados por las decisiones de los jueces que dejaron a Barth confundido, a veces frustrado. Por ejemplo, su solicitud de detener los tres casos de desalojo "en represalia" hasta que se resolviera la demanda de los inquilinos fue negada por el juez Allen P. Walker. Posteriormente, Barth solicitó a la jueza Kathy M. Flanagan que consolidara los cuatro casos bajo un solo juez que pudiera comprender el contexto completo. Además, los casos de desalojo avanzaban con mayor rapidez que la demanda de los inquilinos.
Flanagan negó la solicitud a finales de 2024, pero en una audiencia judicial posterior pareció cuestionar su propia decisión.
"¿Qué se me argumentó el 18 de diciembre de 2024?", preguntó Flanagan desde el estrado, añadiendo que normalmente concede las solicitudes de consolidación. "¿Cuál fue mi razón?". Finalmente, volvió a negar la solicitud.
Estas no son las únicas demandas que los inquilinos presentan contra sus propietarios.
Algunos también han presentado demandas colectivas por condiciones inseguras. Otros han intentado ser parte en demandas municipales contra sus propietarios por no mantener los edificios conforme a las normas. En esos casos, los inquilinos también enfrentan batallas cuesta arriba.
Los demandantes en demandas colectivas deben convencer a los jueces de que la intrincada red de compañías de responsabilidad limitada (LLCs) que, en teoría, son propietarias de sus edificios, están conectadas. Mientras tanto, es probable que los inquilinos que deseen unirse a las demandas municipales acaben ante el juez Leonard Murray, supervisor de la sección de la corte de vivienda, quien no cree que los inquilinos tengan derecho a ser partes formalmente en esos casos.
Los inquilinos, una vez que se expresan abiertamente, son silenciados.
Los inquilinos de Pilsen demandaron a Pilsen Rentals LLC, la compañía de responsabilidad limitada que, en teoría, es propietaria del edificio en la esquina de Damen Avenue y Cermak Road. Es la sección del barrio más cercana al corredor industrial que a las galerías de arte y murales que lo hicieron popular, aunque, a medida que Pilsen se ha gentrificado, esta zona también se ha vuelto atractiva tanto para inquilinos como para inversionistas.
Pilsen Rentals es una de las docenas de empresas cogestionadas por Paul Tsakiris, fundador de First Western Properties, una firma inmobiliaria con una amplia cartera residencial en Pilsen y La Villita. La demanda también nombró a First Western, pero debido a las sólidas protecciones legales que protegen a las personas detrás de las corporaciones, Tsakiris no fue nombrado en el litigio.
En los registros judiciales, los propietarios defendieron los aumentos de la renta y acusaron a los inquilinos de actuar con mala fe al retener la renta por cuestiones que no les afectaban directamente. Por ejemplo, los propietarios, a través de sus abogados, escribieron que la fuga solo afectó a los inquilinos del tercer piso y que la plaga de ratones se limitó a una unidad, donde,
según afirmaron, la inquilina era la culpable debido a su falta de limpieza.
"La corte podría tomar nota judicial del hecho de que los ratones generalmente proliferan en áreas interiores donde hay comida disponible, especialmente en áreas que no se mantienen limpias", escribieron los propietarios.
Aunque los inquilinos han sido silenciados por el acuerdo de confidencialidad, su lucha ha sido ampliamente publicitada.
El día que Miranda, McDaniels y Wirt presentaron su demanda, dieron una conferencia de prensa frente a las oficinas de First Western Properties en el West Loop. Con las cámaras de televisión grabando, los inquilinos y sus aliados hablaron sobre los derechos de los inquilinos y criticaron a su propietario por tomar represalias en su contra.
"¿Por qué tenemos que rogarles que cumplan con su responsabilidad como propietarios?", preguntó Miranda. "Mis vecinos y yo iniciamos esta lucha para poder tener hogares con dignidad y seguridad".
“Hemos cumplido con todo al pie de la letra, según la RLTO, y aún nos enfrentamos a aumentos de renta como represalia”, dijo McDaniels. “¡Qué vergüenza!”.
“Durante mis primeros cinco años viviendo en el apartamento, no había sindicato de inquilinos”, dijo Wirt. “Tuve que lidiar con tuberías congeladas casi todos los inviernos. El apartamento no podía mantener la calefacción sin un
First Western”.
Inmediatamente después de la conferencia de prensa, Miranda recibió un aviso de que su contrato de arrendamiento no sería renovado y se esperaba que se mudara para julio del año pasado. A continuación, McDaniels y Wirt recibieron cartas informándoles de que sus contratos de arrendamiento finalizarían dos meses después.
Los tres inquilinos no empezaron con la intención de pelear con su arrendador. Miranda era técnica de laboratorio y se había mudado a Chicago por trabajo. McDaniels era mesera, aunque gracias a su experiencia, se convirtió en organizadora de inquilinos de la Organización Metropolitana de Inquilinos, el grupo de defensa que los asesoró desde el principio e impulsó la ley de propietarios e inquilinos en la década de 1980. Wirt era un asegurador que amaba el barrio y su apartamento, pero estaba molesto por lo que, según él, eran las pésimas condiciones de su casa.
En una entrevista el año pasado, Miranda, McDaniels y Wirt dijeron
que se sentían parte de un creciente movimiento de inquilinos. Se dieron cuenta de que eventualmente tendrían que mudarse, y les parecía injusto que quejarse por las condiciones llevara a la gente a perder su hogar. Su experiencia, dijeron en aquel momento, les había ayudado a comprender dónde fallaban las protecciones para inquilinos. Y los había inspirado a ayudar a otros que estaban pasando por experiencias similares. Al preguntarles qué los seguía motivando, incluso al enfrentarse a desalojos, Wirt dijo en ese entonces, "No creemos que los propietarios deben salirse con la suya".
Mitra Nourbakhsh, Kelly Garcia y Maya Dukmasova contribuyeron a este reportaje. ¬
