A reader made us aware of a series of articles that Raymond Coffey wrote in the Sun-Times about Uptown nearly ten years ago, detailing the problems and roadblocks to revitalization.The one below is deja vu all over again:
The CHA scattered site housing was being used by drug dealers and the residents were afraid. The property manager, HRC (which Coffey links with Shiller), did nothing. And Couraj (led by Denise Davis) jumped up and down and yelled, "Bigots! Yuppies! Property Values!" And then they pulled out their favorite one-trick pony and cried (wait for it.....) "Police Brutality"!
It would be funny if it weren't so sad. Hasn't nine years of living with this "same old - same old" situation been long enough?
Read this document on Scribd: Uptown drug busts fuel battle
David Rowe was a part of UCC at the time. This neighborhood organization had a CAPS grant that had the purpose of notifying the community of CAPS meetings and encouraging attendance. UCC also had staff who spoke Korean and Russian in an effort to promote the attendance of these groups of people who spoke those perspective languages.
ReplyDeleteIt wasn't long after this drug bust that Ald. Shiller asked the head of CAPS to remove the grant from UCC because it was no longer needed. In the meantime, the surrounding wards continued with their grants (44th, 47th, 48th) at the requests of their aldermen.
That Sun-Times article reads like it could have been written last week.
ReplyDeleteThat was my CAPS beat back then. David Rowe Margaret Wojcicki could butt heads with the best of them!
ReplyDeleteI didn't know you used to live in Uptown, Craig!
ReplyDeleteI owned a little flower shop at Dover and Wilson called Pride Flowers. That was before Jewel and Dominicks sold flowers.
ReplyDeleteGood god, this is depressing! We own homes therefore we are vilified. Interestig premise and conclusion. When did wanting and living in safe neighborhoods become such a bad thing?
ReplyDelete"When did wanting and living in safe neighborhoods become such a bad thing?"
ReplyDeleteWhen it became obvious to a certain alderman that s/he didn't have the political where-with-all to generate support from people who didn't look to the government to support them.
no offense, yo, but that was a rhetorical question. just blows me away how she politicizes safety and gang activity. interesting perversion on on safety, police activity, CAPS meetings, etc.
ReplyDeleteI think it's fascinating how the Shilleristas work. Violence against innocents in the neighborhood? Community residents outraged? Time to call a press conference and start accusing the police of brutality.
ReplyDeleteThe sad thing is, it works over and over. When I look at the fresh young faces buying this crap, I wonder if they were even in high school last time Couraj trotted out this tired old horse.
Well, caring neighbor, it takes a young naive person to fall for that crap. Hardened political organizations have been exploiting the ignorance of the impressionable young for a long time.
ReplyDeleteDid anyone else realize that the Housing Resource Center, the management of the building where the anon letter writer lives in, is mentioned in that article? Mentioned as being "effectively controlled by Shiller"?
ReplyDeleteYeah, I thought that was an odd way for a reporter in a newspaper to discuss the situation. As I understand it, scattered site buildings are owned by CHA, overseen by HRC and managed on-site by private management companies. (To my mind that means 3 layers of "oversight"---using the term loosely!)
ReplyDeleteSo, Shiller does and doesn't "effectively control" the sites. Obviously, there is no official place for an alderman in this management configuration. She has little official reason to hear about or be directly involved in more day-to-day kinds of issues. That being said, obviously Aldermen get their calls returned from CHA management and I am sure that she knows a lot of the players there because housing is her big issue. Likewise, she has a web of connections to people at HRC-Hull House and may have even been a part of the decision to select whatever management company works at the on-site level. All in all, she really can't be held responsible for issues at these sites because she is not part of the official chain of command but she certainly a major player in fostering and creating conditions for these scattered site homes.
I think I have said how this worries me before. Trying to put the most objective eye on this as possible, what this scenario could result in no matter who is in the alderman's spot is "plausible denial" and the ability to both coerce residents to do things (i.e., like vote or attend political events against their will) and to hide problems. If you are a resident there and you cannot get redress through official channels, there are few options. I am sure this doesn't worry anyone because they feel as if they are the "good guys."
I am not saying that Shiller is an evil puppetmaster standing back and ruining the lives of the residents or anything but I am saying that the organizational set-up is ripe for abuse/neglect without much true accountability. All roads lead to Shiller. Therefore, an alderman who is so well-connected can be both the problem and the solution here. I am sure she has been both. The question is: in what situations has she been the problem or the solution?
Oh, and as you can see from the polarization around here I think hell would freeze over before some of her loyal social service agency supporters would spill the beans on some bad decisions/bad outcomes to the likes of the Uptown Update crowd. I know of several instances when some of the players have looked the other way because offering criticism might negatively affect the overall "good" they feel that they are doing.
Knock, Knock, tic tac the clock is ticking, Shiller I bet you didn't know the internet would destroy you!
ReplyDeleteCan't wait until the next election, done right, she doesn't have a chance if she is exposed for what she is.
Saskia---Just to clarify....CHA owns the scattered site housing. Their offices are downtown. HRC is the management company that oversees all the scattered site housing in Uptown. Their offices are on the 4400 block of Clifton. NONE of the scattered sites has on site management. That is the problem.
ReplyDeleteAhh. Thanks PBJ. I thought HRC was contracting for some on-site management through private companies. Well, then I should revise my opinion of the matter. Pressure should come down on HRC from CHA. However, the most expedient way to do that is through the Alderman's office. She's not going to give HRC a hard time (or be happy if details leak out) because she has lots of longtime friends and supporters in that crowd. I wish some people would just have the nerve to stand up and acknowledge that organizationally the situation may not always work in the best interests of tenants, that's all. Even "the good guys" are not immune to making mistakes, failing to address problems and on and on.
ReplyDeleteas someone who has recently been working with the folks from COURAJ, i can say that they are in fact concerned about the street violence in the neighborhood and are CURRENTLY WORKING TO ADDRESS IT. i don't want to get into a back and forth childish name-calling argument, but i would bet that many people who have worked and are working with COURAJ are doing more constructive work to stop the violence in the neighborhood than many people who post on this blog.
ReplyDeletein response to a comment i read, expressing concern about police violence and a criminal injustice system that unfailry targets low income people and people of color does not imply an approval of street violence. It's clear that police misconduct and abuce DOES NOT help reduce street violence and undermines whatever credibility the CPD has left in the eyes of people most impacted by police misconduct in Chicago - poor people and people of color.
it is possible to oppose and work against all violence in the neighborhood - that of people in gangs, that of the police and that of the housing market that forces many people from their homes.
Saksia---what you are saying makes perfect sense in a normal ward. This is not a normal ward. This is Helen Shiller's ward.
ReplyDeleteHey Ron:
ReplyDeleteBy the way it's not us condo owners you so hate going out and shooting the hood up.
COURAJ is nothing more than a hate group aimed at exterminating the hard working middle class in Uptown and a tool for Shiller to keep power.
Ron, I understand that you are against violence, police violence and economic violence. I am against those same things and so are many other people in Uptown (although they might not say it in the same way.) However, there is presently no room in Uptown's civic life for anyone who is not already towing the Shiller party line (AT ALL TIMES) to get involved in a pro-active and sensitive way. We are shut out without a second thought. This is WRONG morally and also from a "healthy community" perspective. It can't be sustainable in the long run. We need to try another course.
ReplyDeleteI am to the point now where I am so sick of being blamed for systemic problems that extend far beyond the borders of the 46th ward that I (a peacenik-red-diaper-baby- tree-worshippin'-dirt lovin'- leftie) am willing to vote Republican or whatever it will take in order to have a true voice in this community. A community cannot exist when some residents are demonized, silenced, ignored and blamed for problems that they themselves didn't cause. I'll grant that some folks need to engage with the complexity of issues and the diversity of opinions on some things but that will never happen if they are shut out.
I stand for equality of ALL people in our community. You can't proclaim that you are for this sentiment while you shut people out. It just can't be done.
Now, waiter, get me another pinot noir. It's been another long day in Uptown.