City clears out Uptown tent residents Video below by Matt Simonette 2017-09-18
This article shared 611 times since Mon Sep 18, 2017
In a chaotic early morning scene Sept. 18, city authorities evicted persons who had been residing beneath Lake Shore Drive viaducts at Wilson and Lawrence avenues on the North Lakefront.
Residents and advocates had expected the eviction; city officials had announced the deadline a month earlier, but, according to residents, they had not been forthcoming with any new housing options. Many LGBT activists have been working on this issue for several months.
Residents had earlier moved their tents out from under the viaducts, taking them to the parkways a block west. City workers erected fences blocking off areas beneath the bridge. At 8:30 a.m., members of the Chicago Department of Family & Support Services arrived and began talking to residents, telling them that they had to take their tents down.
In a statement to reporters, Rev. Fred Kinsey of Unity Lutheran Church said that concerned activists and residents "take this seriously. People are being pushed out of their homes. … We know this struggle is going to continue in the weeks to come."
"The city's solution is to put people out of sight and out of mind," added Ryne Poelker of Tent City Organizers, who called the situation "a true representation of the failures of Mayor [Rahm] Emanuel and Alderman [James] Cappleman."
Most Tent City residents were unsure of where to go next. Resident Tom Gordon said he had just moved his tent to Lawrence Avenue and Marine Drive. Officials there had refused to let the residents actually erect the tents.
"They told us they've got to lay flatwe can't set them up," Gordon said. "… They didn't want it to look like we were moving in, but we are moving in. We've got no place else to go. They took the bridge from us, because they need to repair it. This is the only safe place we can go."
Mark Saulys was one of a handful of residents who had been transferred into a subsidized apartment through a pilot program the city launched last year. He lamented that only a small number of residents had been helped.
"Twenty years ago, I was homeless," said Saulys. "I was always a poor laborer. But I got a job and I rented a room at an SRO. Nobody helped me at all. But that job is gone and that SRO is gone. It's a different world today. A lot of people need some help."
Another resident, Sean, is an openly gay man who has lived under the viaducts for a few months. He was priced out of where he had been living in Lakeview, and was experiencing homelessness even as he was working. He said that he was on his way to look at an apartment that morning.
"There is money for the things that we need that would be more of a comfort," Sean said. "… Quit harassing us. Quit using tax dollars for your little cronies to drive through the viaduct and honk their horns and clang their loud machines at three or four o'clock in the morning. As a working person, those are my dollars that are going to that."
Adam Gianforte, who has been living under the Lawrence Avenue viaduct for five months, said, "Sometimes we think of the city as an 'entity,' but these are the people who make up the city. These are our neighbors. When you have a friend who is homeless, it's hard to ignore them, because they are your friend. … These people are the city."
The press conference was called by homeless residents of the Wilson and Lawrence viaducts, the Chicago Coalition for the Homeless and ONE Northside.
Late in the morning residents were in Courtroom 2508 of the Daley Center regarding their complaint against the city of Chicago, pursuant to the Illinois Bill of Rights for the Homeless Act, trying to stop the city's evictions.
This article shared 611 times since Mon Sep 18, 2017
Out and Aging
Presented By
ARTICLES YOU MIGHT LIKE
Appeals court overturns W. Va. trans sports ban 2024-04-17 On April 16, the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals sided with teen trans runner Becky Pepper-Jackson and overturned a West Virginia law that banned transgender athletes from competing on girls' and women's sports teams in ...
Fed appeals panel ruling helps trans athlete 2024-04-17 A three-judge federal appeals court panel ruled Tuesday (April 16) that West Virginia's law barring transgender female students from participating on female student sports teams violates federal law. In a 2 to 1 decision, the panel ...
WORLD Ugandan law, Japan, Cass report, Tegan and Sara, Varadkar done 2024-04-12 Ugandan LGBTQ+-rights activists asked the international community to mount more pressure on Uganda's government to repeal an anti-gay law that the country's Constitutional Court refused to nullify, PBS reported. Activist ...
NATIONAL Trans woman killed, Tenn. law, S. Carolina coach, Evan Low, Idaho schools 2024-04-12 Twenty-four-year-old Latina trans woman and makeup artist Meraxes Medina was fatally shot in Los Angeles, according to the website them, citing The Los Angeles Times. Authorities told the Times they found Medina's broken fingernail and a ...
LPAC, Arizona LGBTQ officials denounce Arizona Supreme Court ruling on abortion 2024-04-10 --From a press release - Washington, DC — Yesterday, in a decision that starkly undermines reproductive freedoms, the Arizona Supreme Court ruled to enforce a 160-year-old law that criminalizes abortion and penalizes healthcare providers who ...
NAIA bans trans athletes from women's sports 2024-04-08 The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) announced on April 8 that athletes will only be allowed to compete in women's sports if they were assigned female at birth, CBS Sports reported. The NAIA's Council of ...
For Deb Robertson, the end-of-life issue is very real 2024-04-07 For just about everyone, life is hard enough. However, talking about ending that life—especially when one is terminally ill—is just as difficult. Ten states have authorized medical aid in dying, although Illinois is not one of ...
KFF survey shows extent of LGBT-related discrimination 2024-04-07 KFF—an independent source of health policy research, polling and journalism—released "LGBT Adults' Experiences with Discrimination and Health Care Disparities: Findings from the KFF Survey of Racism, Discrimination, and Health." This ...
Lightfoot may be hired to investigate Dolton mayor, trustees 2024-04-06 A group of Dolton trustees is aiming to hire former Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfootwho is also an ex-federal prosecutorto investigate Mayor Tiffany Henyard, media outlets reported. The group wants Lightfoot ...
Ugandan court mostly upholds harsh anti-LGBTQ+ law 2024-04-04 On April 3, Uganda's constitutional court refused to annul or suspend an anti-LGBTQ+ law that includes the death penalty for certain same-sex acts, Reuters reported. However, the judicial body voided some provisions that it said were ...
DoJ accuses Utah of bias against incarcerated trans woman 2024-04-03 The U.S. Department of Justice (DoJ) filed a lawsuit against the State of Utah, including the Utah Department of Corrections (UDOC), alleging violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) ...
Return postage must accompany all manuscripts, drawings, and
photographs submitted if they are to be returned, and no
responsibility may be assumed for unsolicited materials.
All rights to letters, art and photos sent to Nightspots
(Chicago GLBT Nightlife News) and Windy City Times (a Chicago
Gay and Lesbian News and Feature Publication) will be treated
as unconditionally assigned for publication purposes and as such,
subject to editing and comment. The opinions expressed by the
columnists, cartoonists, letter writers, and commentators are
their own and do not necessarily reflect the position of Nightspots
(Chicago GLBT Nightlife News) and Windy City Times (a Chicago Gay,
Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender News and Feature Publication).
The appearance of a name, image or photo of a person or group in
Nightspots (Chicago GLBT Nightlife News) and Windy City Times
(a Chicago Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender News and Feature
Publication) does not indicate the sexual orientation of such
individuals or groups. While we encourage readers to support the
advertisers who make this newspaper possible, Nightspots (Chicago
GLBT Nightlife News) and Windy City Times (a Chicago Gay, Lesbian
News and Feature Publication) cannot accept responsibility for
any advertising claims or promotions.