I write this column today from a perspective different than the one I had prior to Sept. 11, 2001, the day that thousands of lives and America’s sense of security were lost in the attack on the New York Trade Center. For me and many others, I’m sure that watching the events of Sept. 11 unfold was surreal, like something out of a movie. A scary movie, to our dismay, that has come true.

Nothing will ever be the same again. As males and females, adolescents and adults, Black, White, Indian, Jewish, Protestant, Catholic, Muslim Americans, we will never be the same again.

For many Americans, there’s a heightened sense of fear. A heightened sense of vulnerability. But there is also a heightened sense of American pride and unity. And again, for me and many others, I’m sure that there is a sense of surrealism, like something out of a movie. Read more »

Like all Americans, the residents of Chicago’s public housing have been absorbed in the Sept. 11 terror attacks and their aftermath. There are certainly those among the more than 100,000 residents who had loved ones who were in the World Trade Center and the Pentagon.

On behalf of the Residents’ Journal staff and the board of We The People Media, all the victims of the attacks have our compassion and our sympathy.

Residents also certainly will be involved in the “War on Terrorism” that was declared by President George W. Bush. With our military preparing itself for armed conflict in remote parts of the globe, my thoughts turn to Residents’ Journal Editor-in-Chief Mary C. Johns, whose son and nephew are enlisted men in the U.S. Army.
Read more »

I stood in Judge Schuller’s courtroom waiting for my fate to be decided.

As the judge spoke, Miss LaNora walked over to where I stood, took my hand in her hand, and said to the judge in French, “Your honor, if I may speak: I would like to say a word for this boy, if I may, please Henry.”

The judge said to Miss LaNora, “Do you know this boy Granny? But before you tell me what you have to say, let me find out a little about this boy and I’ll get back to you, Granny. Read more »

Remembering Eric

In the lawsuit, the Morse family attorneys charged the CHA and the companies responsible for Eric’s death because they failed to secure the vacant 14th floor apartment from where Eric was dropped by two other boys. Morse was seeking an unspecified amount of money.
Read more »

I am sure many of our readers remember the story I wrote about Vincennes Plaza in the August 2000 edition.

Vincennes Plaza is a development that stands in the shadow of the new Lou Rawls Cultural Center on the dusty trails of 47th Street, also known as Tobacco Road.

Vincennes Plaza consists of 59 units of low-income housing in a five-story brick building that is home to many young single mothers and senior citizens.

In my last article, I described the Vincennes as a tourist attraction, a building that you might come across on the soggy streets of London. The building’s beautiful craftsmanship and graceful, elegant workmanship highlight the scenery of the plaza. Read more »

People with disabilities will be interested to know there are many officials at city, state and private agencies who are supposed to find affordable housing for the disabled in Chicago.

People with disabilities are treated unfairly in many community-based housing programs. Forcing a person to participate in a program simply because he or she is a tenant is discriminatory and many advocacy groups are questioning the legality of the practice. People with disabilities must be able to choose where they wish to live and the services they need, said Karen Tamley, an activist for the disabled who works at Access Living. Read more »

With many low-income Chicagoland residents being affected by a housing crunch, a number of government officials, housing developers, bankers, clergy and community activists put forth proposals and strategies for protecting already available affordable housing and to develop new generic cialis housing at the “Valuing Affordability” conference at the Palmer House June 27-29.

The conference was sponsored by the Chicago Rehab Network. All the participants were not on the same level in terms of what they already knew and what they had yet to learn. Therefore, the first days’ workshops centered around training and focused on a variety of subjects.
Read more »

Living conditions in Chicago Housing Authority homes for senior citizens may have just taken a turn for the better. Just in case you have not heard about it, the authority is in the process of renovating four aged senior citizen high-rise buildings.

They are located in different parts of the city and scheduled to be renovated by Dec. 15. Each building is home to many seniors as well as those who are not senior age but are there due to some type of disability. The addresses are 116 W. Elm St. on the north, 3030 W. 21st St. on the west, and two buildings at 730 East 43rd St. on the south.

The plan is to devote three years to renovate the 50 CHA senior buildings. Read more »

“How many dead elders and infants does it take before President George Bush, Gov. George Ryan and Mayor Richard Daley stop blocking the summer cooling program?”

That’s a question being asked in a petition by presidents and vice presidents of the Chicago Housing Authority’s North Side senior buildings, and Curly Cohen, from Affordable Power to the People. Together, they are working to maintain the CEDA summer cooling assistance program. On July 13, they protested at Gov. Ryan’s office at the James R. Thompson Building in the Loop. They had another march on July 30. Read more »

Inquiring minds want to know: When will Chicago public housing residents relocating from Chicago Housing Authority developments be able to move into the scattered site units that are currently available for occupancy?

Under a decades-old federal court decree known as the Gautreaux case, a judge ruled that new public housing should be scattered throughout the city, creating several thousand scattered site units. The units are low-rise town house-style structures in generally better condition than the high-rises. Twenty-five percent of CHA’s scattered site units are four bedrooms or larger, and 75 percent of the units are three bedrooms or larger. Read more »