CHICAGO—(ENEWSPF)—September 5, 2017. Residents of the Wilson and Lawrence viaducts (Uptown Tent City), clergy and with supporters from all over the north side, will gather Thursday, September 7 at 8:15 a.m. at the Wilson viaduct, 760 W. Wilson Ave. in Chicago (intersection of Lake Shore Drive and Wilson Ave.) to demand that all residents of both Wilson and Lawrence viaducts receive housing before the city plans to evict them on September 18th, less than two weeks away.
Viaduct residents off of Wilson and Lawrence (also known as Uptown Tent City) have been working with the city for over a year to secure permanent housing. The residents, many of whom are long time community members of Uptown, have been forced out due to Chicago’s rising rent and the lack of affordable housing in the area. They have repeatedly asked Mayor Rahm Emanuel, Alderman Cappleman (46th Ward), and Commissioner of Department of Family & Support Services (DFSS) Lisa Morrison-Butler to house all current residents of the Uptown viaducts, but have yet to receive a meaningful response.
Now the Chicago Department of Transportation (CDOT) has proposed a redesign for the Wilson and Lawrence viaducts that would replace the sidewalks where viaduct residents currently live with bike lanes. After the surfacing of the proposed redesign of the viaducts residents and the Chicago Coalition for the Homeless (CCH) threatened the City with a lawsuit that focused on what they deem a “discriminatory redesign” of the viaducts. The residents and the Chicago Coalition for the Homeless gave the City until August 25th to respond with a meeting with residents, but shortly after viaduct residents were given a 30-day eviction notice to leave the area.
As Louis Jones, a current resident of Uptown Tent City, has said, “We are not done until we all get housing. Last year, some of us were left behind: the city provided to housing to some, but not all of us. It was a damn cold winter. Unless the city meets our demands, that all of us receive permanent housing, some of us are going to get left behind again.”
In addition to community organizations like ONE Northside, community members and clergy from around the north side have supported the residents morally and physically with resources. They will do the same this Thursday, September 7th.
Updates will be available using the hashtag #HouseTentCity on Twitter, or via ONE Northside’s Facebook page.
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Organizing Neighborhoods for Equality: Northside is a mixed-income, multi-ethnic, intergenerational organization that unites our diverse communities. We build collective power to eliminate injustice through bold and innovative community organizing. We accomplish this through developing grassroots leaders and acting together to effect change.
Source: http://onenorthside.org
