Crime & Law
Residents of South Shore Building Raided by ICE Must Move Out by Friday, Judge Rules
A Cook County judge determined Monday that residents of 7500 S. South Shore Drive — the apartment building raided by federal agents in September — must vacate their apartments by Friday.
Judge Debra Ann Seaton denied a 60-day extension request saying “it would be inhumane for this court not to relocate people as quickly as possible,” citing gas leaks and plumbing issues.
Tenants have demanded that the court-appointed receiver of the building, property management company Friedman Communities, work toward restoring amenities like heat and electricity, which remain non-functional.
At a news conference, residents acknowledged the terrible living conditions, but they expressed a lack of other places to go.
Dixon Romeo, executive director of Southside Together, a community organization serving Chicago’s South Side neighborhoods, joined “Chicago Tonight” to discuss the building’s conditions and path forward for tenants.
WTTW News: Can you describe the conditions of the building and what tenants have been living through since the raid?
Dixon Romeo: The conditions that were bad before have been exacerbated. The doors off the hinges, the lack of light, gas. All of the things the judge named we know are the case. The issues the tenants have named is the receiver has not tried to relocate anyone. They’ve offered relocation assistance, which isn’t the same thing as relocating. It’s really hard to get a lease on Dec. 12 or 13. That’s why we and the tenants filed the motion to get the extension. But ultimately it wasn’t successful.
Even before the raid, living conditions in the building had been subpar. For how long have tenants been living under these conditions?
Romeo: There’s some tenants in the building who’ve been living there 20 years. One of the reasons why we organized to get the Jackson Park Housing Pilot Ordinance passed in September this year is because of the conditions in the neighborhood. South Shore is the eviction capital of Cook County, of the city. It is a 75% tenant neighborhood, it is an overwhelmingly Black neighborhood. What happens is you often have landlords who live out of state, sometimes out of the country, who don’t care about the conditions of the neighborhood and seek to profit off the neglect of the building — ‘I will keep raising the rent regardless of what it looks like.’
Following the raid, real estate company Friedman Communities became the court-appointed receiver of the building. One of the demands by tenants has been that Friedman repair the building and restore heat and electricity. Has Friedman seemed open to these demands?
Romeo: Not especially, no. There was supposed to be a meeting with the tenant union on Friday of last week that Friedman canceled before the court date. They’ve (Friedman) been trying to go around the tenants coming together and trying to talk to folks individually. They’ve said things in court that aren’t true in real life. One of the things that happened with the court case is that they said they were going to relocate people. That has not been the case. Tenants have asked about support moving, those things have not happened. … Ultimately the things the tenants have demanded, that are doable even in the short term, haven’t been done.
Despite the living conditions, tenants petitioned for extra time expressing a lack of other living options and resources. How are tenants navigating the path forward? Have they been able to secure alternate housing?
Romeo: Some have but overall a lot haven’t. Even as today, an hour ago, we’re hearing from some landlords in the neighborhood, some people offering financial assistance, some people allowing folks to rent. The city of Chicago, via the mayor’s office, offered a nice assortment of resources as well. We haven’t heard much from the governor. … It is a very chaotic situation and we’re doing our best to help adjust to that.
How many tenants are still searching?
Romeo: (There are) 37 units worth of folks that are in the tenant union. I know of at least 15 units of those that we have to move out tomorrow morning.
Romeo told WTTW News the judge may have given Friedman Communities room to let tenants stay until Dec. 19 but that residents have not received an update on that possibility.
