Countering Hate in Jefferson Park: A Vigil to Support Veteran and Disability Housing (Feb. 21)

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: 2/21/17

When: 5:00 pm to 7:00 pm Tuesday, February 21, 2017
Where: 4754 N Milwaukee Avenue, Chicago, Illinois

Countering Hate in Jefferson Park:
A Vigil to Support Veteran and Disability Housing

Jefferson Park, Chicago, IL: Community residents and affordable housing advocates counter-demonstrate against a hate-motivated protest directed towards an affordable housing proposal that will primarily serve low-income veterans, people with disabilities and low-wage families.

The counter-demonstration will challenge and confront the Jefferson Park Neighborhood Association’s and Northwest Side GOP’s hate-motivated campaign to stop this affordable housing, planned for 5150 Northwest Highway and developed by Full Circle Communities, from being built.

The Association and the local GOP are now back peddling on the core issues of their objections. These groups have asked their members to refrain now from using prejudiced and offensive messaging, and to frame their opposition to the housing as concerned primarily with density and building heights. The truth is there’s plenty showing the contrary such as:

Video streams of the February 9th community meeting, inside as well as outside where the opposition protested show an almost exclusive focus on fears about low income tenants Photos of the protest show that the opposition to the proposal is largely motivated and stoked by coordinated misinformation with racist undertones. At their last event, demonstrators can be seen on video chanting “No Section 8!” as well as holding signs stating “Cabrini started as vet housing too!” and “Jeff Park is not Rogers Park”. The opposition Change.org petition had its headline changed and the original headline under which opposition actually signed is attached and the comments on the petitions speak for themselves. Mr. Bob Bank, the President of the Jefferson Park Neighborhood Association, himself has opined the coming of “Areni Green” [see attachment] Mr. Matt Podgorsky, a leader of the Northwest Side GOP has encouraged people across the northwest side to oppose this housing though blatantly racist discourse about low income tenants [see 2 attachments].

While the Association and local GOP leaders deny the real motivations behind opposition to this project, not once have any of them denounced these documented actions or rhetoric. Indeed, they have peddled these very fears to wage a broader campaign for Republican aims on the Northwest Side.

A diverse coalition of community residents, disability activists and housing advocates will be congregating at the site of the protest to exemplify a contrasting welcoming message of tolerance and support for those in most need of developments like this one. As city numbers have indicated, 41.5% of Jefferson Park residents are rent burdened and in need of more affordable housing. Meaning, almost half of the neighborhood’s residents are paying over 30% of their income on housing. This project helps in efforts to alleviate such challenges local low-wage working families and seniors face. Beyond this, neighbors in Jefferson Park who want to see the Milwaukee Corridor revitalized know that the large vacant food processing plant this proposed housing would replace is what is truly driving away businesses and inviting crime, not a mixed income housing development. As housing wait lists continue to grow and as large numbers of Chicago residents go homeless this winter due to unmet housing needs, it can’t be afforded for developments like this one to be defeated. Supporters are diligent to ensure this development goes through and many others like it get built.