PHOTO/THEE ERIN
CHICAGO, IL — The foreclosure crisis is tailing off leaving us with the aftermath: a landlord’s rental market, speculation and vacancy. Despite a handful of laws passed and a slap on the wrist here and there, the crisis shows the government to be a tool of the corporations. This article is about my experience with the eviction of Luz, a disabled single mother of three and, at the time, a resident of Addison, Illinois.
After going into foreclosure, Luz fought to secure a loan modification. It’s common for banks to ask for tons of financial documentation, lose it, and then ask for everything again or accuse homeowners of failing to turn in the documents. After two years, Wells Fargo denied Luz the modification and sold her home of five years to a real-estate speculator, Patrick Young, the president of Financial Advantage Mortgage, who then filed for eviction.
The morning of the eviction, a group from Chicago (including myself) rallied around Luz, her children and her neighbors. A motorcade pulled up with a couple of DuPage County Sheriff cars followed by Young’s militaristic hummer followed by more Sheriff vehicles. It was a stunning image of the government carrying out the interests of the corporations. They called out the cavalry to evict one single mother and her three children. Those of us in front of the house (about 15) stood our ground.
Eventually, those from Chicago were arrested and held in DuPage County jail for 10 hours. We were charged with criminal trespass to property, obstructing a “peace” officer and two of us were charged with resisting a “peace” officer—all misdemeanors with a maximum of $2,000 in fines and a year in prison. We were ordered to do the Sheriff Work Assistance Program and were put under supervision for a year. If we got arrested for anything (including protesting) our short-tempered judge threatened to toss us in jail for a year.
In the meantime, Luz struggled with homelessness as her former home sat empty for eight months. The real-estate speculator’s interest in an empty home trumped her basic need for shelter, and the state was the tool through which Young achieved his interests.
In hindsight, the experience highlights the significance of organizing an independent political movement to wrest some control of the government from corporations. People want and need a political alternative. Yet we are left with the choice between business democrats and apocalyptic republicans—both encouraging austerity, privatization and (in many cities) an authoritarian, managerial control over resources and people. I heard Reverend Edward Pinkney speak about an extreme version of this in the “emergency management” of Benton Harbor, Michigan. In Chicago we have unelected and mayoral controlled school, transit and public housing boards—all fostering a regime of austerity for the working class while giving aid to the rich. It is crucial to build a political alternative that is humane and rational. As it stands now the dominant political choice is between barbarism or barbarism.Foreclosure: The government and corporations vs. single mother
By Chris Poulos
CHICAGO, IL — The foreclosure crisis is tailing off leaving us with the aftermath: a landlord’s rental market, speculation and vacancy. Despite a handful of laws passed and a slap on the wrist here and there, the crisis shows the government to be a tool of the corporations. This article is about my experience with the eviction of Luz, a disabled single mother of three and, at the time, a resident of Addison, Illinois.
After going into foreclosure, Luz fought to secure a loan modification. It’s common for banks to ask for tons of financial documentation, lose it, and then ask for everything again or accuse homeowners of failing to turn in the documents. After two years, Wells Fargo denied Luz the modification and sold her home of five years to a real-estate speculator, Patrick Young, the president of Financial Advantage Mortgage, who then filed for eviction.
The morning of the eviction, a group from Chicago (including myself) rallied around Luz, her children and her neighbors. A motorcade pulled up with a couple of DuPage County Sheriff cars followed by Young’s militaristic hummer followed by more Sheriff vehicles. It was a stunning image of the government carrying out the interests of the corporations. They called out the cavalry to evict one single mother and her three children. Those of us in front of the house (about 15) stood our ground.
Eventually, those from Chicago were arrested and held in DuPage County jail for 10 hours. We were charged with criminal trespass to property, obstructing a “peace” officer and two of us were charged with resisting a “peace” officer—all misdemeanors with a maximum of $2,000 in fines and a year in prison. We were ordered to do the Sheriff Work Assistance Program and were put under supervision for a year. If we got arrested for anything (including protesting) our short-tempered judge threatened to toss us in jail for a year.
In the meantime, Luz struggled with homelessness as her former home sat empty for eight months. The real-estate speculator’s interest in an empty home trumped her basic need for shelter, and the state was the tool through which Young achieved his interests.
In hindsight, the experience highlights the significance of organizing an independent political movement to wrest some control of the government from corporations. People want and need a political alternative. Yet we are left with the choice between business democrats and apocalyptic republicans—both encouraging austerity, privatization and (in many cities) an authoritarian, managerial control over resources and people. I heard Reverend Edward Pinkney speak about an extreme version of this in the “emergency management” of Benton Harbor, Michigan. In Chicago we have unelected and mayoral controlled school, transit and public housing boards—all fostering a regime of austerity for the working class while giving aid to the rich. It is crucial to build a political alternative that is humane and rational. As it stands now the dominant political choice is between barbarism or barbarism.
