PHOTO/ANDY THAYER
Editor’s note: This is a special report to the People’s Tribune based on information from the homeless and their supporters
CHICAGO, IL — All eyes are on the presidential debates, but putting an end to poverty and homelessness is not being addressed. In late September, an entire homeless encampment was destroyed in the Uptown neighborhood of Chicago. The encampment was on public land, in front of the shuttered Stewart school. Supporters claim the local Alderman arranged a deal to sell the school to private developers. The homeless have been evicted, but they are not taking it lying down.
The Uptown area became known as “Hillbilly Haven” following WWII. Southern workers came seeking jobs in this heavily industrialized city. Now, with the decline of industry and the shift to high technology jobs that employ fewer workers, many of the diverse population living in this area, and in the country overall, find themselves unable to afford the soaring rents. Alderman Cappleman has led the drive to gentrify affordable housing and close Single Room Occupancy (SRO) housing. Many are forced into the streets and made homeless. They erect tent cities under viaducts where they are harassed. Their belongings are confiscated and they are periodically evicted. Meanwhile private developers are stealing public land, closing public schools, even privatizing life-sustaining resources like water.
A homeless man, among those evicted, expressed outrage. He said neither the alderman nor the mayor have the right to sell public property to developers. He had worked at the very same school he was sleeping in front of as a janitor, as did his father.
The homeless are challenging private property. They are pointing the way toward a new society. where private interests—developers, banks, real estate companies and corporations— do not have the right to close public schools and steal public’s assets for profits. We all have to ask what kind of society we want to live in. Do we want one based on private ownership of all we need to survive or a new society where the needs of the people are met and everyone can thrive?
