Fight or Freeze

Latest

Residents of Evergreen Towers held a press conference to call attention to the most recent example of the deplorable conditions in Chicago Housing Authority (CHA) senior buildings. Resident Mildred Wright was forced to make her way to the management office on the first floor because the emergency pull cord in her room did not work. She died in the elevator. The tenant association had asked management to fix this problem for over a year.
PHOTO/JANE ADAMS SENIOR CAUCUS

 
CHICAGO, IL — Cold snap doesn’t even come close to describing the weather this holiday season as 90% of the nation suffered weeks of freezing weather. Chicago was no exception. Sub-zero temperatures (with the wind chill factor) stretched on for weeks right on into the New Year. A man froze to death on New Year’s Eve while waiting for a train in downtown Chicago. Meanwhile, families all over Chicago struggled to keep warm in unheated or under-heated homes, using ovens, space heaters – anything, no matter how unsafe, to keep from freezing to death. Thousands of homeless people became especially desperate searching for shelter.
At the Caroline Hedger Chicago Housing Authority (CHA) senior building in Rogers Park, residents lost heat for the second year in a row. Although CHA claimed there was nothing wrong with the heat, video clips showed space heaters being wheeled into the building. Then water pipes burst in the building causing massive flooding. Many seniors reported that they were not even given one of these space heaters and didn’t know anyone who had received one.
Even though senior residents were interviewed in freezing cold apartments wearing winter clothes, CHA continued to deny that heat was a problem. “I’ve been sleeping in three sweaters, two pajama pants because it’s cold and I’ve been very sick and it seems to be getting worse,” said Stephanie Hayes, 72, a resident in the building.
The fact that anyone should be struggling to keep warm, that lives should be threatened and even lost due to poor housing or no housing is a needless shame! Twenty percent of the housing owned and operated by the CHA is unoccupied, while the waiting list has been closed at 280,000 families.
From the Huffington Post: “Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s housing agency has been pulling hundreds of millions of dollars from a fund earmarked for its affordable housing program and using the money instead to boost its pension, purchase government debt and build up a staggering cash reserve.”
One CHA senior told the People’s Tribune, in reference to a new policy by the mayor, that hurricane victims be given first priority over those on the waiting list. “CHA loves to deny, and divide and bully, it is what they do best!”
We can’t let this stand. Having a home that is adequately heated is a human right that we must insist upon and must not be divided on. After all, there really is enough space, enough empty buildings, houses and apartments for all. There is enough to go around and to help all who need it, but it all depends on who controls the resources and the property. Will it be we the people or the corporate billionaires? It’s a life-and-death choice we must make in our favor.

+ Articles by this author

Free to republish but please credit the People's Tribune. Visit us at www.peoplestribune.org, email peoplestribune@gmail.com, or call 773-486-3551.

The People’s Tribune brings you articles written by individuals or organizations, along with our own reporting. Bylined articles reflect the views of the authors. Unsigned articles reflect the views of the editorial board. Please credit the source when sharing: ©2024 peoplestribune.org. Please donate to help us keep bringing you voices of the movement. Click here. We’re all volunteer, no paid staff.

1 COMMENT

  1. Similar thing happened in France about ten years ago or more. In the summer heat, seniors died from heat exposure in their apartments. No air conditioning, probably no or insufficient fans. Some were probably World War II survivors. Societies, countries that don’t give a hoot about the elderly because the elderly don’t work and don’t produce profits, those societies, countries, have lost their sense of humanity, and by that I’m pointing the finger at the governments of those countries that put profits before people.

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here

Featured

ICE Terror Campaign Threatens Us All

Several recent Facebook reels show how ICE is ramping up its campaign of terror against immigrants, citizens and protestors alike as the effort to create a police state continues and resistance grows. One creator speaks to the significance of Haitians now being targeted.

Medicaid Defenders in Wheelchairs Arrested Ahead of Senate Budget Vote

Over 60 people, including grandmas in wheelchairs, were arrested in the U.S. Senate Rotunda in a nonviolent protest against cuts like Medicaid and the SNAP food program in Trump’s “Big Beautiful Budget Bill.”

Zohran Mamdani Delivers Stunning Blow to ‘Billionaire-Backed Status Quo’ in NYC

New York City proved that a movement powered by hope, courage, and working class people can beat the money of billionaires.

The American People Want Peace, Not War!

The US's immoral and illegal attack on Iran threatens the whole world with war. The American people have a special responsibility to come out into the streets and rein in the US government, which has become a rogue state.

Juneteenth 2025: ‘We Have to Win this Fight,’ Hannah-Jones Tells Black Graduates

Journalist Nikole Hannah-Jones addressed Black graduates at Harvard University, telling them that "we are about to see unleashed upon us an America that we have not had to live in. And we have to win this battle."

More from the People's Tribune