Press Conference – Tuesday, 11/30 – 9am – 1230 N Burling Street, Chicago

As CHA threatens to force them out, residents stand their ground and speak out.

Five months after the Chicago Housing Authority defied a federal judge and forcibly relocated at night residents of one high-rise building, the families in Cabrini Green’s last high-rise refuse to be bullied by the same tactics. With more than a month left on their leases, the residents of 1230 N Burling, the last tall building still occupied, demand their legal right to stay through the Christmas and New Years holidays.

Shortly after forcing out residents of 1230 N Larrabee in July 2010, CHA issued 180 notices to the residents of its three remaining high rises. After a similar round of harassment, two of these buildings, 364 and 365 W Oak, now stand empty. Over the last month, the residents of 1230 N Burling have faced consistent pressure from CHA officials to relocate early, even though a relocation agreement signed by CHA and the residents’ Local Advisory Council (LAC) prohibits CHA from closing the building until January 18, 2011. Those remaining note that relocated tenants face being moved by CHA to rental units in need of major repairs located in more dangerous neighborhood, Without the opportunity to live out the remainder of their lease, parents must contend with finding new schools for their children in the weeks just before final exams.

Although CHA officials have threatened to close down the building today under the pretext that it has dropped below occupancy, the remaining residents have vowed to stand their ground, even if CHA’s moving trucks pull up to the building’s entrance. Instead of special treatment, they are simply asking that CHA adhere to the law and that their rights as residents be respected.