For almost two years Thomas Lee served on the front lines in Afghanistan and Iraq. In May he got out of the army and came home to New Orleans. Two weeks ago his house was washed away. He came to Chicago and moved in with a relative, and then he became a pawn in a long-standing dispute between the CHA and housing activists over what’s left of public housing.
“Having a roof over your head is one of the most basic human needs,” said Jackson in a press release. “I can assure you that together with our local partners, we’re working overtime to make certain every available home will be offered to families who may have lost everything.”
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As Brewster points out, there’s plenty of available housing under HUD’s control here in Chicago. “We have at least 2,000 vacant public housing units in Cabrini, Wentworth, Lathrop, and other CHA developments,” she says. “A lot of these units were recently vacated and they’re in pretty good shape. We have plenty of people willing to paint and do basic rehab. Governor Blagojevich and Mayor Daley say they want to help. Why not bring them here? It beats putting them on cots in the Astrodome.”
Thomas Lee and his sister and her son came to Chicago on September 3 and moved into the west-side apartment of his uncle and aunt, Rick and Marilyn Stone, former Cabrini residents. (Rick Stone is a friend of mine who’s collaborating with me on a fiction writing project.) When Rick Stone heard about the press conference he called Brewster to see if there might be housing available for the Lees. She was encouraging. “I really appreciate my uncle and aunt for taking us in,” says Thomas Lee. “But I thought we might be able to get some housing so we can give them back their room.”
After Lee finished, Brewster led the press across the street to a row house at 871 N. Hudson. But they couldn’t get in. It was locked, and the brass did not intend to unlock it.
