Progress Illinois

As a sign reading "Barnett Capital, Here Displacement is Strictly Business" flapped in the chill November wind Saturday, protesters stayed warm by chanting, passing out flyers, and getting signatures for a petition against displacement in the Albany Park neighborhood.

Residents of 4834 N. Springfield Ave., many of whom are Centro Autonomo members, say they were given a 30-day notice to move out of their building by it's new owner, Barnett Capital LLC.

Residents claim that this eviction is in retaliation against their attempts to get repairs done on the building and form a tenants' union.

When ownership of the building changed hands in August of 2014, the tenants saw an opportunity for needed changes to be made to the property.

"We got notice before that there were certain code violations, and once the building was sold, we saw it as a perfect opportunity to have those taken care of," explained Barbara Suarez, an organizer with Centro Autonomo. "We brought a building inspector in, he recorded various code violations, including a furnace in the back room, which should be in a separate room by itself."

About 30 Chicago housing activists picketed outside a Citibank branch Wednesday morning as part of their ongoing fight to save a Rogers Park "community house."

Organizers toted signs reading, "I support the house on Ridge" and "Housing is a human right," while tenants of the home, located at 7245 N. Ridge Ave., were inside the branch attempting to meet with a Citibank mortgage representative to discuss their offer to purchase the foreclosed property.

Jorge Ortiz, an organizer with Communities United Against Foreclosure and Eviction, lives in the home with his family, including his mother and uncle. Ortiz and his family moved into the Rogers Park home in 2012 after the previous property owner, who was facing foreclosure, abandoned it. Organizers said Citibank later purchased the home at a foreclosure auction.

The current tenants of the bank-owned home, with the help of Communities United Against Foreclosure and Eviction, turned the property into a "community house" that hosts clothing drives, movie screenings, health fairs and other neighborhood events. People who have had difficulties finding affordable housing also stay there, organizers said. The tenants at the property are currently facing eviction.

Chicago housing activists are fighting to halt the eviction of tenants living in a Rogers Park home who have turned the property into a community center.

The tenants of the home, located at 7245 N. Ridge Ave., had their first eviction court date Thursday morning at the Richard J. Daley Center, and about a dozen community members came out to support them.

Jorge Ortiz, an organizer with Communities United Against Foreclosure and Eviction, lives in the home with his family, including his mother and uncle. Ortiz and his family moved into the Rogers Park home two years ago after the previous property owner, who was facing foreclosure, abandoned it. The current tenants, with the help of Communities United Against Foreclosure and Eviction, turned the property into a "community house," which has a neighborhood garden and hosts clothing drives, movie screenings and health fairs, activists said.

The tenants and their supporters want CitiMortgage, which the organizers say currently owns the home after purchasing it at a foreclosure auction, to negotiate with them and consider donating the property or selling it at a low cost to a Chicago-based community land trust.