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NEWS & LETTERS, September-October 2010
Stop home foreclosures, evictions!
Chicago--Two years ago the Ortiz family bought the house at 7463 N. Ridge. They worked hard with volunteers and workers from the Latino Union of Chicago, putting in thousands of hours to fix up the house and turn it into the Rogers Park Community House. It has things our neighborhood needs, a licensed day care and a place for youth programs and community meetings.
They never stopped paying the mortgage until the finance company told them to stop, but they needed a loan modification. Fannie Mae, in league with a bank, refused to negotiate in good faith and instead foreclosed and took them to court to evict them. On Aug. 17, the Ortiz family and supporters held a press conference and tour of the house, then were joined by some supporters later that day at a court hearing. The judge decided to give them another month to contest the foreclosure.
After the press conference, a Latino man from the neighborhood, David, told me that he is sick and unemployed and can't pay his mortgage. He paid $2,000 to a company that was supposed to get his loan modified, but it did nothing and now he faces foreclosure--as has happened to a lot of people.
Holly Krig from the Chicago Anti-Eviction Campaign told the press conference that 100 people a day face evictions in Cook County.
The press conference was attended by about 50 people and was partly a rally too. We chanted in Spanish and English, including, "Stop all home foreclosures! Stop all evictions! ¡Aquí estamos! ¡No nos vamos!"
Several of us at the press conference and tour were neighborhood residents. We see the need for this community house, and we sure don't need another foreclosed house to sit empty here!
--Neighbor/supporter
We spent over $80,000 fixing this house up. Imagine if every neighborhood had a community house like this, with free day care for low-income people and free breakfast for kids. Working parents in the neighborhood need day care for their kids.
Before us, a working-class African-American family lost the house. The first loan modification they gave us didn't change anything. They denied us a second one. After our government gives these banks our money, the same government, through the courts and the laws, is evicting people, so the banks keep the money, the banks keep the houses. We're asking Fannie Mae to listen to the community.
It's not an individual problem, it's a social problem. This is an economic injustice millions of families are facing. We've gotten letters of support from Detroit, Boston and other places.
--Jorge Ortiz
We were working for a loan modification for a year. They denied us two days before they sold the house at auction on July 14. The bank bought it at auction. I talked to Fannie Mae and they laughed at me, and said the only way you can get it back is if you win the lottery.
--Miguel Ortiz
We need this. My children and I faced eviction from our apartment for a year and won. I've been living there for 16 years. After a three-day trial, jurors had sympathy. I got support from Northside Action for Justice and from the community, and I had over 400 petition signatures. Now I'm organizing my neighborhood. We're having a workshop to let people know their rights. All this started when I was getting evicted and I'm still doing it. We need to stand up and fight.
--Carol Vialdores
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