News

By Mina Bloom

UPTOWN — In anticipation of 35,000 music fans flooding the lakefront in Uptown for Wednesday’s Mumford & Son’s concert at Montrose Beach, city workers cleared out the homeless living under nearby viaducts.

An official with the city’s Department of Family and Support Services said Tuesday’s action was part of a larger effort to secure the area for the concert. But some homeless advocates said the move lacked coordination and led to confusion.

The move at Lawrence Avenue and Marine Drive was chaotic, but there wasn’t noticeable tension between the homeless and city workers.

Some of the homeless people stuffed their belongings into garbage bags, exchanging hugs and shedding tears before getting into cars with Family and Support Services workers. Others talked to Salvation Army workers and Chicago police officers or dried their clothes in the grassy area near the viaduct.

Mina Bloom says some are questioning the city’s motives: (video link)

The area was hit by a huge storm Monday night, flooding the viaducts under Lake Shore Drive where the homeless had set up tents.

Billy Bowers, who lives in one of those tents, said the city gave him some extra time to let his belongings dry after the major storm that flooded several neighborhoods.

Bowers was one of many who was taken to homeless shelter Cornerstone Community Outreach, 4628 N. Clifton Ave.

“We have no choice but to move,” he said.

According to homeless advocate Patricia Nix-Hodes, who works as the director of the Law Project for organization the Chicago Coalition for the Homeless, the scene demonstrated a lack of coordination on the part of city agencies, which resulted in confusion.

“Some people thought they had to leave on Tuesday. Some people were told they could stay on adjacent lawns. There seems to be so much lack of information that was consistent and communicated to everyone,” she said.

It’s common for the city to clean the viaducts, which forces some of the homeless people living there to move their stuff temporarily to a nearby hill.

But Tuesday’s street-sweeping was different.

They weren’t allowed to relocate to a nearby hill or anywhere near the viaduct because the cleaning was part of a larger effort to secure the area ahead of the Mumford & Sons concert Wednesday evening.

“It’s not unlike what we’d normally do, but there’s another issue tied to it. There is a concert expected to attract 35,000 people and they’ll be using this viaduct [Lawrence Avenue and Marine Drive] and the one at the Wilson [Avenue] as access points. They’ve got to keep them clear, it’s a safety issue,” said Matt Smith, a spokesperson for the city’s Department of Family and Support Services, who was out at the viaduct with other city workers.

“We’re here to make sure people here know that there is going to be an event in the area. We’re here to offer shelter and services and, in some cases, transport people,” he said.

Smith said in addition to posting signs, DFSS officials came out to the viaducts prior to Tuesday to “make sure” the homeless people knew they’d have to leave the area.

But Nix-Hodes said taking the homeless to shelters isn’t enough.

“If homeless people are being displaced by a concert, they should be offered housing assistance and resources and have some place safe to go,” she said, adding that shelter is different than housing and many of them have tried shelters and have had “bad experiences.”

Nix-Hodes and her colleague, Diane O’Connell, who works as a staff attorney for the Chicago Coalition for the Homeless, said if the clearing of homeless were a measure used to secure the area before the lakefront show, the city would likely be doing other things like putting up barricades.

“I’ve been Downtown and they start barricading the area for the Blues Fest, but that’s not happening. They’re just saying the homeless people have to leave,” said Nix-Hodes.

She added: “The concert’s tomorrow night. It’s not this morning. If that was the concern, why not do something closer in time to when people would be coming to the area?”

O’Connell said while she understands the city has the authority to secure an area in preparation for a big event, requiring that homeless people leave the area isn’t necessary.

“When you tell people who are homeless that they have to get off the grass in the park, but other people are free to sit on the grass in the park … there’s no real apparent reason why it’s necessary. That violates the Homeless Bill of Rights, which says homeless people have the right to freely move about public spaces,” she said.

O’Connell had been sitting on the grass near the viaduct since 8:40 a.m.

She and Nix-Hodes were still sitting in the grass on the nearby hill around 12:15 p.m. — at least an hour after all of the homeless people had vacated the area. That’s because Nix-Hodes and O’Connell wanted to make sure a shopping cart full of someone’s belongings would get picked up, stored in a safe place and eventually reunited with its owner.

They were told a truck with the city’s department of streets and sanitation would be coming to pick up the belongings on Tuesday morning but it hadn’t arrived as of 12:30 p.m.

A spokesperson for the department said the “brief delay in the process” was due to car problems.

“The process quickly resumed once the vehicle was operational,” the statement reads.

O’Connell said if she and Nix-Hodes weren’t there, the homeless people may never have been reunited with their belongings.

Nix-Hodes asked the city in advance if they could give the homeless people information about where their belongings are being stored, but the city didn’t seem prepared.

“As they were taking these people to the shelter, Patricia was like: ‘Are you going to do that? Can I get a copy in writing?’ Of course they didn’t have that ready.”

She said while they did end up writing down addresses last minute with a Sharpie, the destination of their belongings was not clearly communicated.

“It was not clear at all that they understood where the objects were going to be. It wasn’t clearly communicated,” Nix-Hodes said.

Ald. James Cappleman (46th) whose ward includes the two viaducts, has said that the city needs to do a better job of getting the homeless off the streets, which includes better coordination among city agencies. He could not be immediately reached for comment.

JAM Productions, which is putting on the show, is expecting 5,000 bikes at the concert Wednesday.

The production company, which could not be immediately reached for comment regarding the homeless people being required to leave the area, is encouraging people to take public transportation or ride their bikes because there is no parking near the Cricket Hill show.

By Mina Bloom

UPTOWN — In response to Ald. James Cappleman’s (46th) recent remarks about how the city needs to do a better job of addressing homelessness, the Chicago Coalition for the Homeless shot back by publishing a letter saying the alderman “systematically reduces low-income housing in favor of a gentrification strategy” and “regularly vilifies” the homeless, among other things.

In the June 7 letter, the organization said Cappleman “implied that CCH has not fought for housing to help eradicate homelessness on our streets” when he made a comment about the organization at the State of Uptown Luncheon a couple of weeks ago.

Cappleman said while it was “commendable” that the Chicago Coalition for the Homeless fought for homeless people’s rights to sleep outside, he’s “fighting for the right to sleep inside.”

The alderman was referring to the February settlement of a legal case that resulted in a new city policy, which protects the homeless living underneath Wacker Drive and Wilson Avenue viaducts during street-cleaning sweeps. The city must now give them 24-hour notice.

The letter goes on, saying: “If you’re puzzled, you should be: Yes, Cappleman is the alderman you’ve read about who systematically reduces low-income housing in his ward in favor of a gentrification strategy. He regularly vilifies those who live on the streets, as he did at last week’s luncheon, blaming homeless people for ‘preventing economic growth.'”

The organization also pointed to a 2013 dustup, when Cappleman made headlines for asking the Salvation Army truck to stop giving food to the needy.

Lastly, the letter alleges that the alderman’s office has “not once” reached out to the organization to “encourage assistance for the homeless, join our efforts for increased funding or to find solutions.”

But Tressa Feher, Cappleman’s chief of staff, denied that claim, saying she has “sat in meetings, in our office, with CCH staff on a number of occasions.”

“Alderman Cappleman has and will continue to fight for coordination of homeless services in the 46th ward, more affordable housing and harm-reduction shelters,” she added in an email.

Since 1980, the Chicago Coalition for the Homeless has been advocating for public policies that curb and ultimately end homelessness, according to its website.

The organization blamed a lack of funding for the city’s inability to create sufficient housing for the homeless.

“It is our expectation that the city must fulfill its obligation embodied in its Plan to End Homelessness 2.0 to create sufficient housing for those who are homeless and living on the streets. The plan is not adequately funded by the city, which has more than 20,000 people in its ‘Central Referral System’ awaiting affordable housing,” the letter reads.

“It’s simply wrong to blame those on the street for the systematic lack of adequate housing.”

Chicago needs “increased investment in proven evidence-based strategies,” according to Mark Isaug, CEO of nonprofit organization Thresholds, which provides healthcare and housing for people living with mental illnesses across the city and state.

And it needs to come from both the local and federal government, he said in a written statement.

“There are cities across the country that have ended chronic homelessness, and Chicago can be one of them,” the statement reads.

Isaug said that requires two things: more affordable housing and outreach services.

“[Homeless people] have lots of understandable fear, so engaging them in services requires a sensitive, compassionate approach. It may take longer, but the results are more sustainable and long-lasting. These proven solutions are better for everyone involved,” the statement reads.

One of the city departments that Cappleman accused of not coordinating its efforts is the Department of Family and Support Services.

In response to Cappleman’s remarks, a department spokesman said in a written statement that the agency “provides shelter and services to more than 3,000 persons per night in both our shelter and interim housing programs, taking a service-oriented approach to our homeless clients on the streets.

“Every day DFSS strives to balance the needs and rights of homeless Chicagoans with the legitimate concerns of other neighborhood residents about safety and cleanliness,” the statement reads.

By Rhonda Gillespie

The ongoing budget clash between Democrats and Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner has complicated financial planning for non-profit organizations across Illinois.

The state provides more than $5 billion in social service funding — mostly through the Department of Human Services — which represents a huge share of the budget at scores of agencies. But until Illinois has its fiscal plan in place, agency leaders say they have to look for financial alternatives to avoid service interruptions, missing payroll or even closing their doors.

“It makes it make it really difficult for service providers and organizations – and even businesses – to plan for staffing and operations,” says Jennifer Cushman, policy manager for the Chicago Coalition for the Homeless (CCH). “There is a May 31 deadline for a reason and that is so that a responsible budget can be passed so that people can plan.”

Cushman says her organization does not get government money, but it represents other agencies that depend on it. CCH brought busloads of citizens who receive social service aid to the state Capitol throughout the session to lobby legislators.

”We will continue to put pressure on legislators to pass a responsible budget,” she says. “It’s a comprehensive budget that responds to the needs of the people.”

Democrats passed a budget before the General Assembly adjourned May 31, but Republicans didn’t support it and the first-term Republican governor has repeatedly called it “phony.” The Democrats’ proposal included millions of dollars in cuts to social service programs. But they were hardly the deep cuts that the governor proposed, including to autism, mental illness and epilepsy programs; child and senior care subsidies for low-income families; and aid to help the poor pay their utilities.

Leigh Grannan is director of the The Autism Program (TAP) at the Springfield-based Hope Institute. She says state funding is 90 percent of her agency’s revenue. TAP provides an array of direct, behavioral and other services to families, often on a sliding scale. The budget stall puts TAP’s planning in limbo.

“Although we have some — limited — funding through private insurance, a large of portion of our clients do depend on [state] funding,” Grannan says. “So it’s hard to project what we’ll be able to do for the central Illinois community.”

This is the second round of budget strain that non-profit leaders like Grannan have dealt with in recent months. On Good Friday, $26 million in funding for grants in the current budget year was canceled. The cutoff came despite fund sweeps that pulled money from other accounts to — at least as Democrats say they intended it — pay for several social service programs, including TAP.

At this point Grannan says she doesn’t know what funding will look like for autism services next year. Rauner proposes to eliminate it.

“It’s just makes it very difficult for us to plan for serving,” she says. But facing the reality of the state’s money problems, “we’d rather be partially funded than not funded at all.”

The state is expected to fall short by at least $6 billion of its $75 billion budget. To help make up the shortfall, the governor has proposed cuts, called for reducing government pensions and making changes to worker’s compensation and other areas of law. Most of which Democrats have rejected. They say their budget fulfills moral obligations to residents — even though it is $4 billion short.

“The number one problem facing Illinois today is the continuing budget deficit,” House Speaker Michael Madigan says. “My view is that you cannot simply cut your way out of a deficit. There has to be a balanced approach of cuts and new revenue.”

Republicans blast the Democratic budget proposal as continued “reckless” spending — without revenue ideas or consideration for Rauner’s agenda. They call it “more of the same” that has led Illinois into its current financial quagmire.

“This budget is about the Democrats demanding revenue, revenue, revenue. That’s called taxes. The fact is, the governor has made it clear that there has to be reform before there’s any discussion of revenue. I think it’s fair. That’s what the people of Illinois want,” says House Republican Leader Jim Durkin. “We’re not going to walk out of this building and say, ‘OK, we’ll pass a tax increase,’ just to placate the majority party.

And so the stalemate continues, though party leaders and the governor say negotiations continue behind the scenes. Organizations are left to wait to see what happens.

Rauner has proposed cutting $110 million from the Child Care Assistance Program, including not providing care subsidies for children older than age 6. Democrats say no to both.

But since Maria Whelan, head of the child care services agency Action for Children, doesn’t know where the actual funding will fall in in the budget year that begins July 1 — and when that money might come through — she’s making alternate plans. Action for Children’s state grant helps pay for its 400 staff members and other overhead. Whelan says without a budget in place, the agency may have to consider a line of credit to pay its expenses.

The General Assembly is scheduled to remain in session throughout the summer — until a budget is passed and approved by the governor. Madigan says he’s hopeful a fiscal plan will be in place by June 30.

Durkin, however, offers an alternate prediction: “We may be in for a long summer.”

Gov. Bruce Rauner’s immediate reductions to child care for working parents, home-based services for the elderly and disabled and home energy assistance show stunning disregard for working families and the less fortunate.

The governor’s recommended funding cuts in his proposed FY16 budget further demonstrate this lack of concern. Particularly callous is his proposal to terminate all services for wards of the state when they reach age 19, greatly increasing the risk that former wards will become homeless. Meanwhile, the governor’s budget also proposes cutting back services to homeless youth by more than 50 percent.

This double blow would eliminate the basic safety net for older youth who fled homes of abuse, dysfunction and rejection. Without essential services and protection, these young people face abuse and exploitation in their struggle to survive.

The governor’s disregard for those who are young and vulnerable is alarming. It breeds a lack of confidence in a political leader who has claimed compassion would be a priority of his administration.

Fiscal policy experts agree that we need to raise adequate revenue to support state priorities, make smart investments and avoid making further cuts to critical human services. The spending plan advanced by the General Assembly also includes funding reductions, yet rejects drastic cuts to vital services, pointing to new revenue as the solution.

A state that does not protect the less fortunate and give working families an opportunity to get ahead is a place without hope. Chicago Coalition for the Homeless is in the business of hope — hope for a better future for youth, families and communities. We invite the governor to join us in this vision for Illinois.

— Ed Shurna, executive director, Chicago Coalition for the Homeless

by Claudia Morell – claudia@aldertrack.com

The City Council’s Committee on Housing and Real Estate spent two hours Monday morning discussing progress of the city’s Five Year Housing Plan, a blueprint the Department of Planning and Development developed in 2014 to create more affordable housing by 2018.

Committee Members Present: Chairman Joe Moore (49), Ald. Pat Dowell (3), Ald. Will Burns (4), Ald. Raymond Lopez (15), Ald. David Moore (17), Ald. Michael Scott Jr. (24), Ald. James Cappleman (46).

DPD is the lead agency for the City’s affordable housing, housing preservation, and homebuyer assistance programs, and Lawrence Grisham, the Deputy Commissioner of the Department’s Bureau of Housing, provided the committee with a progress report for the 1st Quarter of 2015. The City spent 29%, or $75M, of its projected 2015 allocation to support approximately 3,900 units of affordable housing, according to Grisham’s testimony.

He also said that the new Affordable Requirements Ordinance (ARO) the City Council passed in March is expected to help generate 1,200 new units of affordable housing and $95M in funding for affordable housing over the next five years. Grisham called the updated ordinance “very helpful” and expects the additional revenue to help fill a funding gap left by $75M in federal funding cuts. The ordinance takes effect October 12, 2015, but changes in the fee structure will be phased in over 12 months. It will apply to any project receiving a zoning change, city financial assistance, located in downtown planned development, or contains more than nine residential units.

(Link to Grisham’s PowerPoint presentation)

But several aldermen on the committee, including its new Chairman, Ald. Joe Moore (49), who replaced ousted 31st Ward Ald. Ray Suarez, questioned whether the plan was on track to reach its 2018 goals. Representatives from community groups that work in some of the city’s most blighted neighborhoods also raised concerns about the fairness, cost and efficiency of DPD’s housing programs.

The progress report also comes at a time when DPD’s sister agency, the Chicago Housing Authority (CHA) is in the midst of another leadership change. CHA is the landlord for most of the city’s public housing stock and manager of some Section 8 programs. Mayor Rahm Emanuel announced Friday that he was appointing Eugene “Gene” Jones as the acting CEO, after Michael Merchant stepped down from the position. Jones will be the authority’s 8th CEO since the public housing agency started its billion dollar Plan For Transformation, which Mayor Richard M. Daley touted as the largest, most ambitious public housing redevelopment plan in the country. The plan is behind schedule, and CHA has been accused of sitting on undeveloped land and not spending the money allocated for the plan.

Ald. Moore pressed Grisham to explain how Jones appointment would address this problem, but Grisham said he was not the “best person to answer that question”, adding that he could only speak to Jones’ qualifications on a “personal level”. When Grisham deferred any further discussion on the topic to CHA, Ald. Moore said that he plans to hold a public forum so Jones and other CHA officials can go on record about the status of the plan and respond to public concerns.

Ald. Will Burns (4) said he was under the impression that one of the biggest challenges of mixed income developments is the layered financing needed to build market rate and affordable housing housing units. It was a point also raised by Ald. James Cappleman (46). Grisham agreed that the CHA’s Plan for Transformation was a big endeavor that relied heavily on state and federal funds and tax credits. He said in light of the City’s limited resources, DPD wants more federal investment to address the lack of private funds for the project.

“These are complicated projects. These are complicated issues,” Grisham said, noting how using public funds for development projects can increase construction costs 20% in some cases.

Ald. Pat Dowell (3) also asked about the status of federal Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funding and the impact potential cuts to the federally-funded Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) could have on families. Grisham said the city continues to see a decrease in the CDBG allocation from the federal government. He expects additional cuts in the upcoming budget year. Those funds generally go to the Department of Family and Supportive Services and helps fund the city’s homeless programs. Grisham also anticipates additional cuts to the LIHEAP program, which helps low income families pay their utility bills. “It will have a terrible impact of families,” Grisham said, calling it a “lifeline” for families who can’t afford to pay their utility bills without it.

Two the the City Council’s newest members, Ald. Raymond Lopez (15) and Ald. Michael Scott, Jr. (24), who represent wards with a large number of vacant lots and abandoned buildings, asked Grisham about the programs DPD uses to address these troubled properties. Grisham said the Troubled Buildings Initiative (TBI) deals with most of the dilapidated and vacant properties by working with local aldermen or housing courts to identify problem properties. He admitted that since the initiative is predominantly done through the courts, “it is not quick, but we go through as many properties given the resources that we have.”

DPD’s Troubled Building Initiative received the most criticism during the public comments portion of the meeting. It’s a joint effort by the Community Investment Corporation (CIC), Department of Buildings, Law Department and other City agencies. CIC is in charge of assessing rehab costs, providing loans to new homeowners and recording all invoices for Multi-Family units. The Neighborhood Housing Services Redevelopment Corporation (NHSRC) oversees the single-family initiative.

Mark Carter, with the advocacy group ONE Chicago, accused DPD of using the Troubled Building Initiative as a gentrification tool that targets poor and distressed communities. “If we don’t control the Troubled Building Initiative, we are going to be wiped out of the city,” Carter said, alleging that delegate agencies, like CIC, use housing courts as a way to seize properties and exacerbate rehabilitation costs. He was concerned that like Detroit and Indiana, it was only a matter of time before someone was “raped or killed” in one of the city’s vacant buildings because it can take up to two years before a TBI property is refurbished and sold.

Ald. Lopez said that he was aware of Carter’s concerns and gave the example of West Englewood, where 20% of the properties are abandoned.

Melvin Bailey, with the Community Male Empowerment Project agreed with Carter, saying that he would like to see fast track demolitions and have community organizations, not delegate agencies, approved as TBI recipients.

Eithne McMenamin, a policy director with the Chicago Coalition for the Homeless, was concerned about the slow rollout of the TIF Purchase Rehab Program, which the organization as part of the Sweet Home Chicago Coalition, helped create in 2011. According to McMenamin’s testimony, the program has committed $4M and four TIFs to rehab vacant and abandoned buildings. McMenamin said while she has had a “productive” working relationship with DPD–her organization has met with DPD once a month since the rollout of the program–she is concerned with the slow rollout and expansion of the TIF program and the overall Five Year Housing Program. “If we continue at the current rate, meeting the $35M goal to create more than 500 units of affordable housing […] will be impossible,” McMenamin said. “We call for a real and sustainable commitment to this piece of the Five Year Housing Plan.” Ald. Moore asked her what she thinks would help expedite the process. McMenamin said a “more laser like focus” from the 5th Floor and the City Council.

David Peterson, Jr., the Executive Director of the National Pullman Museum and Pullman National Monument, asked if it was possible to use TIF dollars for “cultural economic development” under the umbrella of tourism. Ald. Moore deferred his question to Grisham and said they could discuss the issue after the meeting.

And of course, no committee meeting would be complete without testimony from George Blakemore. After giving an impassioned speech about what he described as a land grab in the city’s predominantly African American communities, Ald. David Moore (17) said Blakemore’s comments had merit and demanded more transparency from DPD.

By Tina Sfondeles and Becky Schlikerman

Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Chicago is closing two family shelters and two child development centers in Chicago July 1 because of “uncertainty around government funding,” a spokeswoman for the not-for-profit social service agency said Saturday.

Kristine Kappel said Catholic Charities will close these centers: St. Francis De Paula Interim Housing at 7811 S. Ellis in Chatham, Our Lady of Solace at 6212 S. Sangamon in Englewood, Grace Mission Child Development Center at 5332 S. Western Ave. in Gage Park and St. Aloysius Child Development Center at 1510 N. Claremont in Wicker Park.

“These decisions are never easy,” Kappel said. “After an exhaustive and comprehensive review of all of our 155 programs and locations, we determined it was not fiscally responsible to continue operating these locations. Like many non-profits, we are stretched beyond a point of fiscal capability.”

She said the agency will work with city officials and other community groups to “ensure these individuals, families and children have safe, caring places to live and learn.”

“We have been working closely with them to ensure that the families and individuals that will be impacted by the closures will have shelter or housing to go to before the doors close at the end of June,” said Matt Smith, a spokesman for the city Department of Family & Support Services, which provides funding for the Our Lady of Solace and St. Francis De Paula sites.

“We have already secured 60 beds — more than half the amount needed — and are working with Catholic Charities to secure the necessary information so that the remaining residents will have a place to stay,” Smith said. “We hope to be able to start relocating residents as early as the end of this coming week, and we are confident that everybody will be in place before the closures take place.”

Catholic Charities is one of the largest private, non-profit social service agencies in the Midwest, with than 160 locations in Cook County and Lake County serving more than 1 million people a year, according to the organization.

The two family centers that are being closed house one- or two-parent families with children up to 18 years old for a maximum stay of 120 days. Beside providing food and shelter, those centers have caseworkers to help residents apply for housing and search for jobs.

Grace Mission serves children 3 to 5 years old. St. Aloysius serves kids 2 to 5.

Employees were told Monday the centers will be closed because of a lack of funding from the city and the state. They were advised to look for other jobs, according to an employee who spoke on the condition of not being identified by name.

According to Catholic Charities’ 2014 annual report, the organization housed 1,726 people, including 1,139 children in its shelters and transitional apartments last year and helped care for 1,500 children at its nine child development centers.

The legal team at United stays busy tending to the many intricacies of a large airline, but that doesn’t stop them from having their own community service program. Volunteer lawyers and staff take on pro bono legal work for causes ranging from domestic violence to tax assistance for the less fortunate. Additionally, the entire legal team participates in a community service day each year.

Judging from their team culture, it’s no surprise that a group of 26 United employees from this department co-authored The Homeless Youth Handbook—Illinois, in partnership with Baker & McKenzie and the Law Project of the Chicago Coalition for the Homeless. The handbook’s 17 chapters cover topics including education, health care, housing and consumer credit issues, presenting them in a youth-friendly format.

“Homeless youth face a unique struggle,” says Barbara Thomas, a paralegal at United. “It’s important they understand their legal rights and have available resources to help them succeed. I’m proud to be a part of a team and a company that sees the value in important projects like The Homeless Youth Handbook.”

The innovative guide is available online through a specially-designed, mobile-friendly website, homelessyouth.org, and it is also being distributed in hard copy throughout Illinois to schools, libraries, public agencies, social advocates and others.

For the past year, CCH has assisted Cook County officials in planning this new misdemeanor diversion court.

By Lauren Zumbach

Cook County officials announced Friday that a new court will try to transform how prostitution charges are handled so that women caught up in sex trafficking are treated more like victims and get the help they need.

The effort comes after the state Legislature approved a new law in 2013 requiring that every prostitution case charged in Illinois be a misdemeanor, not a felony.

The Chicago Prostitution and Trafficking Intervention Court aims to give those arrested for prostitution the assistance they need to escape that life, while also reducing jail crowding and substance abuse and addiction among women in sex work, officials said.

The new court was initiated by State’s Attorney Anita Alvarez’s office in conjunction with Chief Judge Timothy Evans and the public defender’s office.

At a news conference at her downtown offices, Alvarez said the program was modeled after a program in Manhattan.

“We know that many women involved in prostitution are victims of human traffickers or they face issues such as chronic homelessness, mental health issues or addiction and they engage in prostitution for basic necessities such as food and shelter,” Alvarez said in a statement. “We strongly believe that this unique and coordinated initiative will bring positive results for the participants and their families, public safety and the criminal justice system as a whole.”

“It is a step in the right direction because it shifts the conversation and recognizes that these people, mostly women, are victims, not criminals,” Public Defender Amy Campanelli said. “It will remove them from the cycle of drugs, abuse and exploitation, and treat them as human beings, not case numbers to be processed as offenders.”

The court program will be located at the Cook County Domestic Violence Courthouse at 555 W. Harrison St.

Most defendants will be able to have their charges dismissed if they successfully complete the program, which will vary based on the person’s criminal background and needs, officials said.

Defendants will be offered individual assessment and case management, HIV testing and referral to treatment and group and individual counseling, with services primarily provided by Christian Community Health Center’s “Footprints” program, officials said. Other agencies involved include Chicago Coalition for the Homeless, the Salvation Army’s STOP-IT program, which works with victims of human trafficking, and Thresholds, a mental health services agency.
Those who refuse the program or fail to finish will have the option of pleading guilty and enrolling in an intensive treatment course as an alternative to incarceration, officials said.

Eithne McMenamin, associate director of policy for the homeless coalition, said the court will open on Monday and expects to see its first defendants after about a week.

Most sex workers are victims of abuse who have “a long history of trauma” and are in the sex trade as a way to survive, she said.

By Angelika Labno

Chicago’s legal aid community received some great news when Tom Morsch and his family recently committed to continue their generous endowment of the prestigious Thomas H. Morsch Public Service Award for an additional five years.

Tom deservedly has received a lot of recognition over the years for his tireless pro bono efforts and exemplary leadership in the legal community on access to justice issues. As a longtime partner at Sidley Austin and pro bono leader within the firm, Tom was one of the earliest advocates for getting private law firms to commit to pro bono service. Yet Tom always felt that the private bar received a disproportionate amount of recognition for their pro bono contributions compared to the lawyers who had dedicated their careers to public interest law at great financial sacrifice.

During his time as President of the CBF in the mid-1990’s, Tom got to know some of the many lawyers doing great work at Chicago’s pro bono and legal aid organizations every day outside of the spotlight. At the close of his two-year term, Tom wanted to find a way to recognize extraordinary public interest lawyers, so, in partnership with the CBF, he created the Thomas H. Morsch Public Service Award. The award includes a substantial cash prize to recipients, thanks to the generous endowment from the Morsch family.

“It always annoyed me that the people who did pro bono work at large corporate law firms were doing it on a lark; they were getting a lot of publicity and also were making a lot of money as lawyers,” Tom quipped. “In the meantime, there were people that dedicated their whole lives to do this stuff, usually working at nonprofits to help the poor or the discriminated.”

Since 1998, 18 outstanding lawyers from across the public interest legal spectrum have been lauded with the Morsch Award. They are champions for the poor, homeless, or disabled, or have worked tirelessly to ensure basic rights such as access to healthcare or children’s safety. Tom describes the “perfect Morsch candidate” as a top notch lawyer from a pro bono or legal aid organization who has made a demonstrable difference to Chicago’s legal community. He or she exhibits traits of perseverance and modesty, and is relatively “unsung” for their exemplary efforts.

Receiving the award was a like a stamp of validation for the first recipient, Rene Heybach at the Chicago Coalition for the Homeless.

“During that period, you didn’t see your colleagues in public interest getting recognized in a meaningful way,” Rene recalls. “Once the bar had a formal recognition of my work, it opened the door to consideration for other recognitions and benefits.”

Several other recipients have since moved into leadership or director positions at their respective legal aid organizations.

2001 recipient Meg Benson (now Executive Director at Chicago Volunteer Legal Services), echoes Rene’s sentiment: “The award served as an affirmation that I was doing a good job, which allowed me to move forward and make, at times, hard decisions. This was, and remains, a highpoint in my career.”

Believing that the recipients may be tempted to use the cash prize to do something altruistic with the money awarded or give it back to their organization, Tom made it very clear that he wants them to spend it on something frivolous, like the trip they’ve always dreamt of taking but put off for financial reasons.

“They’ve spent their whole career being charitable; it’s time they were rewarded personally for what they’ve done,” said Tom’s son Jim, who chairs the selection committee for the award.

Some have put the money towards tangible necessities, like a second car. Heybach, for example, set aside half of the money for herself and invested the other half to help her young nephews through college. Others have sent the Morsch family postcards from around the world—Benson’s family spent a week in London and Paris and another family traversed the Land Down Under. Tom Yates, Executive Director at AIDS Legal Council and the 2013 award recipient, took the opportunity to visit his daughter, who was teaching English in Vietnam at the time. He and his wife were able to explore several parts of the country, including Saigon, the Mekong Delta and Hanoi.

On July 14, we will add another name to the list of deserving honorees when we present the 2015 Morsch Award at the Pro Bono and Public Service Awards Luncheon. On the sense of commonality that she feels with Morsch recipients, Rene remarks:

“There’s a great bond I feel with folks receiving that award, and that feeling of support, collegiality, and collaboration gets renewed every time the award gets awarded. None of us can work alone, and none of us wins something alone.”

THE LOOP — A new charity campaign launched last week by a Downtown business group has already garnered more than $100 in donations and one scathing letter from a local advocate for the homeless.

The Law Project of the Chicago Coalition for the Homeless told the Chicago Loop Alliance on Wednesday that its “Change for the Better” campaign stigmatizes the people asking for money on Downtown streets, spreads misinformation about what is and isn’t legal panhandling, and violates the Illinois Homeless Bills of Rights.

“We worry about the stew of bias that gets cooked up about people that are in these desperate situations,” Rene Heybach, who wrote the letter and is senior counsel at the law project, told DNAinfo Chicago. “When we read that brochure we thought ‘this is setting our folks up to be targeted, especially in the tourist district.’ ”

Launched last week, Change for the Better implores Downtown visitors to give their money online to one of 15 non-profit organizations that serve the homeless instead of to individuals on the street. The website had raised $155 as of Thursday evening.

The campaign also involves the Loop Alliance’s Street Team Ambassadors, who passed out pamphlets defining what is legal “passive” panhandling and illegal “aggressive” panhandling to Downtown passersby last week. The Loop Alliance provides services on State Street from Wacker Drive to Congress Parkway to promote economic development and tourism in the area.

The CCH took exception to language in the pamphlets, which they believe implies any verbal request for money on the street is illegal. The pamphlet also advises Downtown business owners to call 911 as a first resort if they witness “aggressive” panhandling.

“The brochure suggests that ‘any statement or gesture which makes you feel fearful’ is unlawful,” Heybach wrote in the letter. “That is simply not true. If an individual has an irrational or bigoted fear of another, that should not criminalize legal activity.”

As of January, there were 20,546 people in Chicago’s Central Referral System, or waiting list for supportive housing. The average time for someone on the list who has not yet been housed is 322 days, Heybach said.

Instead of telling people not to give their money directly to the homeless, who she feels are being unfairly blanketed by the campaign as people who would abuse the generosity, the Loop Alliance and other organizations should focus on improving the environment around them, Heybach argues. She added the CCH was asked by the Loop Alliance to be one of the campaign’s beneficiaries, and the organization declined.

“What people are seeing on the street is really the lack of commitment of dollars to solving this problem,” she said. “It’s not the moral failure of the people on the street that needs to be arrested and treated with disdain, it’s really a structural question of the lack of housing for the poorest folks, lack of jobs, et cetera.”

Loop Alliance President Michael Edwards said pamphlets are being reviewed by its lawyers, and he would be happy to change any language that is “inconsistent” with existing law. He denied that his organization is targeting Downtown’s homeless population, saying he is “surprised” by the criticism and that the Loop Alliance’s street team referred 5,800 people to various local social services last year alone.

“Our record would indicate these are people with real lives, and if we can get them into services they need, that’s good for them and good for State Street,” he said. “We think we have the right program. It’s a bit of education and kind of connecting how people give using new technology.”