Posted on 04/06/2026 3:16:08 AM PDT by Libloather
Chicago residents in rent-controlled housing near a site being constructed to honor former President Barack Obama have reportedly unionized in response to the controversial project.
Residents of a longtime Woodlawn apartment building organized to resist possible displacement and rent increases they say are being driven by development pressure surrounding the Obama Presidential Center.
Tenants at the Chaney Braggs Apartments rallied earlier this month outside their building near 65th Street and Stony Island Avenue, saying a potential sale of the property could upend the lives of families who have lived there for decades, FOX 32 Chicago reported.
A California-based investor is seeking to buy the building and might either renovate or demolish it, according to residents. Tenants say they have been offered $2,000 per household to move out, a proposal they say falls far short of what families would need to relocate in a rapidly changing neighborhood.
Many residents currently pay between $700 and $800 a month in rent. Some say they have lived in the building for 30 or 40 years and fear they will not be able to find comparable housing in Woodlawn if rents rise or the property is redeveloped.
In response, residents have formed a tenant union to push back against the threat of displacement and preserve affordability in the building. They say the union first came together after the previous landlord abandoned the property about two years ago, forcing tenants to organize around maintenance issues and basic services.
Now, residents say that same network is being used to confront a larger challenge: staying in their homes as investment tied to the Obama Presidential Center reshapes the surrounding neighborhood.
(Excerpt) Read more at foxnews.com ...
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Why did this horrible monstrosity need to be placed in the center of the only green space within miles of concrete?
That prime piece of land only cost Obama $1.00. The center was going to ‘prosper the neighborhood’.
I saw it referred to as the Tower of Doom.
Obama’s real name must be Ben Dover ,LOL
ā¦ācould upend the lives of familiesā
ā¦gasp!! Like having to start getting up in the morning to go to work!!
Obama the Medieval Lord at the top of his Tower looking down on the peasants
An apt description, though I tend to visualize it with the eye of Sauron floating atop it.
It's the South Side of Chicago. Where the University of Chicago and Hyde Park border ends, the roughest and most violent parts of Chicago begin.
The University has an unspoken agreement with the "neighborhood" not to develop farther south than 61st street - which I always found strange. Its the ghetto - it NEEDS development.
They are living on stolen land.
“the previous landlord abandoned the property about two years ago”
why? ... Chicago doesn’t have rent control, though Woodlawn is one of the 10 most crime-ridden neighborhoods in Chicago ...
“forcing tenants to organize around maintenance issues and basic services.”
must be a total slum if the tenants of an abandoned building have to try to keep the plumbing, wiring, and heating going themselves ...
It was idiotic for the far-left Demochimps to build an Africus Monolith in the “wrong place at the wrong time.” Chicongo.
“His library which is uglier than the most utilitarian industrial building imaginable.’
His scthick was always in your face finger what are you gonna do about it attitude. He’s a resentful little prick. Hates everyone. This is his final middle finger in everyone’s face.
How does a ‘unionization’ of renters work? Do they pay dues to the union? Who do they negotiate with? What does a strike look like?
If the Chicago residents voted for TraitorBarry, they deserve a ten-fold rent hike.
He didn’t build it in Hawaii or in Martha’s Vineyard. He built it where he wouldn’t have to see it.
How do residents form a union? Is this a Chicago thing?
GoodnHard is the policy of voting or not voting in elections. The policy stands.
That is the Community Organizer's stock in trade.
Hate
You are oppressed, you must hate your oppressor.
Even if your oppressor gives you everything and requires nothing of you in return, you are oppressed.
Hate him with every fiber of your being.
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