Organizers gathered Tuesday outside an apartment building at 7655 S. Coles Ave. in South Shore to show support for a resident who said he received an eviction summons due to his involvement in a tenant union. Over the summer, residents formed the CKO Tenant Union to call out deplorable living conditions at properties formerly managed by CKO Real Estate.
Russell Carter, who is a bargaining member of the tenant union, said he was given an eviction order on Aug. 13 by Halsted Taylor, the new management company that now oversees the Coles Avenue property.
Carter, like other members of the CKO Tenant Union, has been vocal about the conditions that CKO Real Estate left their properties in after it abruptly shut down in February. Halsted Taylor took over the properties in April.
As a resident at the Coles Avenue property for six years, Carter described the conditions in his apartment unit. His roof has caved in. There are rodent issues and water damage inside his unit.
He said he initially withheld rent payments in June and July because he wanted to hold Halsted Taylor to an agreement he said the company made with tenants, which included addressing building repairs in a timely manner.
“I was holding them to their agreement. I definitely believe that if you can’t give me my service, I don’t need to give you your pay,” Carter said during a press conference outside the Coles building on Aug. 19.
Carter said he soon changed his mind about withholding rent in order to be in good standing with Halsted Taylor. On July 15, Carter said, he tried to log into the payment portal to pay.
“I was planning on making a payment on the portal, so I checked the portal, and I saw that they had moved my ability to pay rent,” he said. “I texted them, asking them to open the portal so that I could pay.”
Carter said a Halsted Taylor representative told him that they were unable to work with him due to his union involvement. He also said he was told by a representative with Halsted Taylor to write an apology letter to the landlords for his involvement with the union. His court date for the eviction summons is scheduled for Aug. 25.
“They said they didn’t want to work with me because this union business has gotten out of hand, and it was suggested that if I emailed an apology letter to the landlord, that they might be more cooperative,” Carter said.
The TRiiBE reached out to Halsted Taylor and city officials. Neither responded to requests for comment.
According to housing advocacy group Southside Together, the union has met with landlords of the Coles Avenue property, Halsted Taylor and city officials on three occasions.
In a press release, Southside Together said Halsted Taylor declined most of the demands made by the union during the last meeting on July 22. The demands included “forgiven back rent, weekly building cleaning, repairs completion within 24 hours for essential services, an annual inspection of the buildings before winter to ensure proper facilities, proper security, and sensitivity training for the management company.”
Sahar Punjwani, a representative with Southside Together, said Halsted Taylor told tenants during the July 22 meeting that it was not possible to guarantee essential issues be addressed in 24 hours, but that they would continue to assess concerns in a timely manner.
Carter said the eviction order was filed two days after the union leaders met with the property landlords and the city on July 22 to have their basic needs addressed.
“On top of the fact that this is retaliation, the landlord is also going back on commitments they made to the city and to the union. We entered into negotiations with them back in July. The owners promised the city that they were acting in good faith to reach a mutual agreement with the union,” Carter said. “When we got to the union meeting, they acted like they were not prepared to discuss any of our demands, and later followed up, declining a majority of what we were asking for.”
In June, a Cook County Circuit Court judge ordered that two buildings at 6715-23 and 6952-58 S. Paxton Ave. be evacuated, with residents securing a multi-tenant deal of $50,000 in relocation assistance. Organizers have since demanded restitution for all residents of buildings that were managed by CKO.
The city also filed a lawsuit against owners and property managers of the 69th and Paxton Ave. property.
Lavern Craig, a former resident of the CKO-managed property on 6811 S. Paxton Ave., stood in solidarity with Carter during the press conference. She is also a member of the CKO Tenant Union.
“My neighbor, Russell, has been singled out to make an example to stop the union from continuing their job, which is to hold the owners accountable,” Craig said. “But this retaliation has only made us stronger. We are standing behind Russell so that they will not go after other tenants like this. No one deserves to be afraid of being homeless when you are a law-abiding citizen.”
