Comments on: Drinking Through Gentrification

By: meg

meg — Fri, 08 May 2009 19:00:33 +0000

southsideriffraff:
I don’t see your post as a ‘complaint’ (my mention of ‘complaining above’ was about a direct, anonymous attack on an individual, rather than discussion of an issue).
Thanks for sharing your experience about gentrification (which is the shorthand term I would use to talk about everything you described). And I think it’s important that there is organizing going on to deal with it. Personally, I think we need to make both neighborhoods and laws that place the basic need for humans to shelter and community over the desire of developers to earn profit. If we don’t create a new power structure that does that, we’re going to have this same problem over and over again, as we have had in Chicago for decades.

By: southsideriffraff

southsideriffraff — Wed, 29 Apr 2009 04:38:10 +0000

We don’t mean to complains on your cool blog spots here but the developers in South Chicago are helping push up the price of homes that are leading to the tax increases and gentrification. The Claretians with their fat LISC checks are pushing plans to make South C green to sell it to the yuppies from up north. They talking about 250,000 to 300,000 for a home – that ain’t affordable for people in South C we barely making 25,000 a year – maybe for the peeps up north or upper east side but we ain’t got that kind of loot. Many of us are starting to see our rent jump up – most of our peeps rent. They pushing certs that we gonna have to pay for down the line as father Daley makes Chicago Yuppie Green – kicking out the Black, Brown and poor White – Since they started putting up their “affordable” criblets taxes have started popping up and they been working with the Popes and Neilly in the South C chambers to do things to make it harder for us who live there – like we got bike patrols giving tickets – we got community art projects from people who ain’t from the community – we got all these parking signs popping up that we have to pay to park in front of our own cribs now – we got all this green jazz going when our peeps need green for work, yet they ain’t giving us those jobs to make South C green – they bringing in their friends while our TIF tax money pays them.

By: meg

meg — Sun, 26 Nov 2006 16:28:46 +0000

I’ve deleted the comment that was recently posted above by “Ms. Ibanez’s truth teller”. I do not see my blog as a place just to complain about people; I think enough political blogs out there have this covered. While this does not mean that criticism of people is not allowed, (I have obviously made remarks about some of our country’s leaders), I consider it petty and dishonest to ‘rat’ on someone, particularly anonymously. If you’re going to shoot down a local leader, at least provide real discussion of what you think is problematic. (Ms. Ibanez was reported to live in Oak Park, not Pilsen, which the above commentator found troubling – but why? Is it wrong for a suburbanite to work on gentrification issues? Are there other sorts of ties to a neighborhood that can justify one’s political involvement beyond mere residence?) And for that matter, have the courage to identify yourself and your own blog, if you have one.
(To note: I’m not against anonymous commenting per se, but I think on many issues it can be damaging not to claim our own viewpoints. It detaches one from the consequences of one’s own thoughts and I think creates further unnecessary abstraction and alienation between someone and that which they’re discussing.)

By: Jonathan VanderBrug

Jonathan VanderBrug — Mon, 14 Aug 2006 16:02:37 +0000

Thanks for this article, and thanks for attending Green Drinks. The issue of gentrification is indeed an important one, a concern that we in the sustainability community need to continually consider. We hope that Green Drinks sparks discussions on issues like this, discussions that continue even after the last drink is poured. Please know you are always welcome at Green Drinks, and we look forward to seeing everyone at the Eco Transportation Show.