The banner’s message was driven home by periodic blasts of arctic wind: “1750 vacancies = DEATH.” Chicago’s weather took an extreme turn on Jan. 5 when a polar vortex descended on the Midwest. Activists from the Chicago Union of the Homeless, People United Albany Park, Labor Against Racism and War and the Party for Socialism and Liberation gathered outside of City Hall for a press conference to demand that Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot open up vacant apartments, houses, and hotels to shelter homeless people during the vortex. The last polar vortex that hit the Midwest in 2019 killed at least 21 people.
Chicago Union of the Homeless secretary Johnny Bryant stressed the urgent nature of the crisis. “Mayor, governor: y’all need to get off your behinds… Every single homeless person needs to be sleeping in housing! Not in tents or doorways. Housing is a human right!” An issue stressed by all speakers was that the housing is there but is not being utilized to meet people’s needs. Bryant closed out, “Dig deep and open up these abandoned buildings open. No housing, no peace!”
Member of CUH and president of the homeless encampment on South Desplaines and Roosevelt, Ricardo Vara, called for the mobilization of homeless people themselves to address the issue of homelessness. “Chicago Union of the Homeless might be new, but you won’t forget us. Use us as a tool to end this [crisis]!” Vara underscored the life or death nature of the struggle by paying tribute to a friend of his who froze to death last year. “He died with his hand up in the air, frozen,” Vara said. “I kept thinking that he had his hand in the air waiting for a pair of keys that never came, because he registered for housing for five years and still nothing became of it.”
Candice Choo-Kang, speaking for People United Albany Park, drew parallels between the current crisis and the Great Depression 1930s. She noted how in the 1930s the working class combated police terror and teachers revolted against the mayor. “Have the ruling elite changed? [No!] We won’t change either! We’ll keep up the fight!” She spoke about the successful food distribution program run by People United Albany Park which feeds over a hundred hungry families every month, continuing the legacy of independent working class organization from the 1930s.
Kevin Pietrick, a labor organizer and member of Labor Against War and Racism, spoke about how homelessness is a labor issue. “When we’re speaking about homelessness we’re speaking about our sisters and brothers of the working class. Over 20% of the homeless population of Chicago is employed.” Pietrick recognized the bravery of coworkers of his who struggled to organize a union in their workplace while homeless. “There’s an old saying in the labor movement: labor is entitled to all it creates. So I want to ask you: was it the landlords who created Chicago? Was it the mayor? The big developers? Did they build Chicago? No, it was the working class who built Chicago and it is labor who is standing up to defend and protect the homeless in Chicago. Open all the vacant housing!”
Nick Stender of the Party for Socialism and Liberation noted the intrinsic connection between capitalism and homelessness. “To fight against homelessness we must strike at the very heart of the capitalist system itself.”
Tom Gordon, mayor of the Uptown homeless encampment and CUH member, closed out the speakers list by demanding urgent action. “We’re tired of losing our loved ones. We see people dying every day out here because of the cold. There’s no reason for it! Every year the body count goes up.” The press conference ended in a chant: “Fight, fight, fight! Housing is a human right!”
