Jan 21, 2010 6:18 pm US/Central
Tenants Claim Ally Of Mayor Daley Is A Slumlord
CHICAGO (CBS) ―
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Tenants of South Side buildings around 62nd and Kimbark took their anger to City Hall, demanding that Mayor Daley turn up the heat on their landlord, Rev. Leon Finney Jr.
CBS
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Rev. Leon Finney, Jr. controls the Woodlawn Community Development Corporation. It's the owner of four, federally subsidized South Side buildings around 62nd and Kimbark that tenants call slums.
CBS
He's a well-known pastor and longtime ally of Mayor Daley. But is he also a slumlord? That's the accusation angry tenants are making against Rev. Leon Finney Jr. CBS 2's Derrick Blakley was there as they took their protest to City Hall.
"The last straw was when my son was lying on the couch and I went in there to check on him, and there was mice on the couch with my baby," said Latasha Edwards, as she tried to choke back tears.
Edwards took her anger to City Hall, joining other tenants demanding that Mayor Daley turn up the heat on her landlord.
"You guys don't know how hard it is to live like the way that we are living," Edwards said. "I have four kids, and I'm up all night long making sure that nothing crawls on my kids."
Her landlord is the Rev. Leon Finney Jr., who controls the Woodlawn Community Development Corporation. It's the owner of four, federally subsidized South Side buildings around 62nd and Kimbark that tenants call slums.
"It's serious. They're living in mold. Ceilings are falling down. People have went to the hospital because of insufficient heat," said Rev. Andre Smith, one of the protesters.
A resident at 6139 S. Kimbark Ave. didn't want to be interviewed on camera, but showed CBS 2 sub-standard conditions. No worry about getting the carpet dirty, there isn't any; just a plywood subfloor and even that's rotting around the leaky radiator.
"Out of the 17 to 18 years we've been here, they haven't done any repairs. It's just been patchwork," said the resident.
The stove is on most of the time because the heat isn't on. And at another Finney-controlled building down the street, the back stairs are so decrepit, they're declared off limits.
"They have to enter the front and leave the front. If there's a fire, it's a fire hazard," said Rev. Smith.
The demonstrators disrupted a Chicago Plan Commission meeting, but Finney, one of the commissioners, wasn't there.
"It's unfair," Edwards said. "We're living like we are and he's living in luxury."
The four buildings have been under Finney's control since the 1970's and all have been cited for a long list of code violations.
Rev. Finney wasn't available for comment. An aide said he's on a leave of absence, but added as a nonprofit, his organization doesn't have money for repairs.
However, the four buildings are under contract for sale. If the deal goes through, renovations by the new owner could begin this summer.
(© MMX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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