CHICAGO MATTERS: Inside Housing

Series Overview — Homeshare
by Julia McEvoy
Monday, April 1, 2002

"It weighs very heavily on my heart that there are so many people in this area which is so affluent, who need homes; decent, wonderful people, but they don't have a lot of money....We're talking $1,200 for a 2 bedroom...that's not real!"
— Willette Birson.

The Miners in their home

Personal Story
The Miners: Staying
Tuesday, April 9, 2002
An area couple's babysitter is murdered in their own home. Listen as they relate their story of choosing to stay in their home rather than move away, and how they faced the violation of their home's sanctity.

Bronzeville Class Conflict by Veida Hughley

Richard Coleman owns this florist shop in Bronzeville and recently bought a three-flat there.

Veida reflects on her report.

Landlords and Renewal in Washington Park
by Johanna Zorn
Thursday, April 11, 2002

Public Housing Resident Struggles to Find a New Home
by Andrea De Fotis
Monday, April 15, 2002
Learn about a resourceful Robert Taylor Homes resident, who after 47 years in public housing, has decided to leave for good.

Personal Story
Milton Reid: Panthers and Palm Trees
Tuesday, April 16, 2002
A mural painter enlivens the walls of Chicago's Robert Taylor Homes. He finds himself not only decorating interiors, but painting portraits of the residents' intimate relationships and drawing the details of their imaginations.

Three of the murals painted by Milton Reid Click on the photos to view larger versions of the images.

Training Chicago Housing Authority Residents for New Homes
by Linda Paul
Wednesday, April 17, 2002
Visit an educational clinic preparing public housing residents for the massive reshuffling of their lives under the CHA's Plan for Transformation.

Don Kimball standing in front of Cabrini Green

Personal Story
Don Kimball: The Visitor
Thursday, April 18, 2002
A structural engineer who is a rock-solid Republican is hired by a tenant's group to inspect the conditions of a Chicago Public Housing complex. His experience changes his assessment of public housing's place in society, and of the people managing to make their homes there.

Personal Story
Patsy Evans: Healing

Monday, April 22, 2002

Patsy Evans

A middle-aged woman is assaulted while jogging along Chicago's lakeshore. In the months following the attack, she doesn't leave her home, her singular place of security. By retreating into the safety of the inside, she recreates a space where she can heal.

Mobile Homes
by Jesse Hardman
Tuesday, April 23, 2002
The culture and community created around mobile homes

Terry Nelson, president of the Mobile Home Owners Association of Illinois, in front of her home		Terry Nelson's home when her garden is in full bloom

Virdajean and her mother, Geraldine Norwood

Chicago Matters documentary on urban nomads

Raising a Zambian Family in Chicago
by Andrea Wenzel
Thursday, April 25, 2002

Mary Muleya (top right) with two friends	Gordon and Emelda Muleya	Onlee Muleya

Personal Story
Rob Paral: You Can Go Home Again
Tuesday, April 30, 2002
Rob Paral grew up in Cicero, Illinois—and got out as fast as he could. His father, the child of Czech immigrants, lived there all his life with no desire ever to leave. The bigotry and narrow mindedness Rob felt his hometown and his father unapologetically displayed made Rob feel trapped, alienated, and resentful. But after moving back home to help when his widowed father falls seriously ill, Rob reconciles his relationship with his dad: under the one roof they alone now share, a son learns there's much more to his father than he ever knew.

Personal Story
Fred Jones, Paul Jones, and John Blanton: Miss Widman's House
Thursday, May 2, 2002
Over four decades ago, their shared instability of family and home brought three otherwise unrelated boys into the same house of charity. Through the caring, guidance, and sheer determination of one local woman they learned to define a new kind of home and to consider themselves brothers forever.

Personal Story
Ann Kauth: The Life Cycle of a Wash Rag, and Other Wonders
Tuesday, May 7, 2002
Ann Kauth works in marketing, more or less. She's a social scientist who interviews and observes people in their own homes in order to understand not only what kind of products potential consumers use at home, but also how, where, and why they use them. In watching people execute the mundane routines of their private lives, Ann learns about the remarkable lives ordinary people experience in the most intimate of places: their homes.

Restrictive Covenants (two parts)
by Jody Becker
Wednesday, May 8, 2002 & Thursday, May 9, 2002

Chicago Matters documentary on the changing face of Marquette Park

Zoning Laws in the North Suburbs
by Carlos Hernandez Gomez
Monday, May 13, 2002

Chicago Matters town meeting on housing the suburbs

Personal Story
Flutra Sahatquija: Homesick
Tuesday, May 14, 2002
Flutra Sahatquija fled from her home town of Gjakova in Kosovo, escaping the violence of the Serbian militia. After crossing over to Albania as a refugee, Flutra, along with her husband, came to the United States to build a new life. But Flutra never stopped looking back.

A Disabled Person Looks for a Home
by Hillary Frank
Wednesday, May 15, 2002
How the wrong home can feel like a prison for one disabled Chicagoan who is searching for an affordable home.
More information on this issue is available from the Council for Disability Rights and Access Living (312.253.7000).
Trevor deClercq composed the music that is played at the end of this report.

Herman Nelson		Public housing resident Margaret Craft shows how her wheelchair barely fits through her apartment door.

Personal Story
The Schwartz Sisters: The Blue House with the
Rose Window

Thursday, May 16, 2002

The Schwartz sisters with their mother

Anna, Heather, and Sarah grew up in a house that has become central to their lives. It's where they cared for their father as he fell ill from cancer and passed away ten years ago. Their home has become a core source of comfort and the crucial connection to their most precious memories.

Homes with Solar Panels
by Robbie Harris
Monday, May 20, 2002

Changes in Home Design
by Heidi Goldfein
Tuesday, May 21, 2002

Dreaming in Farsi
Wednesday, May 22, 2002
by Shirley Jahad

Senior Citizen Transitions to Life in an Assisted Living Facility
by Annie Baxter
Thursday, May 23, 2002