Thursday, June 12, 2008

* Chicago Journal Denied Access to Community Meeting

Ms. Swanson from the Chicago Journal is banished from Community Meeting


Chicago Journal Editor Lorraine Swanson was told she wouldn't be allowed to cover a 'Stealth Drug Rehab' housing meeting tonight in the laundry room that allegedly allows crack whores to conduct business.

Flyers were posted all around the neighborhood inviting residents from near-by to attend. They were attached to light poles and inside local businesses. Despite the local advertising, local neighbors who didn't live in the building weren't allowed in the meeting either.

Blane Roberts from the Heartland Health Drug Rehab Center and Anne Sullivan from the 49th ward alderman's office helped Mr. Gassman keep the reporters from finding out what Mr. Gassman is hiding in his apartment complex. Mr. Roberts was heard saying to Mr. Gassman "Don't worry about those people," as he escorted Mr. Gassman inside and slamming the door on the dozen neighbors wanting to get in. This comment was recorded on video - with Mr. Gassman admitting to "hiding everything!"

22 comments:

Fargo Woman said...

I'm flabbergasted! I really don't understand how this can happen. I believe it would taken only one of the tenents to usher her in as their personal guest for her to have been able to gain access. There is such as thing as freedom of the press. How did this happen???

rocket man said...

I have no doubt she'll get her story. I just hope that Mr. Roberts and Mr. Gassman do her the courtesy of taking her phone calls and responding to her questions. She's just doing her job for heck's sake.

The North Coast said...

Glassman is, unfortunately, within his rights as the property owner.

It is unfortunate that he chose to hijack the meeting this way. He rudely ordered us out of the room, and said that this is a "tenants only" meeting.

I believe the tenants did not intend for this to happen, and we all loitered outside until the meeting ended, and Lorraine was able to interview several infuriated tenants. She will have a really detailed story of the deterioration of this building and abuse of the legitimate tenants very soon.

My own landlord took the trouble to attend, and of course was barred. He suggested having the meeting at a venue off Glassman's property.

Hillari said...

I was out there, too, surprised that an open meeting had suddenly been declared closed to the community.

One tenant came out of the meeting, slamming the door behind her. She was very disappointed because she perceived that the tenants were not being heard. A few other people who were actually in that meeting basically said the same thing.

I met Lorraine, and I can't wait to read her story in the NewsStar. Roberts and Gassman may have excluded people from the meeting, but they won't be able to hide their behavior from the people who read the paper.

Fargo Woman said...

Nothcoast, your landlord's idea sounds like a good one. Maybe I can attend this one. Of course, Gassman won't attend but it sure would be interesting to have someone from Heartland there. Given that the Heartland accepts both federal and state money they should be willing to speak publicly about their side of the story. Of course, Alderman Moore's office should also be represented since these are his constituents. Anyone have an idea as to where to have this plublic meeting?

Fargo Woman said...

By the way, I'm trying to find the actual code/law/whatever that Gassman is violating with this stelth rehab. It was mentioned in comments in earlier posts that it is against the law to do what he and the Heartland are doing. I called 311 and I put in a call to the Lawyers Committee for Better Housing but they haven't called back. Can anyone out there tell me how I can go about finding out the actual code/law/etc. violations involved here?

- PEACE -

meg said...

My neighbors up north... I love Rogers Park and am so sorry that this has happened to tenants. For legal help, try CARPLS http://www.carpls.org/Home.aspx. They give free advice over the phone -- it's a hotline. 312-738-9494

Craig Gernhardt said...

Had Mr. Gassman not been so rude and ejected Ms. Swanson, I'm sure this story would've been buried inside the Chicago Journal paper.

Now I would bet this story makes next weeks cover.

Anonymous said...

I know this probably won't help dispel the misinformation being spread about this topic... but I wouldn't be a good neighbor if I didn't try.

I don't know where those public flyers came from, but that meeting was never intended to be any kind of public or community meeting. It was arranged by the landlord of a building as a meeting of the tenants of that building (and only the tenants) - in order to address concerns specific to the landlord-tenant relationship at that particular property.

It is my understanding that if a member of this neighborhood wants to hold a community-wide meeting, that is just fine... but it was entirely inappropriate to try and hijack someone else's meeting in order to do so. He or she (whoever posted public flyers) needed to set up their own time and place, perferably in a public space somewhere.

The presence of multiple rumor-mongering, and uninvited individuals created an entirely unproductive atmosphere for those tenants who were trying to gain factual information from their landlord, and from other authorities, including a representative from the ward.

Finally, allegations that there is a "stealth drug rehab" facility running from within that particular building are erroneous. There is no drug rehab program running at the building. And the program that IS located at the building is not "stealth" - as I was able to google information about the program easily.

proGun said...

For the official ambiguous descriptions on the vague and imprecise regulatory organizations concerning where a drug rehab may reside.

http://www.drug-rehabs.org/Illinois-Chicago-drug-rehab-treatment.htm

If this is a legal facility then enforcement of the claimed amenities should be enforced.

Additionally I question the wisdom of concentrated and unsupported residential exposure.

proGun said...

Hi All,

A neighbor, person that I never met, requested Craigs assistance with identifying what might be a problem.

Accusations that some of the new tennets made inapproiate comments and behaved poorly.
Very plausable.

Glassman is likely just freaked out by all the attention.
Rember life before blogs?

Ain't it a bitch to wake up and find your name and property featured on the hell hole.

I await Lorrains and others insight into what has been said and who these new tennats are.

Dan said...

Since Gassman didnt want to hear what you had to say at his building, he can be found at Spin on the corner of Halsted and Belmont, where I can assure you he would not tolerate a rehab abywhere close to his business.

He also plays softball on Sunday at Montrose Harbor.

Not too many places he can hide there.

RP Mom said...

amadatlc --
I also do not know where the flyers came from, but as a property owner in the neighborhood I appreciated whoever posted them. I was very disturbed that Gassman would not hear concerns from members of the community about his decision. He has lowered all of our property value.
You say it is an "erroneous" rumor that it is a drug rehab. You can put any label on it that makes you feel better, but it is a halfway house for addicts trying to get their life together (and visibly not succeeding). They openly discuss drugs and prostitutes. Not something we want our children exposed to every single day walking past that courtyard.
This is a community. A community that supports helping people get back on their feet. Our complaint is not that they live on our block, but that no one was told so that we knew who to call if it became a problem.
As for Gassman -- he proved his slumlord status by refusing to listen to his own tenants and by refusing to even hear community concerns.

The North Coast said...

The alderman in that area, Tunney, would also likely not tolerate a facility like a drug rehab center anywhere in that area.

Which reminds us of the real problem around here.

There's never a shortage of business owners who are really happy to shit where they themselves don't eat. They wouldn't tolerate their own neighborhoods being trashed and slummified, but they're perfectly happy to exploit and destroy someone else's.

The only way to keep your area safe is to have political leadership that is willing to do the will of the local citizens. That's what we don't have. We don't have an alderman who identifies with this area, or is concerned about its future. I'm sure HIS future, at least in his mind, lies elsewhere, in some place very insulated from the type of problems he is enabling in this area.

Al Iverson said...

Damn, I missed the meeting, as I was out of town, just got back today. Of course, I would have been kicked out, anyway.

So here's what I am wondering. I live a couple blocks south of this building, and I have an office right across from it. I frequent Ennui. Should I continue to do so? I hate to punish them, but they're in a building owned by a guy whom I now have issues with. So I'm leaning toward avoiding Ennui until something changes for the better.

Anybody else have an opinion on that?

Craig Gernhardt said...

Ennui is a great Rogers Park business and has done nothing wrong. Keep sipping coffee there.

Fargo Woman said...

By all means, KEEP DOING BUSINESS WITH ENNUI! Spin, on the other hand . . . I don't know exactly what kind of business that is but I don't intend to have anything to do with it.

Can anyone tell us what, if anything, Anne Sullivan had to say on behalf of the Alderman?

- PEACE -

Al Iverson said...

Spin is a gay night club. Come to think of it, if one wants to spread the word about the owner of both this building and Spin, the Yelp reviews on Spin might be a good place to do that. Yelp is quite popular.

Fargo Woman said...

I just got this off Alderman Moore's web site:
2:00 PM
Join CTA President Ron Huberman and me (Alderman Moore) as we cut the ribbon for the new station (Saturday, June 14th) at 2 p.m. The new station is located immediately north of the CTA parking garage at Gateway Centre.

What say we take advantage of that Kodak Moment to represent our neighbors and our neighborhood by demanding why he is looking the other way while Gassman moves another stealth rehab operation into our ward AGAIN? After all, it was his representative, Anne Sullivan, who says this is a non-issue - regardless of how the tenants feel about it. We could also ask him about his pay to play politics, pointing out that Gassman only had to pay him $15,000 to get his unequivocal support. He won't respond, of course, but if there's any media there, we might be able to make enough of a fuss for them to want to investigate the matter. Anyone interested?

The North Coast said...

Fargo Woman, that is a hot idea- let's use this ribbon cutting to draw wider attention to the problems our alderman is fostering up here.

Al, this is the time to be supportive of Ennui, which is a great coffee house. It's not the fault of Ennui's ownership that their landlord is a slumowner, and you can believe they're already suffering enough from having this putz as a landlord. Let's not further punish a business that is an asset to the neighborhood.

Craig Gernhardt said...

Can you freaking believe it? Anne blamed Tom Mannis and I.

Sassy said...

Craig, can we get an update on whatever happened in this building? Is Heartland still there? What about the renters? Was it resolved to the satisfaction of all parties or is this all still simmering? Inquiring minds...

'Broken Heart' Past Blogs