For two years, the western half of a beloved local park in my Rogers Park neighborhood was taken over by a homeless tent encampment, while the City and local authorities looked the other way. In time, reports surfaced of illicit criminal activity, mostly drug activity and syringes found around the site, and neighborhood residents, including students from the high school across the street, voiced justifiable concerns regarding safety.

Soon, the Park District was forced to cancel their summer youth programs, and the high school across the street, which had used the park for its outdoor sports activities, could no longer allow its students to safely recreate.

Many families are suffering a Covid-related loss of income but so are many of the people who provide them with their homes. In this Covid era, the cost of providing housing has increased while rental income has declined due to the inability of many tenants to pay their rent.

According to the National Low Income Housing Coalition, “mom and pop” landlords own more than half of all rental units nationwide (22.7 million out of 45.8 million). Here in Chicago, where small two- to six-flats and courtyard buildings make up so much of the fabric of Chicago’s neighborhoods that percentage is much higher.