Feb. 07--Leading a crowd of more than 50 Uptown neighbors marching to Mayor Rahm Emanuel's Ravenswood home Saturday was 3-year-old Elizabeth Burgoa.
She toddled alongside her father for nearly two miles, her cheeks flushed from the cold, her tiny fingers gripping a cardboard sign that read, "I will not pay for your greedy ways, Rahm!"
Esteban Burgoa, who spent two years as a homeless veteran, beamed at his daughter's energy. But he wondered aloud whether the Uptown she'd experience in the coming years would be the same, richly diverse area he'd grown so fond of.
And he wondered whether the neighborhood, which for years has been on the cusp of gentrification, would bow to the same condo construction and retail growth seen in lakefront communities farther south, and force out its homeless, impoverished and mentally ill populations.
"We elected Rahm Emanuel to look after the people of Chicago. Taxpayer money should be going to the people of Chicago to benefit them," he said. "Like the homeless people who are suffering this winter, while Rahm Emanuel is nice and cozy in his home. Well, we're going there right now."
Saturday's marchers protested the city development commission's recent preliminary approval of a $15.9 million subsidy for a luxury apartment project in Uptown, which would include one-bedroom apartments available to rent for $2,079 a month, according to city documents. The proposed 381-unit tower would be built on the corner of Montrose and Clarendon avenues.
The project is estimated to cost $125 million, and would include a grocery store on the site of the former, vacant Maryville Academy. To receive the funding, developers must put $4.6 million into renovating the nearby Clarendon Park Community Center. The project has not yet been approved by the City Council.
Protestors believe the tax-increment financing incentive for developers will drive poor families out of the neighborhood. But they also feel discouraged by city officials' "unjustified" offer of TIF funds to developers.
TIF grants, aimed to boost economic development, divert property tax dollars from more pressing concerns like education and housing, protestors said.
"In a time where there's massive school cuts, where there's rising homelessness, where there's less affordability, (city officials) decide to take public money in order to build high-rise luxury apartments," said Uptown resident Anton Miglietta. "Why not use the money for moderate-income housing? Or why not use the money for public schools, which now they claim they have to close because there's not enough funding?"
Continued gentrification in the neighborhood makes him increasingly nervous about displacement, he said.
"The idea behind Uptown is that it's always been a diverse community. But to maintain some of that diversity, we have to maintain affordable housing," he said.
Protestors began their rally at Montrose and Clarendon, then marched west toward Emanuel's house, holding handmade signs over their heads.
"Hey, mayor, what do you say? How many people did you displace today?" the group shouted, followed by chants of: "Developers get bailed out, we get sold out."
Upon reaching Emanuel's house, the protestors took turns voicing specific concerns. Emanuel did not come outside while the group was there.
Alan Mills, an attorney with the Uptown People's Law Center, said local leaders should be focused on serving Uptown's sizeable homeless population, many of whom live under the nearby Lake Shore Drive viaducts.
"We don't need to use affordable housing to subsidize luxury developments," he said. "We have homeless people living under the bridge a block away. Think what $15.5 million could do for those people."
meltagouri@chciagotribune.com
@marwaeltagouri
