On the morning of November 24, residents of 7500 South Shore, the five-story apartment complex notoriously raided by federal agents on September 30, announced the launch of their tenant union, representing a majority of the building’s thirty-six remaining tenants. More than thirty tenants, organizers, and community members gathered in front of the building, chanting, “When tenants’ lives are under attack, what do we do? Stand up, fight back!” The tenant union demanded the following, with support from Southside Together and the Metropolitan Tenants Organization:
- The court-appointed receiver, Friedman Communities, must take immediate steps to repair the building, including: full restoration of heat, electricity, and elevators; and removal of standing water, sewage, and severe mold from the building.
- Friedman Communities must work to relocate residents to buildings in the South Shore neighborhood, and must pay each resident relocation assistance of $7,500 no later than thirty days before scheduled move-out.
- The Chicago Housing Authority (CHA) must expedite the inspection and moving process for Section 8 Voucher Holders in the building.
Infiniti Gant, a housing organizer with Southside Together—a grassroots organization building Black, working-class people power and fighting for affordable housing, health, and environmental protections on the South Side—highlighted that the building’s unlivable conditions began long before federal agents busted down tenants’ doors and detained residents in the middle of the night without presenting warrants.
“No one paid attention to the fact that people were living here without heat before ICE came,” Gant said. “People were living here with sewage on the floors and mold on the walls before ICE. That ain’t right!”
“ICE was just the tip of the iceberg,” resident Mashawnda Price said. Since moving into the building over two years ago, Price said she and her three-year-old child have dealt with mice, roach, and bedbug infestations. According to Price, they went for weeks without power, gas, or a working shower, tub, or sink. She recalled that property managers working for Strength in Management, the company that managed the property for the last few years, dragged their feet on responding to complaints.
Price recalled that at one point the Strength in Management phone line was disconnected, preventing tenants from communicating urgent repair needs. Price also reported that when property managers did come to their unit, they did not complete necessary repairs or fix things properly. Without functioning elevators, Price and other tenants have to physically carry their elderly and disabled neighbors up and down the stairs, who otherwise cannot leave their units.
“When I tried to complain, management told me that I was being too aggressive and threatened to kick me out,” Price said. Price alleged that in addition to receiving verbal threats from property management, management sexually harassed her and other tenants.
Strength in Management did not respond to requests for comment by press time.
A community member (?) holds a sign that reads, “7500 South Shore Tenants Union.” Credit: Caeli Kean 
Resident Darren Hightower stands in front of the entrance to 7500 South Shore Drive. Credit: Caeli Kean 
A resident (?) of 7500 South Shore sits in a chair at the 7500 Tenants Union press conference, behind a sign that reads, “We Need Repairs! Fix elevators, heat, electrical. Remove standing water, sewage, severe mold, pests, rodents. Credit: Caeli Kean 
Resident Mashawnda Price addresses the press at the official launch of 7500 South Shore Tenants Union, with residents and community members rallied behind. Credit: Caeli Kean 
Resident Mashawnda Price addresses the press at the official launch of 7500 South Shore Tenants Union. Credit: Caeli Kean 
Infiniti Gant, a housing organizer with Southside Together, addresses the press at the 7500 South Shore Tenants Union launch. Credit: Caeli Kean
Darren Hightower, who moved into the building in July 2023, recalled that Strength in Management removed hired security from the building last year. “In that same week, we had a shootout in the front lobby.” Around the same time, management began taking in Venezuelan migrants. “But I’m not going to say they are to blame for the way the building is,” Hightower said. “They are not the cause and blame for the way we are stuck living today.”
In the summer of 2024, residents of the building formed a tenants organization after having their gas cut for 45 days straight. Hightower recalled Strength in Management LLC blaming the issue first on Peoples Gas, and then passing it off as a tactic to “get rid of the squatters and the migrants.” Hightower denounced this maneuver, emphasizing again that migrants were not the problem. “We were forced in with people who were coming from worse conditions that we’re living in right now… their money was taken the same way our money is taken… so I don’t blame anything on the migration situation. I blame shit on the leadership as always, because it’s the head of the lion,” Hightower said.
Tenants are not currently withholding rent but publicly announced that if their demands are not met by Friedman Communities and the Chicago Housing Authority, or enforced by Mayor Brandon Johnson and Governor J.B. Pritzker, their newly established union is prepared to escalate until tenants at 7500 South Shore achieve justice.
Caeli Kean (she/they) is a Nairobi-raised, South Shore-based freelance photographer and community organiser. Find more of their work at caelikean.com or on Instagram @caelikeanphotography.