Uptown activists fight for homeless encampment from which residents say they're being forced out
CHICAGO (CBS) -- Activists in the Uptown community are trying to save a homeless encampment, from which they say the residents are being forced out.
Members of the group Rise Uptown – composed of Uptown residents, activists, and homeless community members – were evicted from an expansion area south of Weiss Memorial Hospital. They say they have now moved across Marine Drive to the future site of the Uptown Coastal Nature Center sanctuary.
The group was invited by a homeless encampment they say is set to be evicted from the area later this week for the bird sanctuary and nature preserve.
Protesters are calling on city leaders to stop construction and add more affordable housing to the neighborhood.
Specifically, they are demanding that a proposed luxury retail development planned for what was part of the hospital expansion area be called off – and that its permits be declined or revoked.
The group also wants the city to postpone the development of the nature center indefinitely, and focus on obtaining permanent, supportive housing for all the homeless people living on the site.