#RISEUPTOWN FOR 11 DAYS: DEMOLISH FOR-PROFIT HOUSING

CHICAGO, September 7—When real estate gentrifiers at Lincoln Property Company bought out the parking lot of Weiss Memorial Hospital in the Uptown neighborhood with plans to turn it into a luxury high rise development, a coalition of workers and organizers fought back and the international communist Progressive Labor Party (PLP) was there providing supplies and communist  leadership to the struggle.

Organizers quickly formed an encampment out of tents, tarps, and tables, collectivizing the resources provided by the coalition, formally called #RiseUptown. Motivated by the belief that housing should be affordable, if not free, this anti-gentrification coalition camped out in the former parking lot and Covid testing center for 11 days.

Comrades have joined marches and led chants, gave speeches, and participated in workshops. The Party's contributions were very much appreciated. One worker even said, “Had it not been for [PL’ers] it would have been much harder for this encampment to run smoothly these past few days.”

When workers celebrate the presence of communists  and offer praise to our contributions to struggle, it is important to remember that our most important contribution is our revolutionary politics. While the reform struggle may provide temporary relief from capitalist-caused displacement, ultimately it will take the worker-run society of communism to end production for profit and meet our collective housing needs.

Workers resolve dispute, no kkkops needed
Actively participating within #RiseUptown has provided many opportunities to oppose the bosses, such as pro-gentrification liberal Alderman James Cappleman, as well as grow ties with the historically immigrant worker population of the neighborhood. But it also has provided opportunities to understand how to struggle with one another in a principled way within the mass movement.

On the night of the eighth day of the encampment, a local walked into the space with a six-pack of beer in hand and an agenda to be disruptive. He picked fights with several people and was eventually removed. However his presence compromised the safety of the camp and because the organizers in Uptown had been faced with a new challenge of keeping people safe without calling the police, many people were demoralized and unsure how to move forward.

The following day a meeting was held where we offered a solution to the group's safety concerns which relied on collective action and discipline within the community. The plan was that the next time there was a local disruptor causing a commotion in the encampment, everyone who was available at the time but no less than five people, would escort the person to the exit and close the gate behind them. Thanks to the community working together and standing in solidarity, one external threat was kept to a minimum. This was a small glimpse of how workers would handle such conflicts under communism.

Developers, politicians, nonprofits, capitalist partners
Capitalist housing is a hydra of trusts, hedge funds, banks, corporations, and even non-profits with interlocking personal and professional relationships between the key players. A holding company, Pipeline Health, purchased Weiss Hospital and two suburban hospitals in 2019. They immediately shuttered one of the suburban hospitals in nearby Melrose Park as soon as they purchased it causing the town to sue the corporation.

After holding onto their land deal for two years, Pipeline sold Weiss this May to a non-profit called Resilience Healthcare. However the same buyer, Lincoln Property, still retains the rights to the parking lot, even though they purchased this lot from an entirely different capitalist ostensibly in the healthcare business. Resilience was paid a $12 million rebate to deliver the lot to Lincoln Property. Pipeline paid Resilience for the already sold parking lot in order to ensure their bedfellow real estate developers’ bread stayed buttered.

The Big Fascists (see glossary on page 6) in the Chicago city government ensure the continuity of capitalist domination of the housing (and all other) market(s) as well. Cappleman hid behind the opaque and unelected city “Department of Plans” in a statement released in response to demands that he block construction, claiming “No elected official can deny building permits.”

Meanwhile, local non-profit Sarah’s Circle received a $14 million “anonymous grant” and $3.1 million direct donation from Lincoln Property to build 34 units of “affordable” housing. This “in-lieu” fee allows Lincoln Property to avoid putting affordable units in the same building as their luxury development. While non-profits like these are pushed as “solutions” to offset the crises of capitalism, we see that they only end up reinforcing the profit system at the end of the day.

Although #RiseUptown has been ultimately displaced and forced to retreat into the nearby park by the capitalist bosses’ henchmen -- the racist Chicago Police Department -- the encampment regrouped and is currently holding space while continuing the struggle against gentrification. Workers from many different backgrounds noted that the struggle in Chicago to resist gentrification was a problem that workers are facing globally.

Community members expressed frustration that #RiseUptown did not have the numbers to resist police occupation; however, even if the Coalition had 1,000 people, it would still not be enough to effectively combat the bosses’ hold on state power. In order for workers to challenge the capitalist bosses and their lackeys, it will take an organized mass Party of millions armed with communist ideology and motivated to end the capitalist plague on humanity.

The Uptown struggle is yet another front in which we must fight to build a communist future where housing, food, clothing, and dignity are guaranteed. Embrace the struggle to secure this future. Join PLP! Metro Access Transit Workers Win Improvements but the Struggle Continues!