>> Hello and thanks for joining us on Chicago tonight.

Black voices.

I'm Brandis Friedman.

Here's what we're looking at.

Shoplifting calling 9-1-1 too many times or just being the victim of a crime could get you evicted from your home in parts of Illinois.

A new investigation shows how.

Local author luvvie Ajayi Jones is encouraging kids to speak up and make positive change children's book.

>> It showed on that they can trust me that's they did.

>> And a West side team is going viral for her school bathroom.

Make overs.

>> And now to some of today's top stories, parents, students, teachers and neighbors will get the chance to tell the Chicago Board of Education who they think should be the next CEO of Chicago Public Schools.

The board is announcing 10 citywide meetings to help choose the district's next leader.

The first to be chosen by the hybrid elected and appointed board.

The board says it will host one meeting in each of the city's 10 elected school board districts and has unlisted and executive search firm to create a report from those meetings, outgoing CEO Pedro Martinez is set to leave in June after being terminated by the then mayoral appointed Ford late last year.

And fiery comments at today's CTA board meeting as Alderman David Moore warned directors not to be a quote, backbiting snake and to support.

Mayor Johnson's reported pick for the transit agency's next leader.

Morris comment came after widespread pushback to the mayor's reported choice of city Chief operating Officer John Robertson for the job, which was first reported by Crain's among other jobs and city government.

Robertson once served as Moore's chief of staff.

>> At the meeting, 3 board members publicly spoke out in favor of a national search to find a successor to former President Dorval Carter who retired earlier this year.

More claims that launching a national search amounts to moving the goalpost during the game.

Some directors pushed back on his comments calling them inappropriate and insulting.

The board must approve or deny the mayor's choice of CTA leader.

Immigrant families in Illinois facing uncertainty under the Trump administration now have a new resource, a coalition of immigration groups along with the city and state are launching a new website aimed at connecting immigrants with information and resources.

The website is Illinois immigration Info Dot Org and is available in multiple languages.

Organizers say the website will share information on policy changes access to free and low-cost legal services.

Guidance on constitutional rights and additional resources on housing, discrimination and public benefits.

A news release says the website was made possible through philanthropic support.

Patients living with HIV can find services and treatment at a new facility in the Edgewater Neighborhood.

Violent Health Plus T Pan has been open just 6 months but says patients are already showing improvements.

>> People have engaged in care for the first time they've become virally suppressed after struggling with chronic, not Hear Inc.

They've accessed prep for help to partner Access Prep and they've made strides on controlling their chronic medical conditions that they didn't even think was possible before they engaged in care with us.

>> Officials cut the ribbon on the almost 21,000 Square foot facility, which will house a pharmacy behavioral health facilities in the food pantry to provide wrap-around services in Chicago.

85 1% of Ivan help patients have no insurance or rely on Medicaid or Medicare.

And 43% live below the federal poverty line.

Biden says of the nearly 19,000 people in the city and county with HIV.

25% are not engaged in care.

And Chicago drivers beware of new speed cameras across the city.

>> You'll only be issued a warning, not a fine.

That is only for the first 30 days after each new camera is activated.

But after that period is over, there will be some financial consequences.

Drivers going 6 to 10 miles per hour over the speed limit will be fined.

$35 and those going faster than that will be fined $100 cameras in these locations began issuing warnings on May first and will start giving citations June 15th.

And then these spots will begin warnings tomorrow with tickets starting June 30th, the city says more speed cameras will be added throughout the year.

Up next, a deep dive into so-called crime free housing laws right after this.

>> Chicago tonight, black voices he's made possible in part by the support of these donors.

>> new investigation is revealing how in some Illinois cities a simple 9-1-1, call can get some renters evicted from their homes.

But local ordinances that allow bus known as crime, free housing laws were designed to allow police and landlords to evict violent criminals.

Drug dealers and nuisance tenants from neighborhoods.

But reporting shows some residents were evicted for minor infractions or sometimes for crimes they didn't commit.

Joining us now with more is Sydney kingpin a to a reporter at the Illinois Answers Project Sydney.

Thank you for joining us.

Thank you for having me brand as to what is the origin for these crime free ordinances yet essentially crime free housing laws were intended originally to.

Be a tool for police departments to empower landlords to get out problem tenants, people who are committing violent or felony offenses.

>> They originated in Arizona and made their way to Illinois and the early 2, thousands.

But what we found in our investigation and that is that there are thousands of cases where the original intent and the actual execution of the ordinance.

Is there there's a disparate there.

So to the point of what you found, more than 2000 cases across 25 municipalities in Illinois.

>> Between 2019 2024, what kind of offenses that those cases involved?

Yeah.

And like I mentioned some of those cases where felony offenses, they drug charges they wear violent offenses.

But we found 1300 cases that were for misdemeanor.

Some things as small as calling 9-1-1 for help.

child endangerment or for getting to allowing your child to leave the home.

So small cases like that.

We found over and over and also there are a lot of cases where charges were ultimately dismissed and people are not convicted of the crimes.

They were accused of who are some of the people that you spoke with into one woman I spoke with her name is Kathryn Garcia.

She lives in West Chicago.

She lived in her home for 20 years for into the town home with her 3 She had a son who was experiencing a mental health crisis in the summer of 2023 and had to call 9-1-1, dozens of times for help.

And ultimately the West Chicago Police Department determined that because of her costs and when she was a nuisance and they gave her landlord of choice, under the ordinance or be fined $750 a day the landlord could not afford that find.

So he had no choice.

But to did you find that some municipalities had a more aggressive enforcement mechanism or were more aggressive about enforcing the other municipalities?

Yeah.

>> I think the thing that's interesting about crime for housing in Illinois is that there really isn't any statewide oversight.

So it allows.

>> A lot of subjectivity and the way that the laws are enforced, cities like Orland Park, DeKalb, Belleville, they invest a lot more and their programs.

They have crime, free housing officers who work around the clock.

They have a data bases and its technology to track their their cases and they much higher amount of enforcement in their cities.

What's the ripple effect for families who face eviction?

Yeah.

By Kathryn Garcia, for example, they were lucky they had a friend who owned a home allowed them to live there for a time before they could ultimately purchased the home from them.

But they lived on the floor of the kitchen on mattresses for a month.

I've talked to families who are still to this day living in homeless shelters because they cannot find housing is very disruptive to the lives of families to have immediately move into a place.

Most people don't have enough money to pay the down payment for a new apartment or get storage within the 10 days that they have under the ordinance I imagine this is certainly more impacting of those low income families.

Like you said, those who an eviction away from from living in a homeless shelter.

But also did you find a disproportionate impact on black families, families of color?

Yeah.

That is something that advocates have studied over time.

We didn't do that specifically in our analysis.

But I think that's something that is interesting is.

>> Advocates had just have described that these laws create sort of a 2 tiered justice system where people who can afford to purchase their homes.

Art subjugated to these laws aren't subjected to these laws, but people who rent to do typically tend to be people of color are people who make less money.

There's another layer of the criminal justice system for them.

What's been the response of the municipalities that embrace these ordinances?

cities, I mean, really do believe in these ordinances, actually, in fact, today there is a vote in the state Senate to pass a bill that could put possibly restrict these laws in committee and even in the hearing today, the municipalities came with strong opposition to the bill because they believe that these are tools to get problem.

Tenants out of their neighborhoods may point to drastic reductions in costs to 9-1-1, S signs of success.

But critics say that, you know, we want people to call 9-1-1, when they're in need of help.

So it really is a conversation that is still ongoing.

And the other thing that's interesting is this applies to both public and private housing, correct?

Yeah.

A lot of times people assume that it only applies to government owned housing, but this applies in cities to all types of housing.

If you go on Craigslist and rent a single-family home from a private landlord.

It applies to you.

I met a woman who lived out enriched in Park, lived in a very nice single-family home with her 2 children.

They're the shooting down her block.

She called 9-1-1 for help.

A couple of times and the city decided that she and made an unreasonably high amount calls to police and ended up being evicted.

That city did in the ordinance because she see them later.

There were you will.

So there are 31 other municipalities, though, that did not respond here for your requests were denied it entirely.

Does that potentially indicate that they're even more?

>> Then the 2000 yes, there certainly more cases out there.

We asked for a lot of records from a lot of different cities.

Some cities just don't track their enforcement.

So they had no way of telling us whether of how many people got these letters.

I got eviction notices in other cities just did not respond to our requests.

The other thing I found interesting was that under these laws, police have the right to order a landlord to evict a tenant.

>> Which sounds strange.

And what happens to the landlords if they if they don't, right?

So a lot of times with the city's do they use a rental license as a bargaining chip.

So landlords.

>> Are required to register their properties with the city.

And if they don't follow the ordinance, they can lose their rental license.

So they're essentially losing their entire business, putting them in a rock and a hard place.

They really have to follow the ordinance, even if they want to keep a tenant.

Additionally, one of the lawyers that you spoke with in the story says that legislation won't solve all of the problems around crime, free housing.

45 seconds left.

What else to advocates say is necessary?

Yeah.

I mean, some advocates say that these laws aren't not good at all and they should be banned in their entirety.

California banned the laws last year and they're looking to do something similar in Illinois, but ultimately.

Advocates are hoping for due process for 10, it's an opportunity to appeal their case which many cities don't have a mechanism to do that for just being immediately evicted.

Okay.

Sitting to thank you so much for joining Thank you for having me.

course.

Up next, a local author discusses her latest children's book.

>> Whether it's asking for a promotion or confronting the school.

Bully writer Luvvie Ajayi Jones has become an expert on overcoming fears.

And speaking up her books urge everyone to become what she calls a troublemaker or someone who pushes for positive change.

She's guiding adults, teens and lately even little kids, her latest children's book, Little Troublemaker, Defense.

Her name encourages kids to stand up for themselves and their unique names.

And joining us is the book's author luvvie Ajayi Jones and I too share a unique name.

Yes.

So we're in the same club.

Welcome back.

It is good to be in this.

Good close.

It is good to see OK?

So before we talk about our names, what does it mean to be a troublemaker?

Oh, my gosh.

I think to be a troublemaker in this world is to be somebody who wants to be a part of positive change.

>> Especially in an unjust war.

And if you're somebody who was challenging what's going on, you want to be a part of seen a change.

So that's what it means to be a troublemaker to be the one who is the truth teller in the action taker.

Sometimes people don't here.

So you may get a little bit of trouble for but it's necessary.

You know, like the late great John Lewis said we should be ready to make necessary good trouble.

I think that's required of all of us What do you think?

It's important that children learn to become a little troublemaker because I think we also teach kid something completely different, don't robust and trouble.

Yeah, I think the biggest trouble makers on little at that age, young, don't have any filter.

And honestly, they're pure.

>> And oftentimes we will abuse the the pure out of them inside out of them or punish out of them.

And I think we actually need to encourage them to use their voice fiercely.

Now they can use a thoughtfully, right, making trouble does not mean, you know, creating chaos, but you can do it thoughtfully not want the kids to know you can do it now because we haven't got that message to do it.

Now, right?

The book looks at how to respond when people mispronounce your name, which never happens to me or especially when your name comes from, you know, a unique cultural background.

talk about you know what that can be like sort of navigating being different and having a name that not everybody knows that it's a yeah.

So many of us know what it's like to walk in.

Sussex lag souvenir shop.

>> And never see our names at all.

And with that also comes the first day of school when the teacher mispronounced your name with a look down the role and they go to this is hard and we kind of carry those scars, even if it's in the back of our mind.

I think it's really important for us honor names, not just ours, but other people.

So Trump make a defense or name.

My goal is make sure kids recognize that you could actually insist when people pronounce your name.

Well, thoughtfully, you can stand up for and your name is always worth defending.

How do you what's your advice on politely correcting someone because you do it frequently.

I have to do it frequently, right?

That Ajayi always just to confuse.

I always say, hey, that's actually not how you pronounce it.

It's a jai so you could actually stop people say, you know what, it's OK?

You did not get it right.

But here's how you do it right, right?

Because it it falls on us, right.

And where I doubles making them uncomfortable.

They really it is okay to make that correction.

Give people a chance to get it right.

If we never assume always assume that they're going to get along, actually will always get So let's give them a chance to get it right and say, you know what, here's the fix.

Books also include several Nigerian references.

such as Dollar Nigerian yourself.

How does your identity influence your work on?

My gosh, my days everything about my work is influenced is how I even write it influences the way I create this character like this character black girl with the Fayed who has a strong name and that was important because I was that girl, you know, in coming to the U.S. now is 9 years old.

It was the first and other.

It's the first my foot 2 different.

And that's because I was Nigerian.

So this girl's mind, you and I did its part of her.

She has a little patch on the back pack, but the Nigerian flag and I've heard from teachers go a kid went, I've never seen a book with Delphi, Senate and even that is not a nation.

We also, you know, we don't frequently see a book like you said.

He's cute little girl Levy.

She's got the fade got, you know, the illustrations in the book.

Tell me about the importance of, you know, of the representation and getting the illustrations, right?

Yeah.

I want kids to see her in state.

She looks like or she reminds me of my cousin or oh, my gosh.

I also can have a short hair cut and still be confident and funny and hopefully feel loved.

Best thing about little Levy is I also builds joy into the way we illustrate this book is in the fabric of the way I wrote this book.

I want her to always Walk Away Love.

So when kids clothes, the pages they go, oh, wow.

She made a mistake.

She grew from it and she end up having amazing day.

This is your second children's book.

Yeah, Little trouble maker makes a man says right here again on 2023. do want to get into writing children's books.

Children need to be spoken to.

They representation.

They need to feel seen feel heard.

And that's actually my goal with this book Seas is that I want kids to always from the book feel like they got a good time.

They got a good lesson and feeling good about even when they make mistakes.

Because I think sometimes we define ourselves too much by the oops that we make.

So the thing about a little love, always make a mistake.

But you always learn and grow the book.

As we mentioned, the Bo follow Little Levy and her adventures or any of these, like specific to your own childhood to do happen, to make a mess in the kitchen for sure, because I was overconfident.

My problem with that.

But I can do everything.

So it's starts to learn.

Here's your boundaries.

I understand your confidence.

But you also need my help as an adult.

So it's teaching ways for us to model, you know, you can be confident.

But here's what you can learn.

More.

Can't let you go without, you know, getting a sort of your impression of the times we're living in.

Yeah.

How you're using your voice and, >> you know, as a black woman, I think a lot of folks, especially in this political season are wondering, are black women taking a back seat now already sitting down being quiet?

What's where are you on that?

>> We are not being quiet, but our fight is not always physical.

I don't think witnessed he protesting.

We need to be organized and with each other creating mutual aid networks, we need to be doing other top work.

I think people are so use a black women, putting things on our back on our shoulders and our physicality.

I think the fight of this moment for us is about us Benin, deeper community with each other.

People that we love and also preparing ourselves for.

If we have to take on more responsibility because people are losing their jobs.

If you can't pay their rent or their mortgage.

So I think black women's job right now is want to take care of ourselves take care of each other.

What's next for you?

More children's books.

More Moore go on.

Definitely does more little truck maker coming.

There's more books coming and I'm teaching people how to write their own books through my book Academy.

So my whole job is to make sure that the words that he to get out, get out, OK, let Jerry Jones, it's a pleasure to have you in here.

Thank you so much.

Thank you.

of course.

Again, the book is called Little Troublemaker.

Defends her name, something we know a little something about >> Up next, a local teen transforms her high school bathroom into a hair salon.

But first, a look at the weather.

Most black people know all too well.

The costs of having their hair done.

North Lawndale students and budding hairstylist is cutting those costs by starling, her classmates, hair all from the girls restroom.

Now that small act of kindness is turning her into a viral social media star and also a budding entrepreneur.

>> Seventeen-year-old Jessica Thurman spends time between classes spring curling and combing her classmates hair to perfection.

The North Lawndale college prep junior posts or work on social media, taking pride in helping those who can't afford a professional stylist.

It feel good cause is shown that.

>> That they can trust me.

cut with ermine says she's been styling hair since she was 8 years old.

>> But she became a main event when one of her TikTok videos went viral.

Taking her pop-up salon from the girls restroom into the spotlight.

I starting land girl him to do here.

>> just random and try to do it close.

Yeah, we played wasn't light.

It wasn't That's why take it home.

Fix last year.

the U.S. Dollar School.

She loved it.

She to class an event Hedley perfect.

So what you just >> in books about 10 appointments a month and it's been the right style for her school community.

Jessica's act of kindness allowed for another young lady to smile.

Because now she doesn't have to worry about the bully or the like can I wear who cannot wear head?

>> She's alleviated some of those issues in my building.

I will be crazy not thank Thurmond is saving up to go to cosmetology school and hopes to open her own salon in the future are here in this community is our The current lanai is the flat irons.

The curlers, the hairspray.

It's very expensive.

So one of the things that she was just more focus on bike, I really want her family has even started a GoFundMe to help her chase her dreams and continue a family legacy rooted in hair.

My mom, she's started.

>> Harlow, hair business.

She wants to have school.

She was doing hair and the family.

When Jessica was I 3 is all she used to bring her into the wrong man and have her do her hair.

So Jessica Love doing had actually her practice on doing different staffs are air it also cuts hair his family.

His dad was also Barbara.

So I. Stallard hair and cutting hair.

>> giving her community a confidence boost one hairstyle at a time it's deal looks just good as >> the people charges are for these down south.

That's why I know it.

It makes a difference because they love to come to her.

They know they're going to get.

>> Good work and building a safe space for quick bathroom makeover.

>> No beauty school dropout there.

Jessica Thurman's family has raised over $3,000 so far on their go.

Fund me website with a goal of $10,000.

And that is our show for this Wednesday night.

Be sure to sign up for our free email newsletter.

The Daily Chicago in at W T Tw Dot Com Slash newsletter and join us tomorrow night at 5, 30 10 generations of kids grew up with.

Are sit down with actress Sonia Manzano to hear about her time playing Maria on Sesame Street, you representation in kids programming.

And we'll talk about a lot more.

Now for all of us here at Chicago tonight, Black voices.

I'm Brandis Friedman, thanks so much for watching.

Stay healthy and safe.

Have a good night.

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