The South Side Weekly is an independent non-profit newspaper by and for the South Side of Chicago. We provide high-quality, critical arts and public interest coverage, and equip and develop journalists, artists, photographers, and mediamakers of all backgrounds.
Volume 12, Issue 4
Editors-in-Chief Jacqueline Serrato
Adam Przybyl
Investigations Editor Jim Daley
Senior Editors Martha Bayne
Christopher Good
Olivia Stovicek
Sam Stecklow
Alma Campos
Jocelyn Martinez-Rosales
Community Builder Chima Ikoro
Public Meetings Editor Scott Pemberton
Deputy Visuals Editor Shane Tolentino
Staff Illustrators Mell Montezuma
Shane Tolentino
Director of Fact Checking: Ellie Gilbert-Bair
Fact Checkers: Isabella Bonito
Bridget Craig
Jim Daley
Patrick Edwards
Cordell Longstreath
Zoe Pharo
Arieon Whittsey
Layout Editor Tony Zralka
Executive Director Malik Jackson
Office Manager Mary Leonard
Advertising Manager Susan Malone
Webmaster Pat Sier
The Weekly publishes online weekly and in print every other Thursday. We seek contributions from all over the city.
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IN CHICAGO
The Backlash Against DEI
Following the 2020 murder of George Floyd by a Minneapolis police officer, Black Lives Matter protests reached a high-water mark across the United States. The movement, which began in 2013 in response to police killings of Black people, became more militant, with protests engulfing major cities for weeks. The demonstrations spurred a national reckoning on systemic racism. In their wake, corporations, nonprofits, and government agencies ramped up the adoption of policies around diversity, equity, and inclusion, or DEI. Such efforts were broadly popular: as recently as 2023, a Pew Research poll found 56 percent of employees positively viewed increasing DEI at work, and just 16 percent viewed it negatively. That same year, however, DEI professionals hired after 2020 were already being phased out, with tech companies leading the regressive charge.
Now, the backlash against DEI has reached a fever pitch. Since the Supreme Court overturned affirmative action in 2023, dozens of state legislatures have advanced legislation aimed at outlawing DEI initiatives, and eleven have already signed such bans into law. Codifying such rollbacks is the latest shameful chapter in a decades-long push to undo the gains won by the Civil Rights Movement. In January, President Donald Trump signed an executive order declaring DEI “illegal and immoral discrimination programs” and ordering federal agencies to terminate any “equity-related” plans, grants, and contracts. Following the order, the Air Force removed references to the Tuskegee Airmen from its training programs, the Department of Education put DEI employees on administrative leave and scrubbed websites of DEI training materials, and the Public Broadcasting Service closed its DEI office.
Retail corporations have largely followed suit. Target announced in January it would end a program designed to focus on selling Black-owned products and halt its DEI initiatives. Lowe’s scrapped their DEI programs, as did Walmart—the latter sparking a protest from shareholders. McDonald’s “evolved” its diversity efforts.
In response to the corporate backlash against DEI, the NAACP launched a “Black Consumer Advisory” (bit.ly/AdvisoryNAACP) on February 15. Noting that Black people have $1.7 trillion of buying power, the advisory urges Black consumers to spend money at businesses that maintain DEI commitments, support Black-owned businesses, and stay informed about corporate rollbacks. In a press release, NAACP President Derrick Jackson said, “If corporations want our dollars, they better be ready to do the right thing.” In addition to listing corporations that rolled back equity initiatives, the advisory lists companies that have stayed committed to DEI, such as Costco, Delta Airlines, Apple, and Ben & Jerry’s.
Black-owned companies abound in Chicago. The local ecosystem of Black businesses boasts restaurants, salons, professional services, event spaces, retail outlets, real-estate developers, mom-and-pop stores and more. If you want to spend your dollar in the community, there are plenty of high-quality options to choose from.
IN THIS ISSUE
city council pumps the brakes on borrowing plan
Two mayoral opponents used a parliamentary maneuver to delay a vote on Johnson’s infrastructure bond measure.
jim daley .................................................. 4 public meetings report
A recap of select open meetings at the local, county, and state level.
scott pemberton and documenters .... 5 how one immigrant advocacy organization strategizes against trump With Chicago being called ground zero for deportation, ICIRR’s coalition of community groups are organizing on multiple fronts.
haircuts, tattoos and punch: newly arrived migrants are using creativity and cultures to overcome work barriers
Some of Chicago’s newest residents apply entrepreneurial skills to survive in a new country. abena bediako, city bureau 9 cortes de cabello, tatuajes y ponche venezolano: los migrantes recién llegados utilizan la creatividad y cultura para superar las barreras laborales
Algunos de los residentes más nuevos de Chicago aplican habilidades empresariales para sobrevivir en un nuevo país.
abena bediako, city bureau 11 library exhibit honors black steelworkers
Highlights include three Black steelworkers who founded unions and fought for workers’ rights. dierdre robinson 14
little village unites against ice raids
In a powerful display of solidarity hundreds of residents and activists took to the streets to defend their community and demand an end to deportations.
josé abonce ............................................ 16
front and center: latinas redefine music—and sisterhood
Six Latina bandleaders discussed music, navigating machismo, and uplifting one another ahead of the Sor Juana Festival.
jocelyn martinez-rosales ................... 18 what makes day labor so difficult for chicago migrants
As asylum seekers navigate the day labor sector, labor organizations are stepping in to help them advocate for their rights.
erika pérez, city bureau 19
Cover photo: Steelworkers at a union meeting at Good Shepherd Community Center in Washington Park, 1942. Photo by Jack Delano. Retrieved from the Library of Congress.
Amid an ongoing authoritarian power-grab by Trump, his puppet-masters in the Heritage Foundation, and Elon Musk, it’s easy to be overwhelmed. Feckless Democratic leadership seems unwilling or unable to mount an opposition to the coup, and ordinary people may feel our power is limited. But the dollar still reigns supreme in America, and it’s one thing the powerful—be they billionaires, corporate CEOs, or a president with dictatorial ambitions—pay attention to. A boycott won one of the first victories in the Civil Rights Movement, and it remains a powerful weapon in the arsenal of justice. Shop local and buy Black.
¿por qué el trabajo jornalero es tan difícil para los migrantes en chicago?
Mientras los solicitantes de asilo se abren paso en el sector del trabajo jornalero, las organizaciones laborales están interviniendo para ayudarlos a defender sus derechos. erika pérez, city bureau 21 recoechi speaks his piece Rapper and community builder Recoechi reflects on his trip to Ghana and the intersection of his artistic and spiritual journey ahead of his new project, FLAVAZ. ms. mamas ............................................... 24
How One Immigrant Advocacy Organization Strategizes Against Trump
With Chicago being called ground zero for deportation, ICIRR’s coalition of community groups are organizing on multiple fronts.
BY CORDELL LONGSTREATH
It has been a little over a month since President Donald Trump’s deportation campaign began spreading anxiety in communities across the nation. Officials in Illinois and community organizations in Chicago have taken a stand against it. One non-profit, the Illinois Coalition
For Immigrant and Refugee Rights (ICIRR), has been a leader in immigrant advocacy work since 1986 and they have continued to be a major supporter for individuals and families who have been harmed by the Trump administration’s deportation threats. They have been
leaders in preparing immigrants to know their rights and gain citizenship—as well as managing the largest hotline in the state of Illinois for reporting ICE activity (1-855-HELP-MY-FAMILY).
The Weekly spoke with Brandon Lee, ICIRR’s communications director, about
how the coalition is adapting to the new landscape. Senior Policy Counsel Fred Tsao added some points of clarity on the legality of enforcement tactics.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
Immigrant organizations are working together to teach communities about their rights and operate a hotline for reporting ICE sightings. Collage from South Side Weekly's archives
What has your work been like since the election?
Brandon Lee: Since the election, we’ve been focused on three areas of work for us in the coalition. One is updating and sharing our Know Your Rights materials with our member organizations across the state, which includes hosting Know Your Rights workshops for community-based organizations and faith organizations and doing “Train the Trainer” sessions so that other people can lead their own Know Your Rights workshops. We’ve been bringing our members, community leaders, and volunteers together to start these neighborhood-based rapid-response teams. These are groups that will, in collaboration with our family support network hotline, receive calls about suspected ICE enforcement in the area, and they will go and check it out to see if it’s really ICE, or, if they arrive after the fact, which is what happens most of the time, then they’ll try to find out more information about whether ICE was present, canvass the area, and pass out additional Know Your Rights info. It’s not different from how a reporter might investigate a tip. You’ll go to the area and you’ll try to find out what happened. The third part is preserving our local welcoming ordinances, [like] the Chicago Welcoming City Ordinance, the Illinois TRUST Act, and the Illinois Way Forward Act. All of these laws combined prevent police from collaborating with ICE and prevent ICE from operating detention centers [in Illinois].
Do you feel that the defenses were built out during Trump’s first term?
BL: Some of this was built out in Trump’s first term. We have several of the community-based teams from 2017 to 2018 who are doing the ICE lookout again. And then it was in that first Trump era that our coalition pushed for the TRUST Act, to put in some of those separations between police and ICE that have been strengthened through subsequent legislation. But it was the 2017 push that was the direct response to Trump’s election in 2016. With this new iteration of Trump and ICE, what have been the biggest obstacles?
BL: There is something about the degree to which they’re going from zero to 100 on enforcement from the jump. It’s horrifying. In the campaign, you had the signs that they passed out at the Republican National Convention all saying “Mass Deportations Now,” and then you have Trump. There were times when Trump would walk it back, you know, “We’re focusing on certain people.” We would love to do something for DACA recipients, to protect them, or anything like that, right? He kind of moderates himself on immigration, but the reality of the first week is that they’re not moderate on immigration. They’re going full force on deportations. And it really is causing a sense of fear.
We’re starting to speak with more families who have had a family member who has been detained. Dr. Phil [McGraw] was in town to be a part of portraying this operation from the enforcement side and all of this contributes to the sort of spectacle that Trump is trying to create and the fear that he’s trying to create in communities. Now, we look at that; we look at the Know Your Rights effort, which is our member organizations and organic operations; other communities, other institutions, other groups of volunteers, other groups of local leaders, churches, unions, what have you, all of whom are sharing this vital information that is empowering for people to know their rights. To know that they have the right to not open the door, that they have the right to remain silent, like you have the right to ask for an attorney. If you’ve watched one episode of Law and Order, you know that there is a feeling that people are empowered when they know their rights and there is a sense of safety when you know that people in your community are looking out for one another and have your back.
The optics-based strategy by the Trump administration, compared to Biden’s approach, showcases how each iteration of resistance adapts. How does ICIRR continue to fight with a transforming strategy towards deportation?
BL: What you’re bringing up has been a challenge for immigrant rights advocates and immigrant communities over the course of multiple presidential
administrations across political parties. [Former President Barack] Obama had a record number of deportations; Trump ran on an anti-immigrant platform. You can look at the numbers under the Biden administration, so it’s not as if we’ve stopped fighting. What makes this moment different is the level of fear created throughout the campaign, and that was front and center in Trump’s messaging. Also, this swift run of anti-immigrant and pro-enforcement executive orders, like whether it’s the attempt to repeal birthright citizenship, which may or may not go anywhere, but it’s part of “flooding the zone.” It’s the removing of sensitive locations from ICE enforcement [restrictions], so putting schools, hospitals, and churches in play for enforcement activity, or if it’s deputizing these other federal law enforcement agencies like the DEA or the US Marshals—which is kind of like tripling the size of your enforcement operation overnight and putting a laser focus on Chicago throughout.
At Hamline Elementary School, a principal apparently mistook Secret Service agents for ICE. Though it may have been a false alarm, it showed that in Chicago the people are ready, even if previously safe spaces are being targeted. What are your thoughts on the situation in regards to the response of the school and the possibility of ICE operating around them?
BL: When we look at that situation, we track it throughout the day, given the atmosphere that Trump was trying to create, the confusion over who actually could carry out immigration enforcement, in terms of the departments, agencies, and things like that. We believe the school made the right choice [to not allow federal agents to enter the school], and I hope that schools continue to exercise caution and to look out for the safety of their students and their families above all else.
In regards to Illinois- and Chicagospecific policies, are there any loopholes or issues that have come up with this iteration of Trump’s campaign?
BL: We’re in the process of really combing
through the legislation and seeing where the difference is, seeing where potential pitfalls or weaknesses might be. So we’ll have some updates on that, particularly as the General Assembly session starts up or continues in Springfield. I think the Chicago ordinance the last few years has been challenging. I mean, South Side Weekly has done a good job of covering the community tensions and the different challenges that came up over the new arrivals mission; over the course of Governor Abbott in Texas, making Chicago a target by feeding into Trump making Chicago a target.
So, tensions within City Hall are certainly high, and that led to the early efforts to amend the Welcoming City Ordinance. That is sort of one of those things that we expect to continue happening as Trump’s campaign and enforcement efforts ramp up and continue to have a focus on Chicago. It’s important to not retreat, and it’s important to not comply in advance with what the Trump administration is trying to do, like it’s incumbent upon Chicago and upon Illinois to look out for its residents. We appreciate that both Mayor Johnson and Governor Pritzker have been supportive of the laws that are on the books. And this is a moment where, if there’s an opportunity to be bold or if there’s an opportunity to really push back against the Trump administration, that we can continue standing together, to stand up for Chicagoans and stand up for Illinois.
When Alds. Raymond Lopez (15th Ward) and Silvana Tabares (23rd Ward) attempted to amend the Welcoming City Ordinance, was there any type of reaction from your organization?
BL: We were out at City Hall to push back. We also looked to our member organizations to put in calls to all their people in their areas and ask them to vote no or reject the changes. It was a confusing procedural move where the “yes” vote stopped it from moving forward. But ultimately, the end goal was achieved that the amendments did not move forward. And I think it’s an instance of a couple of other people kind of willing to meet Trump halfway on enforcement, when really, if you look at the operation of his first two weeks, it’s broad. This is not something
that’s focused. It is meant to instill fear. It is meant to increase detention. It is meant to lead to deportations. It is large and chilling.
Has there been any reporting of the people that have been detained, of who actually has criminal records and who just happens to be here with a different status?
BL: The Department of Homeland Security has not been particularly forthcoming with putting out info. Congressman [Chuy] Garcia (IL-4) and Congresswoman [Delia] Ramirez (IL-3) mentioned at their press conference that they have been requesting this info from the Department of Homeland Security, but they have not gotten it. I think the other thing that Trump is clearly trying to do is trying to criminalize all immigrants from the jump, particularly criminalizing anyone undocumented. You saw that in the remarks from the White House press secretary, essentially saying anybody in the country that’s undocumented is fair game, and it is something that goes to show the frame that they’re trying to create around immigration and criminalizing the people who seek safety or seek opportunity in this complex and broken immigration system.
I think it’s incumbent upon us as community organizations and community members who have immigrant neighbors to reject that notion of criminality and see everybody as the neighbors, the coworkers, fellow students, and fellow church-goers that we are. The way forward is not in offending communities and, essentially, disappearing people. The way forward is in relief for immigrants. It’s in the programs that lift up all families of all backgrounds and all citizenship statuses, rather than one of exclusion and one focused on punishment.
What support can people get through the ICIRR hotline?
BL: The hotline was around for Trump’s first go-round. But we’ve also used the hotline as a more general offering for our program. During open enrollment, people call in with questions about healthcare
or for referrals to other social service agencies, other legal support, citizenship application assistance, what have you.
But we also have this option for support with people going through deportation or if your family has been affected by someone being arrested by ICE. So, compared to January 2024, we’re seeing five times as many calls in January 2025. And it’s a lot of [ICE] sightings, some of which are confirmed and some of which are false alarms, some of which are inconclusive. And then we have started to get calls of families where one of their family members has been detained and folks from the team, Organized Communities Against Deportations (OCAD) and the National Immigrant Justice Center, who are two of our really strong partners, following up with folks making sure that they get the community support or legal support that they need.
What can and can’t federal agents legally do when engaging in immigration enforcement?
Fred Tsao: Well, breaking down doors is only permissible if they have a judicial warrant, otherwise the administrative warrants that they usually have do not have the force of law when it comes to compelling someone to open the door or conducting forcible entry. Traffic stops: Nava restricts warrantless arrests, including traffic stops, unless there’s probable cause for the stop. [Editor’s note: In 2018, a settlement was reached in Castañon Nava et al. v. Dep’t of Homeland Security et al., which stemmed from a lawsuit brought by ICIRR and others against ICE regarding its arrest procedures.] So, ICE does not enforce traffic law, so there’d have to be some reasonable basis and facts that a person of interest to ICE is actually in the car. It’s not as though ICE could just randomly pull someone over and ask them, “Hey, show me your papers.” They actually need to have done their homework; they need to check plates, cars, and driver’s license information and all that stuff before they can develop the probable cause, which you know they may or may not do. So that’s the law governing traffic stops. Now, this is under the Nava agreement but it is an
application of basic Fourth Amendment law, too.
Do you feel like there have been any weaknesses, or maybe even strengths with Chicago's welcoming policies that are working in the favor of the Trump administration?
FT: The policies in place only cover ICE agents and CPD agents, and we saw the Justice Department is getting into the act. They’re deploying the DEA (Drug Enforcement Administration) and ATF (Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives) and Marshalls, and then there’s Homeland Security trying to deputize local cops and from other states, National Guard, and military. So it’s not just ICE anymore. We need to address that. I think one could make an argument that anybody working in collaboration with ICE should be considered ICE, but it would be helpful to get that clarity and
just say that anybody who’s engaging in immigration enforcement needs to be covered by this law.
Regarding the Secure Communities Program, is there any means of defense, legally, for individuals that are detained by ICE using fingerprint data provided by the FBI?
FT: ICE would still need to meet its burden of proving that the person is deportable. Secure Communities makes that easier by identifying people who might be out of status. And the person might still be eligible for asylum or other forms of immigration relief. ¬
Cordell Longstreath is an Army veteran, writer, community advocate and activist, and teacher. He also fact-checks for the Weekly. He last wrote about an INVEST South/West development.
City Council Pumps the Brakes on Borrowing Plan
Two mayoral opponents used a parliamentary maneuver to delay a vote on Johnson’s infrastructure bond measure.
BY JIM DALEY
Mayor Brandon Johnson’s municipal bond proposal, which would borrow $830 million to pay for upgrades and repairs to aging infrastructure, didn’t get a vote at last week’s City Council meeting. During debate on the measure, Ald. Bill Conway (34th Ward) attempted to send it back to committee for further consideration, but his motion was tabled by a vote of 27–23, indicating that a majority of the Council supports the borrowing plan. However, Alds. Anthony Beale (9th) and Ray Lopez (15th), both frequent opponents of Johnson, used a legislative maneuver known as “defer and publish” to push a final vote on the bond proposal to the City Council’s next meeting. Johnson scheduled it for Wednesday, February 26 (after this issue goes to print).
During the debate, Conway criticized the proposal’s debt repayment structure, in which the City would only make interest payments until 2045. In separate op-Eds published ahead of the meeting in the Tribune and SunTimes, Conway and State Comptroller Suzanna Mendoza excoriated the bond as “reckless” and a “scam,” respectively. (Both have been floated as potential challengers to Johnson in 2027.)
Ald. Pat Dowell (3rd), who chairs the Finance Committee, pushed back on those criticisms during the meeting. She argued that concerns about the City’s credit rating were misplaced, noting that the bulk of the City’s debt is due to pension obligations.
“Borrowing for capital projects already factors into the ratings agencies’
expectations as part of their outlook period, and it does not introduce new risk to the City’s credit standard,” Dowell said during debate on the measure. “This bond issuance does result in some debt being taken on, however, it does not rise to the catastrophic level that it has been made out to be.”
Earlier this week, Dowell authored an op-Ed in the Tribune reiterating her arguments at City Council. In it, she wrote that the twenty-year repayment plan is “the most conservative strategy given the city’s outstanding general obligation debt.” The Mayor’s Office trumpeted Dowell’s op-Ed in a press release that claimed she was “debunk[ing] misinformation” about the bond deal.
Ald. Jason Ervin (28th) was also strident in his criticism of the bond’s detractors last week. “It seems to me that when we start talking about what we can do in the interest of Black folks in this city, the flags go up,” he said during the debate.
The bond proposal wasn’t the only progressive legislation to hit a speed bump at last week’s meeting. An ordinance that would lower the citywide speed limit from 30 to 25 mph was voted down 28–21. City Council members representing Black wards on the South and West Sides voiced concerns that enforcement could disproportionately impact their constituents. A 2023 investigation by WBEZ and the Investigative Project on Race and Equity that analyzed two decades of data found that Black drivers are pulled over four times as often as white drivers.
“The folks I represent are not looking for more tickets,” Ervin said.
Ald. Daniel La Spata (1st), who sponsored the speed-limit ordinance, acknowledged that such concerns aren’t unfounded.
“Until there is greater transparency around where automated enforcement revenue is going, until we are less reliant on the Chicago Police Department to enforce speed, until that funding actually goes towards addressing the unsafe infrastructure at these corners, Chicagoans have valid concerns,” he said in a statement emailed to the Weekly. He added that a working group the Council established in January plans “to address those concerns in meaningful and lasting ways.”
La Spata also tied the goal of reducing traffic fatalities to the mayor’s bond proposal.
“The bond infrastructure package put forth today continues robust investment in Complete Streets and particularly safe infrastructure,” he said. “Unfortunately, it was deferred and published by two of my colleagues and we have to come back next week to vote on that. We will not be a safer city without putting municipal funding into this.”
The Council approved the so-called 1901 Project, a $7 billion spending plan to redevelop an area around the United Center. The project, which will be privately funded by Jerry Reindsdorf and the Wirtz Corporation, the owners of the Chicago Bulls and Blackhawks, respectively, will be implemented over the next ten to fifteen years and includes
thousands of residential units, a hotel, retail spaces, a concert venue, and a tenacre park.
A measure that beefs up enforcement of “curbstoning,” the practice of parking unregistered cars for sale on public streets for days on end, also passed. The ordinance, cosponsored by Alds. Jeylú Gutiérrez (14th), Ronnie Mosley (21st), Ruth Cruz (30th), and Andre Vasquez (40th), allows police to immediately ticket and tow vehicles parked on streets without a current license plate. Previously, owners had a week to move such vehicles before they’d be towed.
“Efforts to ticket these vehicles don’t work, because they have no plates,” Vasquez said in a statement provided to the media ahead of the meeting.
“Reporting them as abandoned vehicles has no effect, because they are either sold or moved before seven days have passed, which is what’s required under the current municipal code before the City can tow.”
The Council also approved the appointments of two new Police District Council (PDC) members. Marquinn McDonald was appointed to fill a vacancy on the PDC 002, which serves parts of Kenwood, Hyde Park, Washington Park, Englewood, and Woodlawn, and Keola (Keo) Jean-Joseph was appointed to PDC 024, which serves Rogers Park, Edgewater, and West Ridge. ¬
Jim Daley is the Weekly’s investigations editor.
Public Meetings Report
illustration by Holley Appold/South Side Weekly
A recap of select open meetings at the local, county, and state level.
BY SCOTT PEMBERTON AND DOCUMENTERS
February 5
A Local School Council Advisory Board (LSCAB) Candidate Forum for the East Central region introduced candidates virtually using Zoom. During what was one of six forums held throughout the city’s Chicago Public School networks, candidates were asked about their background, why they wanted to serve, and something they wanted to be remembered for, according to City Bureau’s Newswire. Ten of the fourteen candidates attended. The role of the advisory boards is to advise the Board of Education on issues related to “Local School Council elections, operations, powers, and duties, and school improvement plans,” according to the LSCAB website. Local School Council (LSC) members may vote on advisory board candidates from February 10 to April 2. A Local School Council “serve[s] as the governing body of the school,” explains the LSC website. The goal of LSCs is to support “participatory democracy” by enabling educators, parents, students, and community members to make decisions about local education.
February 6
At its meeting, six members of the nine-member Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago (MWRD) Board of Commissioners were present to consider twenty-six agenda items. Among the eighteen approved items were authorizations to advertise contracts for “truck scale maintenance at various locations” estimated to cost $82,000; “boiler tuning and maintenance services at various locations” estimated at $1.2 million, and “professional auditing service” estimated at $1.45 million. One item was deferred for later consideration: the authority to extend an agreement with the Cook County Sheriff’s Office to support its Prescription Drug Take-Back Program for one year with a payment of up to $80,000. Illinois law requires that pharmaceutical companies dispose of unused drugs. “The burden ought to be shifted back to the pharmaceutical companies to save taxpayer money,” said MWRD Commissioner Cameron Davis.
February 7
At its meeting, the Chicago City Council Committee on Finance held a subject matter hearing on the topic of municipal depositories and how the City selects them, conducted by City Treasurer Melissa Conyears-Ervin. “We are investing in these smaller to mid-sized banks because we want them to do business with our community members,” ConyearsErvin told the Committee. Sixteen institutions applied and fifteen were selected, according to acting comptroller for the City, Joe Flors. Anthony E. Simpkins, president and CEO of the Neighborhood Housing Services, said Chicago reflects the national thirty percent disparity between Black home ownership and white home ownership, which contributes to the racial wealth gap. Chicago should work only with institutions that lend and invest in all neighborhoods, he explained, and that will not abandon their commitments to racial and economic equity. Horacio Méndez, CEO and president of the Woodstock Institute, a nonprofit research and policy organization whose goal is to “advance economic justice and racial equity within financial systems,” said banks that applied have improved their percentage of minority mortgage loan borrowers.
February 10
At its meeting, the Missing and Murdered Chicago Women Task Force reviewed the Measuring Safety Annual Data Report, a comprehensive overview of the statewide response to gender-based violence in 2022. The task force has noted that overall domesticviolence-related shootings, injuries, and deaths have decreased in Chicago. Believed to be due to an increase in firearms purchases during the pandemic, however, lethal domestic gun violence has increased statewide. Produced by The Network: Advocating Against Domestic Violence, the report found that domestic violence drives firearm-facilitated murder-suicides in Illinois and across the country, noting that lethal domestic violence disproportionately affects people of color. On February 10, Governor J.B. Pritzker signed Karina’s Law, named after a woman in Little Village who was murdered by her husband. A press release explained that the law “allows local law enforcement agencies to promptly confiscate firearms from any individual whose Firearm Owner Identification (FOID) card has been revoked due to restraining orders,” also known as protection orders. Such measures are often put in place after law enforcement becomes aware of abuse. Proponents say the legislation will help better protect survivors of domestic violence.
February 11
The City Council Committee on Housing and Real Estate at its meeting was set to consider eight candidates for the fifteen-member board of The Chicago Low-Income Housing Trust Fund, a city organization that helps low-income residents find housing. The matter was put on hold after Council members said the candidate pool didn’t represent the city’s diversity. Chicago’s first chief homelessness officer, Sendy Soto, said city leaders reached out to organizations citywide, including the Chicago Department of Public Health and the Illinois Justice Project. But Council members voiced concern over lack of representation of South and West Side communities. “It ain’t enough to say that y’all want representation from our ward and y’all have one person,” said Council Member Jeanette Taylor (20th Ward). “This work is urgent and we need to fill these vacancies,” said Committee Chair Byron Sigcho-Lopez (25th Ward). “But we want to do it intentionally and mindfully especially when it comes to representation.” The Committee also considered transactions involving more than twenty City-owned properties.
February 12
“Saving one life using this pilot program would be worthwhile,” said CTA Chair Lester L. Barclay at a regular meeting of the Chicago Transit Authority’s Chicago Transit Board Based on artificial intelligence (AI) methodology, the program is expected to improve staff response times, prevent injuries, and address safety issues while reducing service delays. Speaking about the CTA’s anticipated budget gap between operating costs and revenue, the Rev. Dr. L. Bernard Jakes said, “The public needs to be aware and assist us in participating in lobbying and advocating… because it is going to affect ridership and service.” Over the next few years the agency faces a major shortfall that could lead to a significant decline in service. The 2024 operating reserve balance can sustain existing funding, the Board learned.
February 13
At its meeting, the Chicago Police District Councils 15th Police District Council— Austin received an update on the six-month Community-Police Mediation Pilot Program from Daisha Muhammed of the Civilian Office of Police Accountability (COPA). A consent decree requires the City of Chicago and CPD to “reform training, policies, and practices in… use of force, community policing, impartial policing, training, officer wellness, data information systems, and more,” according to the program’s website. The pilot ran from October 2022 through March 2023. Citizen complaints against CPD were mediated using a third-party mediator. Successful mediation was defined as “a process in which the parties have heard, clarified, and understood the issues and each other’s point of view,” states the program’s website. “The mediation may or may not result in an agreement.” The City’s Office of the Inspector General for 2023 reported that the program resolved six cases.
This information was collected and curated by the Weekly in large part using reporting from City Bureau’s Documenters at documenters.org.
Haircuts, Tattoos and Punch: Newly Arrived Migrants are Using Creativity and Cultures to Overcome Work Barriers
Some of Chicago’s newest residents apply entrepreneurial skills to survive
BY ABENA BEDIAKO, CITY BUREAU
This story was originally published by City Bureau on December 20, 2024.
Standing outside a Pilsen shelter on a spring day, Samuel, twenty-seven, observes the other residents as they transform the sidewalk along South Halsted Street into something akin to a Venezuelan street market. Parents keep their children close by as they peruse various gas station snacks, drinks and traditional foods such as arepas for purchase.
Samuel, who asked to use a pseudonym out of fear he could be targeted by law enforcement, is reflecting on his journey as an immigrant entrepreneur.
He started tattooing at age nineteen in the city of Cali, Colombia, where his family opened a barber shop and tattoo parlor after fleeing Venezuela’s economic crisis in 2017. But financial troubles found them again, and Samuel said he and his family had no choice but to leave Colombia and embark on a dangerous journey to the United States.
“You see dead people, people who were raped, poisonous animals that got into your tent, and you can get killed,” he said of the trip.
As Venezuela faces economic collapse and skyrocketing poverty, millions like Samuel have fled the country and have sought refuge in places such as Colombia or made the sometimes months- or yearlong journey to the United States.
Samuel crossed the southern U.S. border and became one of the more than
in a new country.
50,000 migrants who have arrived in Chicago since August 2022, when Texas Gov. Greg Abbott began a campaign to bus migrants to Democrat-led sanctuary cities as part of a protest against federal immigration policies.
Limited avenues to work legally in the United States, low wages and hiring discrimination have made starting a new life in Chicago challenging for many Central and South American migrants.
Samuel has turned to tattooing, a trade he learned in Colombia. Without meeting city and state licensing
requirements, he could face daily fines that could quickly total thousands of dollars. But with few options for legal work and the need to support his growing family, the risk is necessary, he said.
Like other immigrants before them, recent arrivals are turning to entrepreneurship—often in street vending or trades like barbering—to provide food for their families, save for future housing and start a new life in the city. But the work is far from stable. Frequently, it’s an act of survival.
City Bureau interviewed more than
twenty recently arrived migrants living in city-run shelters who have struggled to find legal pathways to work in Chicago. Here are three of their stories.
A Rising Tattoo artist
Samuel uses his body to advertise his love for his art form. His creativity jumps off his skin—a beautifully detailed owl spans his neck, and his left arm is completely covered in designs forming intricate patterns, to the point where the eye can’t tell where one tattoo ends and another begins.
The promising tattoo artist came to Chicago in October 2023 with his pregnant wife and six-year-old son, he said. His perilous journey to the United States included several other relatives, some with children as young as fifteen days old.
The group attempted to cross the Rio Grande to make it to the United States, but they found that the current was too powerful, Samuel said. They got stuck in the water and pleaded with Mexican police officers or immigration officials passing by on boats to assist them until a U.S. official patrolling the other side of the border took mercy on the group and called for help, he said.
“I think we touched their hearts,” Samuel said in Spanish. “They helped us and let us get into the country.” The group was detained but later released and flown to Chicago, Samuel said.
His tattoo equipment was lost on the journey. When he landed in Chicago, he
Daniel, a barber; David, who sells tizana; and Samuel, a tattoo artist, have used their skills to make a living. All recent migrants from Venezuela, the men are hoping to get work permits.
Gaby FeBland/City Bureau
attempted to find day labor at one of the many Home Depot parking lots across the city. But having to fight for each job often left him feeling defeated, he said.
Samuel’s wife met Chicago activist Luciana Diaz of the organization Panas en Chicago, who frequents shelters around the city, checking in on recent arrivals to see how they are settling in. Diaz arrived in Chicago from Venezuela in 2015.
“My wife [told her], ‘My husband is a tattoo artist, and he needs a tattoo machine to work, because we need money,’” Samuel said.
Within two weeks, he had received a new tattoo gun and a string of clients.
“She helped me to promote my work,” he said. “I got most of my clients thanks to her.”
His work comes with risks; in Illinois, tattoo artists are supposed to work from licensed shops and be trained on bloodborne pathogens, infectious disease control and skin diseases and disorders. Fines can be up to $1,000 per day, according to state law. Without the cover of a legally operating shop and a city business license, Samuel could face a similar fate as other migrants who have been arrested for working illegally.
At least for now, he’s willing to take the risk for the few hundred he can make here and there, thanks to some regular clients, he said. It’s also worth it for the independence, and it means he does not have to rely on day labor, he said.
Samuel relied on public transportation to get to his clients when he and his family were living in a shelter, he said.
“Transportation is the most challenging for me right now. I waste a lot of time going somewhere,” he said. “I calculate my time, but I cannot control the public transportation, and sometimes I’m late to my appointments. With a car, it would be easier.”
Samuel hopes to get an apartment, but eventually, he plans to return to Venezuela or travel to another country, he said.
“We don’t want to stay here [in Chicago] for a long time,” he said. “We just got here, and you do not know how your mentality changes. But time will tell.”
A salesman on the move
Chicago has long had a reputation as the city that works. This Midwestern work ethic is something many Venezuelan migrants can relate to.
David* (City Bureau is using a pseudonym for him), twenty-nine, has worked to provide for himself since he arrived in Chicago in May 2023. While he quickly found work as a roofer and a butcher—getting paid under the table— neither of those roles spoke to his passions or his desire to work for himself, he said.
Sitting in a cozy restaurant at 63rd Street and Woodlawn Avenue on a gray, rainy day in March, David described in Spanish how he worked to earn money on his own terms.
His grandmother’s prized recipe for tizana brought him a sense of security in a new country, he said. David makes the sparkling Venezuelan punch with freshcut chunks of melon, grapes, strawberries, banana and watermelon, served with a drizzle of sweetened condensed milk. Vendors make the staple with the remnants of fruits leftover from street stands throughout Venezuela, David said.
David credits the drink with “saving his life” on his journey to Chicago. For 2 and a half years, he worked construction, fished and sold tizana in Lima, Peru to make enough money to make his way north, he said.
The journey was dangerous, David said. He was kidnapped by a cartel in Colombia but later released. He also witnessed kidnappings and sexual assaults, saying some of the women taken were not released, he said.
“If it was a pretty woman, then they made her stay with them,” he said. “I saw a lot of ugly things.”
“After this experience, you see things differently. I felt very small.”
Last fall, David was selling tizana Downtown when five lawyers approached him for a drink. He immediately saw an opportunity to ask them for advice.
“I told them I needed a concrete answer because I wanted to work,” he said. The lawyers told him his best shot at obtaining Temporary Protected Status and work authorization would be to apply while staying at a shelter, he said.
He followed their advice, moving into a shelter in November 2023. Four months later, he received his work permit, which allows foreign nationals from certain countries to live and work legally in the United States.
While he has found customers throughout the city, David has had the most success in Little Village, the predominantly Mexican neighborhood known for its storefront businesses and street vendors.
Despite being a newcomer, David immediately recognized the opportunities in the neighborhood and gained a consistent flow of clients.
His success there makes sense to Nilda Esparza, who worked at the Little Village Chamber of Commerce before joining the Logan Square Chamber of Commerce as executive producer.
Little Village is a neighborhood where immigrants and their descendants can come to “find those things that bring them closer to home, that bring that familiarity and that uniqueness that you can't find anywhere else,” Esparza said.
Organizations such as the Foundation of Little Village work with local leaders and community members to provide bilingual resources and education that help emerging entrepreneurs overcome the barriers they face, according to the group’s website.
“They can't move around the workforce very easily, either because of childcare, because they're living in multigenerational homes, or lack education,” said Kim Close, the foundation’s executive director. “I'm not just talking about higher education. They might also have come from a farm in Mexico and only have an eighth grade education. That’s why they’re pursuing entrepreneurism—to overcome all of these unique challenges that they face.”
“We understand their needs,” Close said, “but I do think our job is to inspire them to think bigger.”
Street vending and small-scale entrepreneurship have long been economic entry points for immigrants and others shut out of the formal economy—a significant chapter in Chicago’s history that has shaped the city into what it is today, said Beth Kregor,
director of the Institute for Justice Clinic on Entrepreneurship at the University of Chicago Law School. The clinic provides free legal assistance, support and advocacy for low-income entrepreneurs in Chicago, who often struggle to obtain proper licenses.
“For hundreds of years, [immigration has been] part of what makes our neighborhoods have different character and different flavor, literally and figuratively,” Kregor said.
David’s time selling tizana in Little Village has inspired him to seek out a street food vending license.
“My dream is to have a cart, like other Mexican street vendors,” he said.
A barber in the making
Daniel, twenty-two, learned to cut hair after his mother gave him a set of clippers as a birthday present in Venezuela. He asked to use a pseudonym out of fear he could be targeted by law enforcement.
“I started out practicing on my cousins’ and friends’ heads, and I was very bad,” he said in Spanish through a translator. “But as I did it more often, I got better. Eventually, I realized I was pretty good.”
Daniel charged $1 per cut in Venezuela. By age twenty, he’d used his clippers so frequently they fell apart. But ultimately, there wasn’t enough work to make ends meet, he said.
“I would wake up in the morning, and sometimes there was food, but sometimes my mom didn’t have any food to give me,” he said. “I would sit some days and say, ‘I want to help my mom, and I want to achieve things, but I can’t do it here.’”
In 2023, he traveled to Cúcuta, a small Colombian city on the Venezuelan border. From there, he and his friends made their way to Ecuador by hitching a ride on the backs of trucks, because they’d heard it was easier to find work there, he said. The journey was difficult—the friends slept on the streets and arrived in Quito dirty and sunburned.
“But I had a purpose,” Daniel said. “I started asking around for a barber job.”
When he finally met with a salon owner, she eyed his dirty T-shirt and sneakers skeptically before asking him
to prove his skills by shaving the head of a walk-in client, he said. Daniel’s talent landed him a job, but it wasn't sustainable. He owed the salon half of what he made every day—typically around $4 per cut— to use its supplies and space, he said.
He then decided to go to the United States, hoping to make enough money to buy a home for his mom in Venezuela, he said. He arrived in Chicago in September 2023, but he quickly realized there were different challenges to finding consistent work in his new country. He got shaving equipment secondhand and had about five customers, but the noisy aluminum blades quickly wore down, forcing him to work day labor jobs instead, he said.
He visited Home Depot sites, hoping to get jobs as a day laborer. The most consistent work he found was assisting a contractor, who paid him about $200 per day but eventually ran out of work to give him, he said.
Daniel, who was staying in a nowclosed Loop hotel converted into a temporary shelter when City Bureau spoke with him in the spring, hopes for more consistent work to open up soon. Long term, he’d like to return to the fields he studied in Venezuela: engineering, computer science and mechanics—which he knows will be expensive.
Recent arrivals told City Bureau the process to obtain work authorization is confusing and cumbersome.
After months of advocacy, the federal government expanded eligibility for Temporary Protected Status in September 2023, opening the door for thousands of recently arrived Venezuelan migrants to apply for work permits throughout the United States.
City and state officials partnered with The Resurrection Project on workshops to screen thousands of people for eligibility for protected status or employment authorization through humanitarian parole.
For some employment authorization applications, the turnaround time was a few weeks, which “is the fastest [U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services] has ever processed applications,” said Eréndira Rendón, vice president of immigrant justice with The Resurrection Project. After the first round of workshops
in early 2024, about 40% of the people who applied received work permits, according to The Resurrection Project.
But that only applies to Venezuelans who came to the country before July 31, 2023. Only 30% of migrants staying in Chicago shelters as of late 2023 were eligible for TPS or Employment Authorization Documents, according to a spokesperson from the Illinois Department of Human Services.
Because of the federal restrictions, IDHS officials estimated only 5 to 10% of new shelter arrivals will be eligible for parole-based work permits and less than 2% would qualify for Temporary Protected Status, the spokesperson said.
Despite not having his barber equipment day, Daniel continues to look for steady work. He’ll take a job where he can get one, but countless other recent arrivals such as Daniel need more options.
Until then, many migrants like Samuel, David and Daniel will have to rely on these forms of entrepreneurship to get by.
Find more coverage on migrant labor by City Bureau’s Civic Reporting fellows here, including a Know Your Rights guide, published in collaboration with Latino Union of Chicago. Support City Bureau’s Civic Reporting fellowship by becoming a recurring donor.
This story was produced by City Bureau, a civic journalism lab based in Chicago. Learn more and get involved at www.citybureau. org. ¬
Abena Bediako grew up in Rogers Park and received a master’s degree in journalism from DePaul University. She participated in the winter 2024 cohort of City Bureau’s Civic Reporting Fellowship, where her team focused on how tens of thousands of recent migrants were finding work in Chicago.
Cortes de cabello, tatuajes y ponche venezolano: los migrantes recién llegados utilizan la creatividad y cultura para superar las barreras laborales
Algunos de los residentes más nuevos de Chicago aplican habilidades empresariales para sobrevivir en un nuevo país.
POR ABENA BEDIAKO, CITY BUREAU
Esta nota fue publicada por City Bureau el 21 de enero del 2025.
De pie frente a un refugio en Pilsen en un día de primavera, Samuel, de 27 años, observa a los demás residentes mientras transforman la acera en la calle Halsted en algo parecido a un mercado venezolano. Los padres mantienen a sus hijos cerca mientras examinan los distintos bocadillos, bebidas y alimentos tradicionales de las gasolineras, como las arepas, que están a la venta.
Samuel, que pidió utilizar un seudónimo por temor a que la policía pudiera perseguirlo, reflexiona sobre su trayectoria como empresario inmigrante.
Comenzó a hacer tatuajes a los 19 años en Cali, Colombia, donde su familia abrió una peluquería y un salón de tatuajes después de huir de la crisis económica de Venezuela en 2017. Pero los problemas económicos los encontraron de nuevo, y Samuel dijo que él y su familia no tuvieron más remedio que abandonar Colombia y embarcarse en un peligroso viaje a Estados Unidos.
“Ves gente muerta, gente que fue
violada, animales venenosos que se meten en tu tienda de campaña y te pueden matar”, contó sobre el viaje.
Mientras Venezuela enfrenta un colapso económico y una pobreza vertiginosa, millones de personas como Samuel han huido del país y han buscado refugio en lugares como Colombia o han realizado un viaje que a veces dura meses o años hasta Estados Unidos.
Samuel cruzó la frontera sur de Estados Unidos y se convirtió en uno de los más de 50,000 migrantes que han llegado a Chicago desde agosto de 2022, cuando Greg Abbott, gobernador de Texas, inició una campaña para transportar en autobús a los migrantes a las ciudades santuario lideradas por los demócratas como parte de una protesta contra las políticas federales de inmigración.
Las limitadas vías para trabajar legalmente en Estados Unidos, los bajos salarios y la discriminación en la contratación han hecho que comenzar una nueva vida en Chicago sea un desafío para muchos migrantes de Centro y Sudamérica. Samuel se ha dedicado al tatuaje, un oficio que aprendió en Colombia. Si no
INMIGRACIÓN
cumple con los requisitos de licencia de la ciudad y el estado, podría enfrentar multas diarias que rápidamente podrían sumar miles de dólares. Pero con pocas opciones de trabajo legal y la necesidad de mantener a su creciente familia, el riesgo es necesario, dijo.
Al igual que otros inmigrantes antes que ellos, los recién llegados recurren al emprendimiento (a menudo en la venta ambulante o en oficios como la barbería) para alimentar a sus familias, ahorrar para una futura vivienda y comenzar una nueva vida en la ciudad. Pero el trabajo está lejos de ser estable. Con frecuencia, es un acto de supervivencia.
City Bureau entrevistó a más de 20 migrantes recién llegados que viven en refugios administrados por la Municipalidad y que han luchado por encontrar vías legales para trabajar en Chicago. Aquí les presentamos tres de sus historias.
esposa embarazada y su hijo de 6 años. Su peligroso viaje a Estados Unidos incluyó a varios otros familiares, algunos con niños de tan solo 15 días de nacidos.
El grupo intentó cruzar el Río Bravo para llegar a Estados Unidos, pero descubrieron que la corriente era demasiado fuerte, dijo Samuel. Se quedaron atrapados en el agua y rogaron a los agentes de policía mexicanos o a los funcionarios de inmigración que pasaban en botes que los ayudaran hasta que un funcionario estadounidense que patrullaba al otro lado de la frontera tuvo piedad del grupo y solicitó refuerzos, señaló.
“Creo que tocamos sus corazones”, dijo Samuel. “Nos ayudaron y nos dejaron entrar al país”. El grupo fue detenido, pero luego liberado y trasladado en avión a Chicago, recuerda Samuel.
Su equipo de tatuajes se perdió en el viaje. Cuando aterrizó en Chicago, intentó encontrar trabajo como jornalero en uno de los muchos estacionamientos de Home Depot en toda la ciudad. Pero tener que pelear por cada trabajo a menudo lo hacía sentir derrotado, dijo.
La esposa de Samuel conoció a Luciana Díaz, una activista de Chicago de la organización Panas en Chicago, que frecuenta refugios en toda la ciudad y se comunica con los recién llegados para ver cómo se están adaptando. Díaz llegó a Chicago desde Venezuela en 2015.
“Mi esposa [le dijo]: ‘Mi esposo es tatuador y necesita una máquina de tatuar para trabajar, porque necesitamos dinero’”, dijo Samuel. En dos semanas, ya había recibido una nueva máquina de tatuar y una serie de clientes.
“Ella me ayudó a promocionar mi trabajo”, dijo. “Conseguí la mayoría de mis clientes gracias a ella”.
de dólares que puede ganar aquí y allá, gracias a algunos clientes habituales, dijo. También vale la pena por la independencia, y significa no tener que depender de trabajo como jornalero, mencionó.
Samuel dependía del transporte público para llegar hasta sus clientes cuando él y su familia vivían en un refugio, dijo.
“El transporte es lo más difícil para mí en este momento. Pierdo mucho tiempo yendo a algún lugar”, dijo. “Calculo mi tiempo, pero no puedo controlar el transporte público y, a veces, llego tarde a mis citas. Con un auto sería más fácil”.
Samuel espera conseguir un apartamento, pero, con el tiempo, planea regresar a Venezuela o viajar a otro país, dijo.
“No queremos quedarnos aquí [en Chicago] por mucho tiempo”, dijo. “Acabamos de llegar y no sabes cómo cambia tu mentalidad. Ya el tiempo lo dirá”.
y lluvioso de marzo, David describió en español cómo trabajaba para ganar dinero en sus propios términos.
La preciada receta de tizana de su abuela le trajo un sentido de seguridad en un nuevo país, contó. David prepara el ponche venezolano espumoso con trozos recién cortados de melón, uvas, fresas, plátano y sandía, servidos con un chorrito de leche condensada. Los vendedores preparan este producto básico con los restos de frutas que quedan de los puestos callejeros en toda Venezuela, dijo David.
David atribuye a la bebida el haberle "salvado la vida" en su viaje a Chicago. Durante dos años y medio, trabajó en la construcción, la pesca y vendió tizana en Lima, Perú, para ganar suficiente dinero para viajar hacia el norte, dijo.
El viaje fue peligroso, dijo David. Fue secuestrado por un cartel en Colombia, pero luego fue liberado. También fue testigo de secuestros y agresiones sexuales, y dijo que algunas de las mujeres secuestradas
"Si era una mujer bonita, entonces la obligaban a quedarse con ellos", dijo. "Vi
"Después de esta experiencia, ves las cosas de manera diferente. Me sentí muy
El otoño pasado, David estaba vendiendo tizana en el centro de la ciudad cuando cinco abogados se acercaron a él para pedirle un vaso. Inmediatamente vio la oportunidad de pedirles consejo.
“Les dije que necesitaba una respuesta concreta porque quería trabajar”, dijo. Los abogados le dijeron que su mejor oportunidad de obtener el Estatus de Protección Temporal (TPS) y la autorización de trabajo sería solicitarlo mientras se alojaba en un refugio, dijo.
Samuel utiliza su cuerpo para publicitar su amor por el arte que plasma. Su creatividad salta de su piel —un búho bellamente detallado se extiende por su cuello y su brazo izquierdo está completamente cubierto de diseños que forman patrones intrincados, hasta el punto que el ojo no puede distinguir dónde termina un tatuaje y comienza otro.
El prometedor tatuador contó que llegó a Chicago en octubre de 2023 con su
Su trabajo conlleva riesgos; en Illinois, se supone que los tatuadores deben trabajar en establecimientos autorizados y recibir formación sobre patógenos transmitidos por la sangre, control de enfermedades infecciosas y enfermedades y trastornos de la piel. Las multas pueden ser de hasta $1,000 diarios, según la ley estatal. Sin la cobertura de una tienda que funcione legalmente y una licencia comercial de la ciudad, Samuel podría enfrentarse a un destino similar al de otros inmigrantes que han sido detenidos por trabajar ilegalmente.
Al menos por ahora, está dispuesto a correr el riesgo por los pocos cientos
reputación de ser la ciudad que trabaja. Esta ética laboral del Medio Oeste es algo con lo que muchos migrantes venezolanos pueden identificarse.
David* (City Bureau usa un seudónimo para identificarlo), de 29 años, ha trabajado para mantenerse desde que llegó a Chicago en mayo de 2023. Si bien rápidamente encontró trabajo como techador y carnicero, cobrando en efectivo, ninguno de esos roles representaba sus pasiones ni de su deseo de trabajar por cuenta propia, dijo.
Sentado en un acogedor restaurante en 63rd St. y Woodlawn Ave. en un día gris
Siguió su consejo y se mudó a un refugio en noviembre de 2023. Cuatro meses después, recibió su permiso de trabajo, que permite a los extranjeros de ciertos países vivir y trabajar legalmente en Estados Unidos.
Si bien ha encontrado clientes en toda la ciudad, David ha tenido más éxito en La Villita, el barrio predominantemente mexicano conocido por sus negocios con escaparates y vendedores ambulantes.
A pesar de ser recién llegado, David reconoció de inmediato las oportunidades en el vecindario y obtuvo un flujo constante de clientes.
Un tatuador en ascenso
para comenzar a ganar dinero.
Gaby FeBland/City Bureau
Su éxito allí tiene sentido para Nilda Esparza, quien trabajó en la Cámara de Comercio de La Villita antes de unirse a la Cámara de Comercio de Logan Square como directora ejecutiva. La Villita es un barrio donde los inmigrantes y sus descendientes pueden venir a “encontrar esas cosas que los acercan a casa, que aportan esa familiaridad y esa singularidad que no se puede encontrar en ningún otro lugar”, comentó Esparza.
Organizaciones como la Fundación de La Villita trabajan con líderes locales y miembros de la comunidad para brindar recursos bilingües y educación que ayuden a los emprendedores emergentes a superar las barreras que enfrentan, según el sitio web del grupo.
Daniel aprendió a cortar pelo en Venezuela. Después de llegar a Chicago, luchó por encontrar un trabajo estable y tuvo que buscar trabajos de jornalero.
Cuando finalmente se reunió con la dueña de un salón, ella miró con escepticismo su camiseta sucia y sus zapatos antes de pedirle que demostrara sus habilidades afeitando la cabeza de un cliente que acudía sin cita previa, dijo. El talento de Daniel le consiguió un trabajo, pero no era sostenible. Le debía al salón la mitad de lo que ganaba todos los días —normalmente unos $4 por corte— para poder utilizar sus suministros y espacio, dijo.
“No pueden moverse en la fuerza laboral con mucha facilidad, ya sea por el cuidado de los niños, porque viven en hogares multigeneracionales o por falta de educación”, dijo Kim Close, directora ejecutiva de la fundación. “No me refiero sólo a la educación superior. También pueden haber venido de una granja en México y sólo tener una educación de octavo grado. Es por eso que están buscando el emprendimiento —para superar todos estos desafíos únicos que enfrentan”.
“Entendemos sus necesidades”, dijo Close, “pero creo que nuestro trabajo es inspirarlos a pensar en grande”.
La venta ambulante y el emprendimiento a pequeña escala han sido durante mucho tiempo puntos de entrada económicos para inmigrantes y otras personas excluidas de la economía formal, un capítulo significativo en la historia de Chicago que ha dado forma a la ciudad en la que se ha convertido hoy, dijo Beth Kregor, directora de la Clínica de Emprendimiento del Instituto de Justicia de la Facultad de Derecho de la Universidad de Chicago. La clínica ofrece asistencia legal gratuita, apoyo y defensa para empresarios de bajos ingresos en Chicago, quienes a menudo luchan por obtener las licencias adecuadas.
“Durante cientos de años, [la inmigración ha sido] parte de lo que hace que nuestros vecindarios tengan un carácter y un sabor diferentes, literal y figurativamente”, dijo Kregor.
El tiempo que David pasó vendiendo tizana en La Villita lo inspiró a buscar una licencia para vender comida callejera.
“Mi sueño es tener un carrito, como otros vendedores ambulantes mexicanos”, dijo.
Un barbero en ciernes
Gaby
FeBland/City Bureau
Daniel, de 22 años, aprendió a cortar el cabello después de que su madre le regalara una máquina para cortar pelo como regalo de cumpleaños en Venezuela. Pidió usar un seudónimo por temor a que la policía pudiera perseguirlo.
“Comencé practicando en las cabezas de mis primos y amigos, y era muy malo”, dijo a través de un traductor. “Pero a medida que lo hacía con más frecuencia, mejoré. Con el tiempo, me di cuenta de que era bastante bueno”.
Daniel cobraba $1 por corte en Venezuela. A los 20 años, había usado sus tijeras con tanta frecuencia que se rompían. Pero, en última instancia, no había suficiente trabajo para llegar a fin de mes, dijo.
“Me despertaba por la mañana y, a veces, había comida, pero a veces mi mamá no tenía nada para darme”, dijo. “Algunos días me sentaba y decía: ‘Quiero ayudar a mi mamá y quiero lograr cosas, pero no puedo hacerlo aquí’”.
En 2023, viajó a Cúcuta, una pequeña ciudad colombiana en la frontera con Venezuela. Desde allí, él y sus amigos se dirigieron a Ecuador haciendo autostop en la parte trasera de camionetas, porque habían escuchado que era más fácil encontrar trabajo allí, dijo. El viaje fue difícil —los amigos durmieron en la calle y llegaron a Quito sucios y quemados por el sol.
“Pero yo tenía un propósito”, dijo Daniel. “Empecé a preguntar por un trabajo de barbero”.
Entonces decidió ir a Estados Unidos, con la esperanza de ganar suficiente dinero para comprar una casa para su madre en Venezuela, dijo. Llegó a Chicago en septiembre de 2023, pero rápidamente se dio cuenta de que había diferentes desafíos para encontrar un trabajo constante en su nuevo país. Consiguió equipo de afeitado de segunda mano y tenía unos cinco clientes, pero las ruidosas cuchillas de aluminio se desgastaron rápidamente, lo que le obligó a trabajar en empleos de jornalero, dijo.
Visitó las instalaciones de Home Depot con la esperanza de conseguir trabajo como jornalero. El trabajo más estable que encontró fue ayudar a un contratista, que le pagaba unos $200 por día, pero que finalmente no le pudo ofrecer más empleo, dijo.
Daniel, que se alojaba en un hotel del centro de Chicago cerrado y convertido en un refugio temporal cuando City Bureau habló con él en la primavera, espera que pronto se abran más trabajos estables. A largo plazo, le gustaría volver a los campos que estudió en Venezuela: ingeniería, informática y mecánica —que sabe que serán costosos.
Los recién llegados le dijeron a City Bureau que el proceso para obtener la autorización de trabajo es confuso y abrumador.
Después de meses de defensa, el gobierno federal amplió la elegibilidad para el TPS en septiembre de 2023, abriendo la puerta para que miles de migrantes venezolanos recién llegados solicitaran permisos de trabajo en todo Estados Unidos.
Los funcionarios de la ciudad y el estado se asociaron con el Proyecto Resurrección para organizar talleres para evaluar a miles de personas para determinar si eran elegibles para el estatus de protección o la autorización de empleo a través de la libertad condicional humanitaria.
Para algunas solicitudes de autorización
de empleo, el tiempo de respuesta fue de unas cuantas semanas, lo que “es el tiempo más rápido que [el Servicio de Ciudadanía e Inmigración de Estados Unidos] ha procesado las solicitudes”, dijo Eréndira Rendón, vicepresidenta de justicia para inmigrantes del Proyecto Resurrección Después de la primera ronda de talleres a principios de 2024, aproximadamente el 40% de las personas que presentaron la solicitud recibieron permisos de trabajo, según la organización.
Pero eso solo se aplica a los venezolanos que llegaron al país antes del 31 de julio de 2023. Solo el 30% de los migrantes que se alojaban en los refugios de Chicago a fines de 2023 eran elegibles para TPS o Documentos de Autorización de Empleo, según un portavoz del Departamento de Servicios Humanos de Illinois (IDHS).
Debido a las restricciones federales, los funcionarios del IDHS estimaron que solo entre el 5 y el 10% de los recién llegados a los refugios serían elegibles para permisos de trabajo basados en libertad condicional y menos del 2% calificarían para el Estatus de Protección Temporal, dijo el portavoz.
A pesar de no contar con su equipo de peluquería, Daniel sigue buscando un trabajo estable. Aceptaría un trabajo en donde pudiera conseguirlo, pero muchos otros recién llegados como Daniel necesitan más opciones.
Hasta entonces, muchos migrantes como Samuel, David y Daniel tendrán que depender de estas formas de emprendimiento para salir adelante.
Encuentre más información sobre el trabajo migrante a cargo de los becarios de Reporte Ciudadano de City Bureau aquí, incluyendo la guía Conozca sus Derechos, publicada en colaboración con el Latino Union of Chicago. Apoye a la beca Reporte Ciudadano de City Bureau convirtiéndose en un donador recurrente.
Esta nota fue reportada por City Bureau, un laboratorio de periodismo ciudadano basado en Chicago. Puede aprender más o involucrarse en www.citybureau.org. ¬
Abena Bediako creció en Rogers Park y obtuvo una maestría en periodismo de la Universidad DePaul. Participó en la serie de invierno de 2024 de la Beca de Reporte Ciudadano de City Bureau, donde su equipo se centró en cómo decenas de miles de inmigrantes recién llegados estaban encontrando trabajo.
Library Exhibit Honors Black Steelworkers
Highlights include three Black steelworkers who founded unions and fought for workers’ rights.
BY DIERDRE ROBINSON
Earlier this month, Harold Washington Library debuted an exhibit titled, “Local Legends: African American Steelworkers in the Calumet Region”, which will be on display through April 30. Located on the third floor of the library, the exhibit examines African-American experiences in the steel industry from the Great Migration to deindustrialization.
The exhibit was created to celebrate the Association for the Study of African American Life and History’s (ASALH) Black History Month theme of “African Americans and Labor.” The initial idea for the exhibit started after its curator moved to an industry-heavy area of the city.
“When I moved to the Southeast Side, I became interested in the region’s steel history and began doing personal research,” said Bianca Milligan Garcia, Harold Washington’s library associate for exhibits. “I wanted to make an exhibit about my community and our contributions to Chicago’s labor history but couldn’t find a narrow enough topic to make into an exhibit. I saw an opportunity when ASALH announced its 2025 theme.”
After pitching the idea to the Exhibits Team and the African American Heritage Committee (of which she is a member), Milligan Garcia began the time-consuming process of finding information about the Black labor experience in Chicago’s steel industry by digging through archives at the Chicago Public Library’s repositories and exploring articles by scholars across various disciplines.
While the exhibit itself is relatively small and intimate, featuring
photographs displayed on the walls and display cases placed at either entrance, the underlying stories conveyed through the photographic montage are profound and speak to a fascinating history. The installation focuses on the human experience, rather than the technical aspects of steel making.
The exhibit shows how many African Americans found work in steel mills throughout the Calumet Region such as U.S. Steel-Southworks, Iroquois, Acme/ Interlake, Wisconsin Steel, and Republic Steel.
The exhibit begins with photographs that tell the story of African Americans fleeing the Jim Crow South during the Great Migration. Between 1916 and 1970, approximately six million African Americans moved from rural areas of
the South to northern cities in search of better economic opportunities and freedom from racism, according to Milligan Garcia.
From the 1870s to the 2000s, steel mills lined the shores of Lake Michigan and the Calumet River. In Chicago, they were mostly in the South Chicago, South Deering, and East Side neighborhoods. Working in steel mills such as these provided a vital source of employment for countless men and women. Working in the mills was hard and often performed under difficult conditions such as extreme heat, surrounded by dangerous machinery and molten metal. Accidents were common.
Three photos of prominent Black labor figures (and local legends) accompanied by their biographies make
up one of the displays: Joe Cook, Frank Lumpkin, and Ola Kennedy.
“Our goal was to create a balanced exhibit of artifacts, photographs, ephemera, statistical information, and contextual text to tell the story of AfricanAmerican steelworkers,” Milligan Garcia said. “Instead of just writing about them as a group of nameless steelworkers, we chose to focus on three standout individuals whose stories serve as case studies of the significant contributions African Americans made to Chicago’s steel industry.”
Joe Cook became the first Black president of Local 1029 of Valley Mould & Iron in the Calumet Region, serving in the role until his retirement in the early 1960s. The union was among the first locals to join the Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO) union drive efforts in the steel industry in 1936. This was just one year before U.S. Steel CorporationSouth Works obtained their union contract as Local 65.
Cook also helped integrate South Chicago’s YMCA and South Chicago Hospital. He was an advocate for the creation of the Chicago Public Library South Chicago Branch and was also involved in the Civil Rights Movement.
Ola Kennedy, a resident of Gary, Indiana, was one of the founding members of the Coalition of Black Trade Unionists, a member of the NAACP, and held various union positions. Frank Lumpkin led the effort to have a national union represent the Wisconsin steelworkers. While unsuccessful, Lumpkin went on to create the Save Our Jobs Committee, which protested for workers’ rights in Illinois and Washington, D.C., and
Photo courtesy of Harold Washington Library.
succeeded in winning multiple court settlements against the owners of Wisconsin Steel that totaled $19 million.
Cook’s, Kennedy’s, and Lumpkin’s stories shed light on workers who contributed to the formation of steel unions. “They were involved in union committees advocating greater representation within the workforce and the union,” Milligan Garcia said. “Additionally, they collaborated with other national and international unions, such as the Coalition of Black Trade Unionists, to address issues of discrimination and rank-and-file workplace grievances.” Sheemphasized that these men “are three
Washington Library Center, there is an adapted version of the exhibit on display at Altgeld Gardens, Hegewisch, and Jeffrey Manor branches,” said Chas Cassidy, the Chicago Public Library’s exhibits unit curator. “This exhibit will travel to six additional South Side library branches in May and September to commemorate Memorial Day and Labor Day, respectively.”
Cassidy added that she “would love to hear from current and former steelworkers and their families about their experiences because [she] would love to continue improving and expanding the exhibit.” She stressed that her hope for
“We… want to surface this history to contribute to broader thinking on what it means to be a Black worker, a South Sider, a steelworker, a transplant to Chicago from somewhere else.”
leaders that stood out…but certainly were not the only ones.”
Visitors to the exhibit can learn of the enduring legacy of the African American steelworkers who worked under the harshest of conditions for a better life for themselves, their families, and future generations.
The exhibit concludes by showcasing the advancements made by African Americans in the steel industry, despite the challenges posed by its decline.
“When the industry began leaving the region between 1980 and 2002, African Americans, including other steelworkers who worked beside them, lost their jobs, benefits, homes and even lives due to health issues related to lack of care—including suicide, substance abuse, stress, and work-related issues,” Milligan Garcia said.
The personal narratives and archival photographs in the exhibit offer a glimpse of the struggles and systemic discrimination that workers endured and highlight the key roles they played in unionizing their workplaces, fighting for better wages and safer work conditions.
“In addition to its run at Harold
Little Village Unites Against ICE Raids
In a powerful display of solidarity, hundreds of residents and activists took to the streets to defend their community and demand an end to deportations.
BY JOSÉ ABONCE
On February 8, hundreds of community residents and activists gathered on a cold and rainy Saturday in Little Village to demand a stop to President Donald Trump’s deportation efforts.
the legacy of the exhibit is that it will reinforce people’s feeling that the library sees them and cares about representing their stories.
“We… want to surface this history to contribute to broader thinking on what it means to be a Black worker, a South Sider, a steelworker, a transplant to Chicago from somewhere else,” Cassidy said. “It’s easy to be attracted to simple stories, but it takes work to share balanced, honest, relevant history. We want patrons to know we are up for the challenge.”
The exhibit at Harold Washington Library is open during the library’s regular hours, 9:00am to 8:00pm, Monday through Thursday; 9:00am to 5:00pm Friday; 9:00am to 5:00pm Saturday; and 1pm to 5pm Sunday. For more information on this exhibit and all other exhibit locations, visit chipublib. org. ¬
Dierdre Robinson is a writer and accounting manager in Chicago. She has a BA in Journalism from Michigan State University. She last wrote about artist Obi “Soulstar” Uwakwe.
Demonstrators with colorful handmade signs denouncing Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) activity converged at La Villita Park, 2800 S. Sacramento Ave. People waved Mexican and American flags as organizers spoke and led chants through a crackling megaphone to the rhythmic beat of a Powwow drum.
The looming threat of deportations cast a shadow over Little Village in late January, with the neighborhood’s typically busy commercial corridor, 26th Street, falling quiet as news spread that Chicago was a target for mass deportations. Businesses saw fewer customers, families altered their routines, and an air of uncertainty settled over the neighborhood, Block Club Chicago reported.
The community mobilized and has fought back with protests and rapid response networks to protect their neighbors and preserve the long-standing immigrant enclave they call home.
The protest, which was followed by a march down 26th Street, was organized by the Immigrant Rights Working Committee of the Chicago Alliance Against Racist and Political Repression
and the Legalization For All Network. Local organizations in attendance included Casa DuPage Workers Center, Familia Latina Unida, and Chicago Community and Workers Rights.
Ald. Michael Rodriguez (22nd Ward), who was at the rally, told South Side Weekly that following Trump’s inauguration, Little Village schools saw dramatic drops in school attendance.
“We had grammar schools that are normally in the 90th percentile of attendance, across the board in my ward, they were more in the 70th percentile,” Rodriguez said. “High schools normally in the 70th percentile were in the 50th.” Rodriguez acknowledged local businesses that have seen a drop-off in sales along 26th Street. “I have anecdotally spoken with food vendors on 26th Street who were having a hard time,” he said, but added a note of optimism. “While there was a momentary pause in action, it seems like the resiliency of the community has shown through.”
The rally unfolded just blocks from where an ICE arrest was recently captured on video and photos––a father taken into custody on January 29, shortly after his wife dropped their child off at school, rapid response groups and ABC 7 Chicago reported. Video and pictures show the man being pulled over, his red pickup truck surrounded by five unmarked vehicles, and detained in handcuffs by at least three ICE officials
and ATF agents. Despite local residents responding and filming at the scene, their efforts to stop ICE from detaining the father were unsuccessful.
Speaking to a group of demonstrators and residents at the rally, Ald. Byron Sigcho-Lopez (25th), whose ward is nearly 35 percent immigrants, said, “They grab a father. They grab a neighbor. That’s who they grab. And we got to know that the next one will be one of us.”
Sigcho-Lopez also added the man arrested January 29 had no criminal record. He said that ICE raids have created a state of terror that has impacted small businesses, has kept children from going to school and caused people to miss medical appointments.
Lifelong Little Village resident and organizer with the Little Village Community Council, Graciela Garcia, attended the rally. She is also a volunteer for a neighborhood-based response group that patrols Little Village to look for ICE activity. She said that she has felt the impact of ICE enforcement action in her community and even in her own home.
She cares for an undocumented person with medical needs who has refused to leave their home and has skipped medical appointments due to the fear of being deported.
What is more, Garcia’s ten-year-old daughter lives in fear despite being born in the U.S. She said her daughter has asked her, “Mommy, are they going to deport me? Are they going to come get me?”
The increased threat of ICE raids that target undocumented workers has led to labor unions taking steps to protect workers.
In a webinar that took place on Feb 7, Chicago Federation of Labor Secretary-Treasurer Don Villar said the AFL-CIO has negotiated safeguards into its contracts so that employees are not left in the dark when ICE shows up at their workplace. “One of the provisions some of our unions have gotten into their contracts is that anytime ICE or DHS has contact with the company, they are to inform the union immediately,” Villar said.
Laborers made their presence known at the rally as well.
Jorge, from Pilsen, is a member of a group of undocumented workers called the Resistance Council. Due to his immigration status, he asked to be identified only by his first name. Alongside fellow laborers at the rally, Jorge and others held up signs demanding immigration reform and reminding the Trump administration that immigrants simply want to work.
Jorge said the group began to advocate and meet together out of
necessity once Trump took office again. “How can the government treat us like criminals when we are human beings?” he asked. “We are simply workers. We should not be treated like criminals.”
According to Antonio Gutierez, co-founder of Organized Communities Against Deportations (OCAD), recent ICE enforcement activity has caused an increase in calls to their family support hotline, which provides support to those detained by ICE. “We have seen from
100 to 150 calls on some days. Compared to prior to inauguration and even the election, we were getting maybe five calls a week, if not a month,” he said.
Gutierrez said there are twentythree neighborhood-based active rapid response groups with more than 800 volunteers verifying ICE activity and supporting impacted families across the city.
Trump’s so-called border czar Tom Homan expressed frustration that Chicagoans are “well-educated” about their rights in an interview with CNN on January 28. “They call it ‘Know Your Rights.’ I call it ‘How to escape arrest,’” he said. On February 6, the Department of Justice sued Chicago, Cook County, and Illinois over laws that prevent state and local law enforcement from cooperating with ICE.
OCAD and its legal partners sued to block ICE raids in Chicago, arguing that the Trump administration’s actions were illegal retaliation against sanctuary cities and violated First Amendment rights.
However, OCAD later withdrew the lawsuit, citing concerns about Trumpappointed judges and potential conflicts with the DOJ’s case against Chicago and Illinois. Instead, Gutierrez said they are focusing on filing individual lawsuits for detained individuals who may have been unlawfully targeted.
Marchers pressed forward down 26th Street. The rain turned into light snow flurries. Police vehicles blocked off traffic. Onlookers peeked from behind store windows. And along the sidewalks, local residents stopped to watch, some nodding in solidarity.
The voices in that crowd carried the global anthem of resistance: “El pueblo unido jamás será vencido!” they shouted. “The people united will never be defeated!” ¬
José Abonce is the senior program manager for the Chicago Neighborhood Policing Initiative and a freelance reporter who focuses on public safety, politics, race, and urban planning issues. He is an incoming apprentice with The Investigative Project on Race and Equity and a recent New York University Arthur L. Carter School of Journalism graduate.
On Feb 8, hundreds of residents and activists marched through the streets of Little Village, standing up for their community and calling for an end to deportations. Photo by Paul Goyette
On Feb 8, hundreds of residents and activists marched through the streets of Little Village, standing up for their community and calling for an end to deportations. Photo by Paul Goyette
What Makes Day Labor so Difficult for Chicago Migrants
As asylum seekers navigate the day labor sector, labor organizations are stepping in to help them advocate for their rights.
BY ERIKA PÉREZ, CITY BUREAU
This story was originally published by City Bureau on December 20, 2024.
On a cold, snowy morning in midMarch, Marielis Yepez, thirty, and Adriana Valencia, thirty-two, search for one particular contractor in a sea of customers loading their cars at a Southwest Side Home Depot. The pair are the only women among a group of more than two dozen men hoping to find a day’s work near the parking lot’s western entrance.
The contractor had promised the women $200 each, approximately $5 per hour, for a week’s worth of construction work, they said. But now, the contractor is gone, leaving the two Venezuelan mothers out of luck and without pay.
“I adapt to the system. That’s what I’ve been taught,” Yepez said. “And you come here to work on whatever is available. That is the reality for many of us.”
Aside from being robbed of their wages, the women and other migrant workers at the Home Depot say security is unlawfully interfering with their rights to seek work. They are only able to look for work within a twenty-foot-radius area within the parking lot, they said..
For decades, Chicago immigrants have turned to informal gigs, often solicited on street corners or in Home Depot parking lots, in hopes of earning money to survive.
Any day laborer seen outside that area is intimidated by security, the workers say, making it impossible for Yepez and Valencia to search more broadly for the contractor who owes them their wages.
City Bureau spoke with more than a dozen migrant day laborers who said wage theft, sub-minimum wage rates and clashes with Home Depot security personnel—including off-duty Chicago Police Department officers—have made it precarious for them to look for work.
“Day laborers are crucial to the functioning of the building and the beauty of our city,” said Miguel Alvelo Rivera, executive director of Latino Union of Chicago, a community-based worker center that organizes day laborers and household workers.
“A lot of what makes Chicago the city it is has been done by day laborers, who have to seek work at corner hiring sites where they expose themselves to 100-degree-plus weather, negative-20-degree weather, rain
storms [and] snow, because we currently do not have a system to ensure that work can be guaranteed as a right,” he said.
Unlike publicly funded hiring halls in California and Texas, where day laborers can safely connect with contractors and negotiate pay rates, Chicago’s day labor industry is rife with wage theft, unsafe working conditions, physical violence and exploitation, City Bureau found.
People entering the day labor sector don’t always know about minimum wage laws. Some get paid far less than they were promised at the start of the day, while others might finish a full day of work and end up with no pay at all, organizers and
workers said.
“One of the ways to really prevent and reduce these abuses in these situations is if you regulate and formalize day labor work,” Alvelo Rivera said. “And if you connect people and create spaces for them to safely seek jobs.”
Recent national data on day labor work is hard to come by; a rare national study on the topic took place in 2006 and surveyed 2,660 day laborers. The study found that nearly half of all day laborers had experienced wage theft in the two months prior to being surveyed. Nearly half, 48%, had experienced underpayment by employers during the same time period, according to the study.
A 2021 survey of 411 day laborers in Denver found that 62% of those workers had experienced wage theft.
‘We
don’t feel safe when we go out to work’
Yepez and Valencia began working as day laborers as soon as they arrived in Chicago last year.
Yepez left her ten-year-old daughter and two sons, ages thirteen and four, behind in Venezuela. Valencia came to the United States with her daughters, ages one and eleven.
Yepez and Valencia don't qualify for Temporary Protected Status, a federal immigration program that allows people to stay in the United States and get work permits when it's unsafe for them to return to their home countries. For Venezuelans to qualify, they must have arrived in the United States on or before July 31, 2023. Neither woman has a work permit, which takes an average of six months to receive when applying for Temporary
Adriana Valencia, left, and Marielis Yepez, right, look for temporary work outside a Home Depot in New City on April 23, 2024.
Photo by Talia Sprague/for City Bureau
Protected Status, according to guidance from the Department of Homeland Security.
With no legal work authorization, they seek out day labor jobs to get by.
“Work here is tough,” Valencia said. “We don’t feel safe when we go out to work. You have to be alert all the time.”
Yepez and Valencia have seen contractors who arrive early and only take women with them, they said. They are afraid of being trafficked.
They also worry about being injured doing construction work, with which they have little experience.
Both women have done plumbing, electrical work, drywall installation and roofing—all requiring new skills they've learned on the job, they said. This type of work usually pays them around $80 per day. Much of the work is supposed to be restricted to workers who are licensed in their respective fields after documented training and certification, according to Illinois law.
“When we do roofing, they do not give us any safety measures,” Yepez said. “We are not protected. We need to go up to the roofs, and we do not have harnesses.”
While they are aware of the dangers, their need to make a living outweighs the risks, they said. Recently, both did demolition work on a house where they had to unload fifty bags of concrete.
“We feel helpless. But what can you do?” Valencia said. “We need to keep coming because I have two daughters, and I need to provide for them.”
On top of the strain and uncertainty, Yepez is apart from her children for the first time. They are living with her mother in Venezuela, and she sends money home every week, she said.
“Being without them has been too hard, too hard,” Yepez said. She stays in touch over video calls, but “my heart breaks listening to them tell me that they miss me,” she said.
Rough conditions
Eduardo Cisneros, a senior attorney at Legal Aid Chicago, said contractors take advantage of workers slowly, using tactics such as force and coercion.
“For the first week … everything's fine.
They're being paid,” Cisneros said. “They keep going back. They're being asked to work more. And then they get the end of the week—maybe they worked overtime, or just forty hours—but then they don't get paid.”
The contractor keeps promising them they will get paid, so the workers keep going back.
Jeison Rendón, twenty-four, has firsthand experience losing out on promised pay.
He came to Chicago in November 2023, and quickly began picking up day work from the Home Depot parking lot, he said.
Wage theft happens frequently, Rendón said. There have been days when he works at least eight hours and ends up getting paid the equivalent of $5 an hour— well below the state’s $14 minimum hourly wage. (Beginning Jan. 1, the state minimum wage will go up to $15 per hour.)
“There are bad people that hire you, but they don’t tell you how much you will get paid,” Rendón said. “You trust they will pay you $120 to $140, but they only give you $40 or $50.”
Evelyn Vargas, former organizing director at Latino Union of Chicago, said “it is very, very uncommon for folks to fight” wage theft. Vargas’ work for the union included educating migrants about labor rights.
“There is fear of physical and bodily harm that occurs,” Vargas said. “There is also a feeling of ‘I don’t know how,’ and, ‘I don't know where to begin.’ It is too overwhelming.”
Along with labor exploitation, elements of fraud, force or coercion escalate the situation into cases of human trafficking, Cisneros said. Threats of physical or legal harm also play a role.
“Usually the threat of deportation is what keeps them in that situation to keep working,” Cisneros said.
Options for Workers
There are three avenues for day laborers to file complaints against employers: Through the Chicago Department of Business Affairs and Consumer Protection, the Illinois Department of Labor, or the federal Occupational Safety and Health
Administration.
Department officials have tried to make it easier for day laborers and migrant workers to file complaints about wage theft and other abuses, said Jason Keller, assistant director at the state labor department. That includes not requiring people to disclose their immigration status; providing worker rights resources in several languages; conducting worker outreach; and reaching out to advocacy organizations to assist in complaint filing, Keller said.
Officials also have partnered with the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights to create education and outreach programs specifically for migrants. Topics in these workshops included child labor and worker protection laws.
Despite that, the number of complaints filed by day laborers is not rising, Keller said. Between 3-4% of the complaints received by the department were regarding the Day and Temporary Labor Services Act, Keller said.
“Day laborers can be afraid to file a complaint and, as is the case with many of our laws, workers don’t want confrontation,” Keller said. “Many of the workers are in vulnerable positions due to immigration status or desperately needing their jobs.”
Jane Flanagan, director of the Illinois Department of Labor, recommends day laborers record basic information about their gigs to ward off potential abuses such as wage theft and make reporting any violations easier. For example, workers could log information like the name of the contractor who hired the worker, the location of the job and the license plate of the contractor’s vehicle, she said.
If a worker does have a wage claim from that work, the Department of Labor can use that information to track down contractors who break the law, Flanagan said.
Organizations such as Latino Union of Chicago and Raise the Floor Alliance routinely connect with migrant workers to give them resources about their rights.
Latino Union of Chicago organizers have been going out to Home Depots throughout the city to share information about labor rights to asylum-seekers working as day laborers. With options such as a group chat for migrants to share job leads and contractors to avoid, the
organization seeks to build pathways for communication between workers.
Rendón is part of the Latino Union group chat and said it helps him feel safer, and as if others have his back.
Rendón has also made friends at Home Depot. Together, they inform newcomers about labor laws and keep each other alert about contractors who pay less than the minimum.
“After a couple of bad experiences, now we first ask how much we will get paid,” Rendon said.
After a year of day labor, Yepez said she remains optimistic.
“I thank God, because, despite everything, I’ve learned a lot of things,” Yepez said. “I know someone will come and will give us work the way it should be.”
As for Rendón, he isn’t planning to stay if the outlook doesn’t improve, he said.
“I am here with my wife and two kids, but I will stay here only until year’s end,“ he said. “If nothing happens, then I will go to Colombia.”
Find more coverage on migrant labor by City Bureau’s Civic Reporting fellows here, including a Know Your Rights guide, published in collaboration with Latino Union of Chicago. Support City Bureau’s Civic Reporting fellowship by becoming a recurring donor.
This story was produced by City Bureau, a civic journalism lab based in Chicago. Learn more and get involved at www.citybureau. org. ¬
Erika Pérez was born and raised in the Hermosa neighborhood. She was managing editor at La DePaulia, a bilingual studentrun newspaper at DePaul University, where she also graduated with a bachelor’s degree in communications and Latino media. She participated in the winter 2024 cohort of City Bureau’s Civic Reporting Fellowship, where her team focused on how tens of thousands of recent migrants were finding work.
¿Por qué el trabajo jornalero es tan difícil para los migrantes en Chicago?
Mientras los solicitantes de asilo se abren paso en el sector del trabajo jornalero, las organizaciones laborales están interviniendo para ayudarlos a defender sus derechos.
POR ERIKA PÉREZ, CITY BUREAU
Está nota fue publicada por City Bureau el 21 de enero del 2025.
En una fría y nevada mañana de mediados de marzo, Marielis Yepez, de 30 años, y Adriana Valencia, de 32, buscaban a un contratista ante un mar de clientes que cargaban sus autos con sus compras en un Home Depot al suroeste de la ciudad. Las dos eran las únicas mujeres entre un grupo de más de dos docenas de hombres que esperan encontrar un día de trabajo cerca de la entrada del estacionamiento.
El contratista les había prometido a las mujeres $200 a cada una, aproximadamente $5 por hora, por una semana de trabajo de construcción, dijeron. Pero ahora, el contratista desapareció, dejando a las dos madres venezolanas a su suerte y sin pago.
“Me adapto al sistema. Eso es lo que me han enseñado”, dijo Yepez. “Y vienes aquí a trabajar en lo que esté disponible. Esa es la realidad para muchos de nosotros”.
para ellos buscar trabajo.
Además de haber sido robados de sus sueldos, las mujeres y otros trabajadores migrantes en Home Depot dicen que la seguridad está interfiriendo ilegalmente con sus derechos de buscar trabajo. Sólo pueden buscar trabajo dentro de un radio de 20 pies dentro del estacionamiento, dijeron.
Cualquier jornalero visto fuera de ese área es intimidado por la seguridad, dicen los trabajadores, lo que hace imposible para Yepez y Valencia buscar más ampliamente al contratista que les debe sus sueldos.
City Bureau habló con más de una docena de jornaleros migrantes que dijeron que el robo de sueldo, los sueldos inferiores al salario mínimo y los enfrentamientos con el personal de seguridad de Home Depot —incluyendo los oficiales del Departamento de Policía de Chicago fuera
Durante décadas, los inmigrantes de Chicago han recurrido a trabajos informales, a menudo solicitados en las esquinas de las calles o en los estacionamientos de Home Depot, con la esperanza de ganar dinero para sobrevivir.
“Los jornaleros son cruciales para el funcionamiento y la belleza de nuestra ciudad”, dijo Miguel Alvelo Rivera, director ejecutivo del Latino Union of Chicago, un centro de trabajadores comunitario que organiza a jornaleros y trabajadores domésticos.
“Mucho de lo que hace que Chicago sea la ciudad que es ha sido realizado por jornaleros, quienes tienen que buscar trabajo en sitios de contratación en las esquinas donde se exponen a un clima de más de 100 grados, un clima de 20 grados bajo cero, tormentas de lluvia [y] nieve, porque actualmente no tenemos un sistema para asegurar que el trabajo pueda garantizarse
A diferencia de las oficinas de contratación financiadas con fondos públicos en California y Texas, donde los jornaleros pueden conectarse de manera segura con los contratistas y negociar las tarifas de pago, la industria de jornaleros de Chicago está plagada de robo de sueldo, condiciones de trabajo inseguras, violencia física y explotación, según hallazgos de City Bureau.
Las personas que ingresan al sector de los jornaleros no siempre conocen las leyes sobre el salario mínimo. Algunos reciben un sueldo mucho menor al que se les prometió al comienzo del día, mientras que otros pueden terminar un día completo de trabajo y terminar sin recibir ningún pago, dijeron los organizadores y los trabajadores.
“Una de las formas de prevenir y reducir realmente estos abusos en estas situaciones es si se regula y formaliza el trabajo de los jornaleros”, dijo Alvelo Rivera. “Y si se conecta a las personas y se
crean espacios para que busquen trabajo de manera segura”.
Es difícil obtener datos nacionales recientes sobre el trabajo de los jornaleros; un estudio nacional inusual sobre el tema se llevó a cabo en 2006 y encuestó a 2,660 jornaleros. El estudio encontró que casi la mitad de todos los jornaleros habían experimentado robo de sueldo en los dos meses anteriores a la encuesta. Casi la mitad, el 48%, había experimentado un pago insuficiente por parte de los empleadores durante el mismo periodo, según el estudio. Una encuesta de 2021 de 411 jornaleros en Denver encontró que el 62% de esos trabajadores habían experimentado robo de sueldo.
'No nos sentimos seguros cuando salimos a trabajar'
Yepez y Valencia comenzaron a trabajar como jornaleras en cuanto llegaron a Chicago el año pasado.
Yepez dejó a su hija de 10 años y a dos hijos, de 13 y 4 años, en Venezuela. Valencia llegó a Estados Unidos con sus hijas de 1 y 11 años.
Yepez y Valencia no califican para el Estatus de Protección Temporal (TPS por sus siglas en inglés), un programa federal de inmigración que permite a las personas permanecer en Estados Unidos y obtener permisos de trabajo cuando no es seguro para ellas regresar a sus países de origen. Para que los venezolanos califiquen, deben haber llegado a Estados Unidos el 31 de julio de 2023 o antes.
Ninguna de las dos tiene un permiso de trabajo, que demora un promedio de seis meses en recibirse cuando se solicita el TPS, según la guía del Departamento de Seguridad Nacional.
Marielis Yepez, en el centro a la izquierda, y Adriana Valencia, en el centro a la derecha, se alejan de la entrada de Home Depot después de conseguir un trabajo temporal para el día. Talia Sprague/para City Bureau
Al no tener una autorización de trabajo legal, buscan trabajos de jornaleras para sobrevivir.
“El trabajo aquí es duro”, dijo Valencia. “No nos sentimos seguras cuando salimos a trabajar. Hay que estar alerta todo el tiempo”.
Yepez y Valencia han visto a contratistas que llegan temprano y sólo llevan mujeres con ellos, dijeron. Tienen miedo a ser víctimas de trata de personas.
También les preocupa herirse haciendo trabajos de construcción, en los que tienen poca experiencia.
Ambas mujeres han hecho trabajos de plomería, electricidad, instalación de paneles de yeso y techado; todos requieren nuevas habilidades que han aprendido en el trabajo, dijeron. Este tipo de trabajo suele pagarles unos $80 al día. Se supone que gran parte del trabajo está restringido a los trabajadores que tienen licencia en sus respectivos campos después de una formación y certificación documentadas, según la ley de Illinois.
“Cuando hacemos trabajos de techo, no nos dan ninguna medida de seguridad”, dijo Yepez. “No estamos protegidas. Necesitamos subir a los techos y no tenemos arneses”.
Aunque son conscientes de los peligros, su necesidad de ganarse la vida supera los riesgos, señalaron. Recientemente, ambas hicieron trabajos de demolición en una casa donde tuvieron que descargar 50 bolsas de concreto.
“Nos sentimos impotentes. Pero, ¿qué podemos hacer?”, preguntó Valencia. “Debemos seguir viniendo porque tengo dos hijas y necesito mantenerlas”.
Además de la tensión y la incertidumbre, Yepez está separada de sus hijos por primera vez. Viven con su madre en Venezuela y ella envía dinero a casa todas las semanas, dijo.
“Estar sin ellos ha sido muy, muy duro”, dijo Yepez. Se mantiene en contacto por videollamadas, pero “se me parte el corazón al escucharlos decirme que me extrañan”, dijo.
Condiciones duras
Eduardo Cisneros, abogado principal de Legal Aid Chicago, dijo que los contratistas se aprovechan de los trabajadores lentamente, utilizando tácticas como la fuerza y la coerción.
“Durante la primera semana… todo está bien. Les pagan”, dijo Cisneros. “Siguen volviendo. Se les pide que trabajen más. Y luego llegan al final de la semana, tal vez trabajaron horas extra, o solo 40 horas, pero luego no les pagan”.
El contratista sigue prometiéndoles que les pagarán, por lo que los trabajadores siguen volviendo.
Jeison Rendón, de 24 años, tiene experiencia de primera mano en perder el pago prometido.
Llegó a Chicago en noviembre de 2023 y rápidamente comenzó a conseguir trabajo de jornalero en el estacionamiento de Home Depot, dijo.
El robo de sueldo ocurre con frecuencia, dijo Rendón. Ha habido días en los que trabaja al menos ocho horas y termina cobrando el equivalente a $5 por hora, muy por debajo del salario mínimo por hora del estado de $15.
“Hay gente mala que te contrata, pero no te dice cuánto te van a pagar”, dijo Rendón. “Confías en que te van a pagar entre $120 y $140, pero sólo te dan $40 o $50”.
Evelyn Vargas, ex directora de organización de Latino Union of Chicago, dijo que “es muy, muy poco común que la gente luche” contra el robo de sueldo. El trabajo de Vargas para el sindicato incluía educar a los migrantes sobre los derechos laborales.
“Existe el miedo a que se produzcan daños físicos y corporales”, dijo Vargas. “También hay un sentido de ‘no sé cómo’ y ‘no sé por dónde empezar’. Es abrumador”.
Junto con la explotación laboral, los elementos de fraude, fuerza o coerción escala la situación hasta llegar a casos de trata de personas, dijo Cisneros. Las amenazas de daño físico o legal también juegan un papel. “Por lo general, la amenaza de deportación es lo que los mantiene en esa situación para seguir trabajando”, dijo Cisneros.
Opciones para los trabajadores
Hay tres vías para que los jornaleros presenten quejas contra los empleadores: a través del Departamento de Asuntos Empresariales y Protección del Consumidor de Chicago, el Departamento de Trabajo de Illinois o la Administración de Seguridad y Salud Ocupacional federal.
Los funcionarios del departamento han tratado de facilitar que los jornaleros y
los trabajadores migrantes presenten quejas sobre el robo de sueldo y otros abusos, dijo Jason Keller, subdirector del departamento de trabajo estatal. Eso incluye no exigir a las personas que revelen su estatus migratorio; proporcionar recursos sobre los derechos de los trabajadores en varios idiomas; realizar actividades de divulgación entre los trabajadores; y comunicarse con organizaciones de defensa para ayudar a presentar quejas, dijo Keller.
Los funcionarios también se han asociado con la Coalición de Illinois para los Derechos de los Inmigrantes y Refugiados (ICIRR por sus siglas en inglés) para crear programas de educación y divulgación específicamente para los migrantes. Los temas de estos talleres incluyeron el trabajo infantil y las leyes de protección de los trabajadores.
A pesar de eso, el número de quejas presentadas por jornaleros no va en aumento, dijo Keller. Entre el 3 y el 4% de las quejas recibidas por el departamento estaban relacionadas con la Ley de Servicios Laborales Temporales y Jornaleros, dijo Keller. “Los jornaleros pueden tener miedo de presentar una queja y, como sucede con muchas de nuestras leyes, los trabajadores no quieren confrontaciones”, dijo Keller. “Muchos de los trabajadores están en posiciones vulnerables debido a su estatus migratorio o necesitan desesperadamente sus trabajos”.
Jane Flanagan, directora del Departamento de Trabajo de Illinois, recomienda que los jornaleros registren información básica sobre sus trabajos para evitar posibles abusos, como el robo de sueldo, y facilitar la denuncia de cualquier violación. Por ejemplo, los trabajadores podrían registrar información como el nombre de quien contrató al trabajador, la ubicación del trabajo y las placas del vehículo del contratista, dijo.
Si un trabajador tiene un reclamo de sueldo por ese trabajo, el Departamento de Trabajo puede usar esa información para rastrear a los contratistas que violan la ley, dijo Flanagan.
Organizaciones como Latino Union of Chicago y Raise the Floor Alliance se conectan rutinariamente con trabajadores migrantes para brindarles recursos sobre sus derechos.
Los organizadores del Latino Union of Chicago han estado visitando Home Depots en toda la ciudad para compartir
información sobre los derechos laborales con los solicitantes de asilo que trabajan como jornaleros. Con opciones como un chat grupal para que los migrantes compartan oportunidades de trabajo y contratistas que deben evitar, la organización busca construir vías de comunicación entre los trabajadores.
Rendón es parte del chat del Latino Union y dijo que lo ayuda a sentirse más seguro y como si otros lo respaldan.
Rendón también ha hecho amigos en Home Depot. Juntos, informan a los recién llegados sobre las leyes laborales y se mantienen alerta sobre los contratistas que pagan menos del mínimo.
“Después de un par de malas experiencias, ahora primero preguntamos cuánto nos van a pagar”, dijo Rendón. Después de un año de trabajo jornalero, Yepez dijo que sigue siendo optimista.
“Doy gracias a Dios, porque, a pesar de todo, he aprendido muchas cosas”, dijo Yepez. “Sé que alguien vendrá y nos dará trabajo como debe ser”.
En cuanto a Rendón, no planea quedarse si las oportunidades no mejoran, dijo.
“Estoy aquí con mi esposa y dos hijos, pero me quedaré aquí sólo hasta fin de año”, dijo. “Si no pasa nada, entonces me iré a Colombia”.
Encuentre más información sobre el trabajo migrante a cargo de los becarios de Reporte Ciudadano de City Bureau aquí, incluyendo la guía Conozca sus Derechos, publicada en colaboración con el Latino Union of Chicago. Apoye a la beca Reporte Ciudadano de City Bureau convirtiéndose en un donador recurrente.
Esta nota fue reportada por City Bureau, un laboratorio de periodismo ciudadano basado en Chicago. Puede aprender más o involucrarse en www.citybureau.org.¬
Erika Pérez nació y creció en el barrio de Hermosa. Fue editora ejecutiva de La DePaulia, un periódico bilingüe dirigido por estudiantes de la Universidad DePaul, donde también se graduó con una licenciatura en comunicaciones y medios latinos. Participó en la serie de invierno de 2024 de la Beca de Reporte Ciudadano de City Bureau, donde su equipo se centró en cómo decenas de miles de inmigrantes recién llegados estaban encontrando trabajo.
Front and Center: Latinas Redefine Music—and Sisterhood
Six Latina bandleaders discussed music, navigating machismo, and uplifting one another ahead of the Sor Juana Festival.
BY JOCELYN MARTINEZ-ROSALES
Six Latina frontwomen from bands across the city gathered at the National Museum of Mexican Art in Pilsen for a roundtable discussion rooted in sisterhood. Surrounded by local high schoolers’ artwork and bathed in natural light streaming through floor-to-ceiling windows, a live audience quietly shuffled in, eager to witness the conversation unfold.
“Growing up as a Latinoamericana, I never really grew up seeing myself in the genre that I love, which is rock music,” said Yeshi Regalado, co-founder of the hosting collective Ruidosa and the frontwoman of burgeoning rock band La Rosa Noir.
As part of the museum’s annual Sor Juana Festival and in collaboration with Ruidosa, Overdrive productions filmed the event, set to be released next month on International Women’s Day. It is the thirty-first iteration of the Sor Juana Festival, a celebration honoring Sor Juana Ines de la Cruz, a feminist nun who fought for women’s rights to education in Mexico. The festival has previously featured iconic Chicago Latinas such as MexicanAmerican authors Sandra Cisneros, Maria Hinojosa, and Erika Sánchez. This year’s Sor Juana Festival kicks off on March 8 with a performance by Mariachi Sirenas and the debut of the filmed conversation. It will extend until April 26.
“This festival is really about showing the unique and powerful contributions that women have made into society, whether that’s arts, literature, dance, theater, performance,” said Jaime Ortega, the museum’s digital production and performing arts manager.
This year was no exception. Joining Regalado at the table was Cat Ayala from Scarlet Demore, Karly Soto from Snuffed and Pasture, Jessica Covarrubias from
Future Nobodies, Rosalba Valdez, and Mariah Colon. The powerhouse lineup encompassed artists representing genres ranging from post-punk to rancheras to hardcore, one thing connecting them all—their love for creating and expression through music.
“Being a frontwoman is so empowering,” Ayala said to the table of women, who all agreed that navigating a white male-dominated industry and machista Latino culture has been challenging, but undeniably worthwhile. She recalled a time when a fan reached out to thank her for the music. “You make music for the girls that will never get their revenge,” read the message.
Ayala’s advice for Latinas—or anyone who is currently pursuing their dreams— was simple. “Just don’t give up,” she said. “You can do anything you want if you just don’t give up and give yourself enough time and you trust the process.”
The roundtable discussion touched on topics like dating, mental health, and motherhood. Covarrubias shared her experience of becoming a mom and making the choice to still pursue a path in music, not only for herself, but as an example for her daughter to follow.
“I think it’s cool that we’re paving something that’s never been done before,” Covarrubias said. “We’re not afraid to speak, to be front and center.”
Covarrubias is the lead vocalist for Future Nobodies, a post-punk, new wave trio that was the local opening act at Riot Fest in 2023. She was joined by her brother, Angel Covarrubias, and the father of her daughter, Cesar Salceda-Olivares. She emphasized the importance of pouring into one’s self so that in turn you can pour into others.
It was a sentiment Colon resonated with when it comes to her mental health and holding herself accountable. “I’m negating my mental health that is then bleeding into everyone’s life,” Colon recalled as she shared her experience of living with ADHD, being neurodivergent and feeling like a bad bandmate.
Mental health is a topic especially important for Latinas, who report higher rates of depression and anxiety. According to the American Psychological Association, Latinas are twice as likely to develop depression in comparison to not only Latino men, but also white and Black men.
Colon’s single with Amy Dabbs, “HARD 2 LOVE,” was released last August and touches on topics of self-reflection, heartache, and acceptance, offering an expression of emotional vulnerability. Similarly, the conversation veered into musical success and how not only sharing stages but watching each other perform has been a huge source of inspiration and motivation—showing how the personal and artistic journeys of these women are deeply interconnected.
“I want to scream like that,” Ayala said as she told the story of the first time she saw Karly Soto perform.
Soto is the lead singer of the hardcore punk band Snuffed and the metal band PasturePasture, which dropped their newest project, Out To Pasture, this past Valentine’s Day. They all shared how revitalizing it continues to be to watch each other perform and see strong women leads across the city. They all expressed how each year they feel closer to reaching their truest version of themselves musically and introspectively.
“If I die tomorrow, I just want to be content with what I’m putting out,”
Rosalba Valdez said. She released her five-track Amor Eterno EP last October, blending traditional Mexican folk music with contemporary influences.
“Everything that we’re putting out there this year is me,” Regalado echoed.
Regalado’s band La Rosa Noir and Valdez both performed at the Selena Tribute Concert last September at the Jay Pritzker Pavilion in Millennium Park. The two remembered how special the moment was to play tribute to one of the most notable Latinas in musical history, Selena.
For the museum, it was an easy decision to host a conversation between six inspiring women who not only nurture each other but everyone else through their music.
“One of the things that we always try to make sure [of] is that we highlight the voices of artists. We highlight the voices of people that really seek to uplift the Mexican, the Latino experience,” Ortega said.
Regalado, who curated the event, emphasized how uniquely Chicago it is for Latina frontwomen across all genres to come together and connect around shared experiences.
“There's definitely a sisterhood that exists within the Latina frontwomen in Chicago that I haven't seen exist anywhere else,” she said. “To be able to see them and to know them is to be able to see myself and have my existence be validated, which is a really powerful feeling.” ¬
Jocelyn Martinez-Rosales is a Mexican American independent journalist from Belmont Cragin who is passionate about covering communities of color with a social justice lens. She is a senior editor at the Weekly
Recoechi Speaks His Piece
Rapper and community builder Recoechi reflects on his trip to Ghana and the intersection of his artistic and spiritual journey ahead of his new project, FLAVAZ.
BY MS. MAMAS
Agood portion of Chicago’s community work has been carried on the shoulders of underground artists, activists, and voices of the people for at least the past fifty years. From being a shorty on the block to an adult with free will, I can’t help but to acknowledge those in my community who stand on big business and are distinct.
Recoechi, also known as Recoe, began his journey into community organizing around 2021, inspired by his close friend and fellow rapper, Mani Jurdan, and his work with Kidz Express on the West Side of Chicago. In 2022, Recoe became involved with the Males 2 Men program through Brother Enoch Muhammad’s Hip-Hop DetoxX initiative, where he spoke to high school students, particularly troubled youth. Through these interactions, he connected with young people seeking summer jobs and opportunities to stay off the streets.
In 2023, Recoe brought ten young Black men from the South Side to participate in Healthy Hood’s One Summer Chicago programming. His efforts earned him the role of captain at Healthy Hood, where he helps coordinate music programming, manages intake for young people interested in mentorship, and works alongside Chairman Allen Washington-Lozano on youth development initiatives. Recoe credits Washington for teaching him how to facilitate programming and has received valuable guidance from Rev. Tanya Lozano Washington to deepen his political education. Additionally, Recoe continues to advocate for stronger safety and security measures at Healthy Hood in response to external threats, in hopes of a safer environment for their community.
Earlier this month, right-wing
content creator Ben Bergquam posted an Instagram video of himself accosting Pastor Emma Lozano and Healthy Hood Chairman Allen Washington outside Lincoln Methodist Church, saying their work was “aiding and abetting the invasion” of the United States.
“That’s foul play. Why the fuck do they get to come up here and do that?” Recoe said. “A lot of people do not want to see Mexicans, Black folks, and other communities come together. People don’t want to see others, whatever sex you is, come together—they don’t want to see that at all.”
While hearing Recoe share his experience and growth as a Black man in Chicago, both as an artist and community leader, I saw hope for our city again. Some people might have looked at you sideways if you didn’t agree with the violence and gang affiliation that were starting to rise
in the city’s artistry. Seeing someone take the time to invest themselves in radical education and a connection with God, while rediscovering the true meaning of hip hop gives me hope.
So, in what ways does Recoechi uplift his core values in his art? In an interview with the Weekly, Recoe reflected on his youth, his most recent trip to Ghana, his timeline with God, and how his new project, “FLAVAZ,” is going to foreshadow his artistic journey to come.
This interview has been edited for clarity and length.
Who is Recoechi?
Aw man, that’s a broad question. Recoe, he’s a child of God, he’s an artist, he’s family oriented. I’m a captain at Healthy Hood. That’s just the beginning. I’m also
a solar installer, [...] I be throwin’ that out there. Don’t come find me because you’re not gonna find me, I’m commercial, baby we movin’ [laughs]. Real talk though, that’s what I live by, Recoechi is a man who lives by grace. Ase
Where are you from?
I’m from the East Side of Chicago, Eighth Ward. Stony Island, Jesse Owens Park, Russell Square Park, Cole Park: if you know, you know.
What about your personal experiences led you to community work?
Seeing how I was brought up. I feel like I was learning things when my pops took it upon himself to coach us in baseball, and when I got older in high school he kind of took his hands off. I felt like this was the time where we really needed y’all to come grab us. So I look at it in that aspect—not saying that my dad [didn’t try], my dad is amazing. But what I learned from that situation was that we gotta cling to the shorties when they get to this age ‘cause we the adults now. So when we see these shorties coming up during those times and they start to veer off to these streets, that’s what we be doin’ at Healthy Hood, finding kids. We do that work, period, we see ourselves as healers in our community, and not just mufuckas out here talking-it. [At Healthy Hood] you’re actually takin’ it upon yourself to mentor a child when you have your own adult problems, and that’s why people shy away from [mentorship] because they feel like, “I ain’t perfect, what the fuck I look like telling a shorty this and that when I’m fucked up,” but dawg, the little thing that you accomplished so long ago, that’s probably
Photo provided by Recoechi
her or his biggest moment right now. Your little knowledge can really help out, I got that directly from my relationship with my father. The men in my family in general, everybody shows love, but nurturing is a thing. You can show love, but [you need] somebody to nurture you and give you that wisdom, that’s community building. I’m a community builder just off the strength of what I realized in my house. Like I said, I kept that structure and discipline from when my dad was on me, when he was coaching me, he showed me that I was a leader, and I took that to this day, that’s something I kept with me, even though me and his relationship wasn’t the best one.
What is the intersection between your community work and your artistry? How does what you do for the community reflect what you do as an artist?
similarities and differences of culture between the Black communities in Chicago and the communities you visited in Ghana?
I’m a musician, I’m a rapper, whatever people want to call it. When you have a platform like that, it is not to be played with. When you get any type of platform where you have the opportunity to speak, you got to be able to speak on what’s going on with the real people. My music gives me a voice so people can listen to my true feelings, my true thoughts. When I put this in a rhythmic fashion, now motherfuckas want to listen, but it’s cool! I make hard-ass music but I put in real political opinions. Some people are scared to touch these things. Your gift, whether you’re an actor or a motherfuckin’ astronaut, when you get on that mic or whatever the case is, when you get an opportunity to speak, say some real shit about what’s going on in the world. Speak your piece. That’s why I am an artist, I put my community work into music. We livin’ what we rap, in every sense.
Not only did you do community work in Chicago, but you went to Ghana. Tell me about your experience going to Ghana, both as a rapper and a community activist.
Firstly, I want to say thank you to the Black Panther Cubs, and thank you to [Panther Cubs] Chairman Fred Hampton Jr. for providing me with the opportunity to go to Ghana. Just like you stated in the question about community service,
this came about because I was doing Cub community service for Chairman Fred Hampton Jr. He took me under his wing sometimes. It was a lot to be on this trip, but it was actually a dream come true to go out to Ghana with him because growing up I used to listen to Chairman Fred Hampton Sr. in my [headphones]. When I went to Africa it wasn’t to do community
community, so when families run out of foods such as plantains or other resources, their community suffers.
One thing that I would say really changed my perspective when I got back to Chicago was like dawg, when we do community work it has to be different. I stepped back on community work for a while because it was only one organization
“You can show love, but [you need] somebody to nurture you, that's community building.”
service. But I learned.
We was in Tema Community Two, Tema Community Five, we were in Accra, we visited Elmina, Ghana where the slave dungeons were…. They called it a castle, [they’re] wild as hell for that. It’s people out there trying to do community work with less, like way less. It’s ridiculous. We’re sending $500 from what we raised at the Taste of Ghana, that’ll be almost 7,000 cedis. This shit will go a long way because on average they make [around] $50 a month, which is 700 cedis. So, if I send them 7,000 cedis, you can imagine what that would do for them. Tema Community Two is the foundation of the
that I felt was doing a super amazing job, and that was Healthy Hood, which is who I’m with. Their approach was different because they been to Cuba before, so they know how people’s living conditions are outside of the United States, so they came back with a sense of grace. We all come back with a sense of grace. So when I came back from Africa, one of the Oracle ladies was telling me that they live by the proverb, “Grace is the key of life.” When you fall from grace, you fall from heaven. You can’t fall from grace, remember that’s how you lead your life.
What are some of the cultural
My bro Joash and his family was helping us maneuver out there and I asked him, “It’s so much love out here, do there be violence?” When first I left the airport I was scared as hell, it was hella people running up on me. You know, I’m from Chicago, can’t be running up on me. But I had to learn real fast, they’ll think you green as hell and get all your money [asking for tips after offering to help you]. My boy Fingga Finacci was saying how in each community, it’s all love. They gon’ treat you like you’re their mom’s son. Tema Community Two, Tema Community Five, it doesn’t matter, when we see you it’s love. When you come with love, we treat you with love. There’s no back door, there is no none of that, because they feel like, “Why would we hurt our own people?” The mentality in Ghana, I’m not talking about Africa overall but just Ghana, that’s what it’s like. It ain’t always peaches and cream, you know, you got those bad apples.
Our mentality is fucked up real bad. I’ll never forget, I’m helping doing this youth development course in Hyde Park, and I’m trying to talk to this shorty, he’s fifteen, and I say, “It’s your turn lil’ bro,” and he say, “Who you callin’ lil’ bro?” I swear to God, this shit blew my mind G, I had to catch myself. We step in the hallway and I’m like “What’s wrong with ‘lil’ bro,’” he talkin’ about “I don’t know you like that,” and I’m like “Do it fuckin’ matter, you Black…what’s wrong with you? Who hurt you so much, that somebody who’s twelve [or] thirteen years older than you calling you ‘lil bro’ is offensive?” But that’s the energy we got out here. Out there, they lifting each other up. This shit like a fuckin’ movie man. If I could bring anything back though, it would be grace for sure. It was a lot but one thing for sure is the grace.
What was your favorite part of your event FLAVAZ: A Taste of Ghana?
It was a lot of favorites. I have a great team, shout out Ana, shout out Nate,
Photo provided by Recoechi
Alex from Closed Sessions, RTC, shout out cousin Joey. The energy that I’m building is bringing my family together. My gift man, what God gave me is really bringing my family together. It was so many family members in that one room, and they all believe. My favorite overall part was when people started going over to the wall [a collection of photos from his trip to Ghana that Ana created]. My first thought was to get hella pieces from Ghana, but what God showed me in the end was like “Naw, that’s not gonna hit better than your experience that I gave you.” I had hella videos and pictures from my trip, and we split them into sections, and Ana made it like a Ghanaian flag with the Black star in the middle. So people were going to the wall to look at each place I went.
What inspiration can we expect from Ghana that may be foreshadowed in your new project FLAVAZ?
Well, it’s foreshadowed in this new video we dropping on March 4th called ‘Walkin’ Temple.’ Produced by Statik Selektah, we shot this video in Tema Community Two and Tema Community Five. That song is dedicated to this entire trip. This song has nothing to do with the album, but I feel like it’s needed. I want to put this energy into the world, and it’s huge, I get to put out a track with a producer I’ve been wanting to work with since I was sixteen. This nigga loves me, and I love that nigga man straight up, shout out Statik. This song had an effect on my music overall, not only the actual album. The actual album is some’ else. The Taste of Ghana is a part of FLAVAS because it was a real experience for me.
Amazing work on your newest singles “The Sleeve” and “The Vessel.” At what point in your artistic career did you shift your focus to reflect your journey with God?
Awe shit, this the one, ase! I appreciate this question. In high school, niggas knew me for walking around with my bible. I was really trying to find God in everything, I was searching hard. But I would be still be robbing people. I was still doing fucked up shit, but I had a 3.7 GPA. I wanted bread, I couldn’t buy myself
shit my friends was buying, it was that simple. I was a typical teenager. Niggas had new shoes, I didn’t have new shoes, I wanted the same shoes [we laugh]. Back then I heard a song by Tupac called “If I Die 2night” and I started seeing how much Tupac was talking about God in his music. I was like “man, this how I be feelin’, why we can’t rap about God?”
I didn’t listen to Kanye, it was 2012 and people were calling me crazy, like “You from here!” And I’m like Graduation just came out that shit still [fairly] new! I was deep on the ‘Pac, I was deep on the [Lil] Wayne, I was deep on the Gucci [Mane]. The first time I heard [Kayne’s] “Jesus Walks” I was on my journey with God for real, and there was one chapter that was really striking me, I think Psalm 73, Lauryn Hill said it in a rap and it made me go research it, that’s why she’s
lot of jobs and couldn’t get one because I had a felony for selling weed and all I had was three zips. That took me to a point where I forgot about God. There was no God in my music; I don’t even want to listen to those songs. It was straight demonic, it’s blasphemous. I realized how crippled I was and who I was around when I stopped drugs and cleaned myself up for real, and really dove back into my gift and dove back into that book, because in that time I lost religion too. I went from a die-hard Christian and not believing in it, to seeing God in myself. God allows me to call God me.
I understand this great energy we got, it’s some type of source we have to check in with, and I wasn’t checking in but now I’m checking in and it’s a complete difference. How God even blessed me with an opportunity like “Sway,” I had to
“When you get an opportunity to speak, say some real shit about what’s going on in the world. Speak your piece.”
one of my favorite rappers ever. I’m like man, why we can’t just be on that type of time? Niggas really be soldiers out for God.
But then I would always contradict myself because I would be on this holy shit, then I would go outside and be on the total opposite. So I never really believed I could be clean for real when I had these fucked up urges. [That’s why] my word is “grace.” I’m even at the point now where I’m like, God gotta be in my music. Before I do anything, [if] I’m doing a video, we gonna pray before we start shooting. Even at my shows, I promise you, I’m gonna come out, “What’s up y’all, hey, can we pray?” This is how I build the container with God for what I’m about to do. I get the “okay,” and then we move forward.
When I was writing my music, I stopped that shit at one point of time. I went deep off into doing ecstasy pills, I was on probation for selling weed—you can put that on record, niggas still getting locked up for selling weed, while y’all are selling it and it’s legal. I was applying to a
we go activate communities from the West, South, and East Side of Chicago. We are here for the people, yet these two white men come up to our space and try to target my Chairmen, and target Healthy Hood. Saying we are hiding immigrants and things of this nature, that’s foul play. Why the fuck do they get to come up there and do that?
I’m not going to lie, that shit turned me up. Personally, it hurt. Not a lot of people agree with [the work we do]. We know in 2025 that we have to get prepared for what’s gonna happen for the next three years with Trump in office.
What shows are coming up?
get reactivated. Healthy Hood reactivated my spirit. I’d forgot about Chairman Fred for a minute during them times. I forgot about the books I read, I forgot about a lot of shit off drugs. Then my cousin died and it really woke me up. Now, God is the forefront leader, straight up, even my business deals, just everything.
We have seen a lot happen in the media with people targeting Healthy Hood, how does it feel to see one of your community pillars get targeted in this way?
It don’t feel good. This is our home, this our sacred place. This where people’s lives change, this is where my life got reactivated and reenergized. You could imagine how I feel. Ben Bergquam came up to our space They came up to our church where we facilitate spiritual healing, we give back to our community, we have free food programs, free lunch programs. We have curriculums that energize our youth. We are a host for youth in the summertime, when youth don’t have any activities to do in Chicago,
I’m doing a fifteen-minute set at Jae Skeese’s show on February 28 at Bourbon on Division. It’s crazy that I’m doing a show here now and my first show to get me back on the scene when I went sober from pills was at Bourbon in Division. Full circle fasho. We are shooting at Ramova Theatre, performing with my boy HateSonny on the same day. 9:30pm at Bourbon on Division then come catch me at the Sonny show. On the fourth of March, we releasing ‘Walkin’ Temple’ produced by Statik Selektah.
What can we do to support Recoechi?
Just pray for me. Stream the music please. Share the music. We are about to launch the website where you could buy merchandise, that’s how we eat today, starving artist baby. Recoechi everywhere man. Please, if you see a song, do your due diligence y’all and double tap, four taps, share that shit to that story, watch it, and subscribe! We are trying to build something here! ¬
To learn more about Recoechi, visit his IG page @recoechi and tap in with his music through Apple Music, Spotify, and YouTube.
Ms. Mamas is a multiliterate writer from the East Side of Chicago. Through her poetry, journalism, and diverse literary expressions, she delves into the complexities of Black culture. You can find her work in What’s the Word TV. This is her first time writing for the Weekly
