March 6 - 12, 2023

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Arts & Entertainment Event highlights of the week!

SportsWise

StreetWise Executive Assistant Patrick Edwards sings the praises of the SportsWise team.

Cover Story: gender equality in Literature

In honor of Women's History Month, Votes for Schools asked primary school pupils if there should be more women villains in books and got a resoundng "Yes" for an answer. Two researchers explain why a departure from well-behaved and beautiful creatures, to those who can be strong, brave, and ready for adventure – is a good thing. We also look at the original "Cinderella," which was handed down as a women's folk tale – and lost its edge when men started telling it.

From the streets

Tenants of an affordable Kenwood apartment tower are joined by activists, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the City of Chicago in asking the Cook County Circuit Court to appoint a receiver for the building suffering squalid conditions, irresponsible management, and the slow repair of more than 100 building code violations.

The Playground

ON THE COVER: The Queen of Hearts from "Alice in Wonderland" illustration by John Tenniel, ca. 1930 (courtesy of the Hornbake Library Special Collections & University Archives at the University of Maryland). THIS PAGE: Disney's take on Ursula, the sea witch in "The Little Mermaid" (image courtesy of Disney).

DISCLAIMER: The views, opinions, positions or strategies expressed by the authors and those providing comments are theirs alone, and do not necessarily reflect the views, opinions, or positions of StreetWise.

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ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT RECOMMENDATIONS

Compiled by Emma Murphy

World Premiere!

‘How Blood Go’

“How Blood Go” weaves the present and past together to explore the strained relationship between the healthcare system and African Americans in this country. Congo Square Theatre Company presents the world premiere of “How Blood Go,” a provocative story of two family members who are subject to medical experiments – 50 years apart – without their consent. Infused with Afrofuturism, “How Blood Go” debuts at Steppenwolf’s 1700 Theater, 1700 N. Halsted St., as part of its LookOut series. The show will run Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays at 7 p.m. and Saturdays and Sundays at 2 p.m. March 11 - April 23. Tickets $35 at steppenwolf.org/howbloodgo

Dance Residency Open Studio Series: Christopher Knowlton

Dance With Me!

The Chicago Cultural Center’s Dance Studio is hosting Christopher Knowlton at 6 p.m. March 14 in a residency that delves into how people can dance together remotely. Unlike Knowlton's previous research work, which explored memory, isolation and nostalgia, this session will aim to understand how digital dance can better connect people who are not sharing physical space. In addition to performing and choreographing, he is a biomechanical research scientist who manages the Motion Analysis Laboratory at Rush University Medical Center. The Chicago Cultural Center is at 78 E. Washington St. FREE. More information at chicagoculturalcenter.org

Meet & Greet!

Meet the Artists

Artists Scheherazade Tillet (pictured photo at right: "Playing With Makeup Birthday Gift With a Close Friend, 2022"), Leah Gipson, and Robert Narciso will be the artists in residence in The Learning Lab at the Chicago Cultural Center on the second and fourth Fridays and Saturdays from noon-2 p.m. March 3 - May 27. “The Black Girlhood Altar” was created by young Black women through “A Long Walk Home,” which honors and creates awareness for missing and murdered Black girls and young women, including Rekia Boyd, Ma'Khia Bryant, “Hope,” Breonna Taylor, Marcie Gerald, Latasha Harlins, and Lyniah Bell. “Meet the Artists” is a free event at the Chicago Cultural Center, 78 E. Washington St. More information at chicagoculturalcenter.org

To Be Heard!

‘Voices for Justice: Daring to Struggle, Daring to Win’

The Harold Washington library will host Helen Shiller, former Chicago City Council Member and community activist, who will speak about her book, “Daring to Struggle, Daring to Win,” at 6 p.m. March 15. The book tells the true story of her journey as an individual radical organizer-turned independent Chicago city council member, and her 40-year struggle for justice in Chicago. This event is part of the “Voices for Justice” speaker series, and in celebration of Women's History Month. Shiller will be in conversation with journalist Sylvia Ewing. FREE. The Harold Washington Library is at 400 S. State St. More information at chipublib.bibliocommons.com

"Drawing is the Honesty of Art!"

Salvador Dali

Salvador Dalí invented his own brand of Surrealism in the 1930s. "The Image Disappears," at the Art Institute of Chicago from February 18-June 12, explores "disappearing acts" undertaken by the artist at the height of his fame. The exhibit includes 50 paintings, sculptures, drawings, and collages, books and ephemera -- some wellknown pieces of the museum's Surrealism collection -- alongside extremely rare loans from leading public and private collections in Europe and the U.S. The Art Institute is at 111 S. Michigan Ave. Tickets are $14+ at artic.edu

Crafty Networking!

Women's History Month: Mosaic Night

The Lakeview Roscoe Village Chamber of Commerce hosts its third annual Women's History Month Mosaic Night, from 6-7:30 p.m. Wednesday, March 8 at Tatas Tacos, 2826 N. Lincoln Ave. Unwind and engage with your creative side during this women-focused celebration that is also designed to foster empowerment, networking and community-building. No previous mosaic experience needed. Local artist Kamelia Hristeva and her team from Green Star Movement will teach techniques such as design, tile cutting, application and grouting. Tickets are $35 at https://www.lakeviewroscoevillage.org/womenshistorymonth and include a succulent plant and pot for decorating, chips and salsa, in-person entertainment and access to drink specials from Tatas Tacos.

U.S. Premiere!

‘Joan and the Fire’

“Joan and the Fire” examines the way in which history is constantly being rewritten to better serve those in power. W hen a group of performers staging their take on the myth of Joan of Arc are met by the myth herself, it becomes a battle of epic proportions to save history as Joan and the performers each fight to tell their version of the story. The play will run at the Trap Door Theatre at 1655 W. Cortland St. at 8 p.m. on Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays from March 8 - April 15. Tickets are $25 at trapdoortheatre.com/joan-and-the-fire/

Finding Her Way!

‘Mrs. Kelly’s Journey Home’

This play is the story of one woman’s journey from Ireland to America, and her struggle with dementia in her later years. The show brings to the stage experiences that are often unspoken by many generations of immigrants and adults caring for their aged parents. Filled with laughs, tears and lots of tea, “Mrs. Kelly’s Journey Home” is a joyous exploration of love, roots, and family. The show is one-night-only, 7:30 p.m. March 10 at the Baffes Theatre at the Beverly Arts Center, 2407 W. 111th St. Tickets are $43 at thebeverlyartscenter.com

All in One Place!

Three Chicago Artists, One Venue

Visit the Chop Shop at 2033 W. North Ave. 8 p.m. March 10 to see three local Chicago artists in one venue. The band Chicago Loud 9, a nine-piece funk/hip-hop band with high energy performances, is up first. Following them will be the band Sneezy, a funk and soul jam band whose members have been friends since first grade. The first two acts have toured and gained followers outside Chicago, but the final act, Wyatt Waddell (pictured), is an up-and-coming artist with an infectious mix of R&B, pop and funk. Tickets are $15-20 at chopshopchi.com/calendar

Operatic Fatal Attraction!

‘Carmen’

The immortal tale of the free-spirited Carmen and the soldier who's drawn to her in a truly fatal attraction has long been one of the world's favorite operas, with music recognizable even to those new to the genre. "Carmen" returns to Lyric Opera of Chicago this season in a vividly colorful production with J'Nai Bridges, who is from Chicago, in the starring role. The show is sung in French with projected English supertitles, and will run 8 times from March 11 - April 7 at 20 N. Upper Wacker Drive. Tickets are $40+ at lyricopera.org

by Patrick Edwards

SportsWise, SportsWise, why do it be? To educate, to entertain, to open you to see

Those three—well, us four—do what we do Because we want to influence, to elevate YOU

Loving sports is the lit; but it’s more than that It’s the camaraderie: John, Russ, Don & Pat

We, the SportsWise crew, do what we do Because we want to influence—to elevate YOU

As we settle into the New Year—cold weather and all— the SportsWise team gets a week off, but I can’t completely let 'em go.

When I came on board in 2018, Russell Adams worked in our then-office at Wilson & Broadway as the man who kept our digs well-groomed. Our office, entrenched in a tough building, in a tough location full of tough folks, was very old and not well-maintained. For Russ to keep us aesthetically and hygienically good was a HUGE “pro” in his favor. Russ, also, lent his guidance to many who came to lay his or her love on StreetWise’s humble abode. The guidance may have begun with “Please clean up a lil’bit after yourself,” but would end with: “I understand your family issues and living woes; so what’re you doing about it?”

In regard to SportsWise, most impressive with Russ is his enthusiasm for sports. Over the years, we’ve attended multiple games together and enjoyed a cheer, a laugh, a beer—good times.

Upon meeting John Hagan for the first time, the first thing I noticed was that he reminded me of an old-school actor—like a John Wayne or someone. But when he opened his mouth, all I heard was “sports announcer.” When I first sat with the team, I was impressed by his intellect, especially in regard to sports and sports statistics. John was able to travel back in his mind and bring forth something from, say, 1978, and state it with confidence, which had me unpressured to validate, because I knew he knew. John ain’t perfect, but he’s pretty damn good with sports.

John’s recent emergence as an in-house wealth of assistance— in the café, in the storage room (clothes/hygiene materials)—is something I can’t “up” him enough about. When I’m stretched—or when I don’t want to be stretched—John is there to help make the magic happen. Between me and you, I hate to see him actually leave to sell the magazine!

If you know Donald Morris, you know he’s a character. Don’s someone who has valuable nuggets of knowledge. He’s gruff with it at times; yet, if you allow his words to marinate, you’ll be able to “hear” him. Don’s love and enthusiasm for Marvel comics—and related—is as large as his enthusiasm for all women’s basketball. I was able to secure a string of WNBA Chicago Sky tickets last year, including the playoffs, and the motivation

for it was Donald. I knew others wanted to attend (enough really); yet, it was Donald’s appreciation I stretched for. Unfortunately, Donald wasn’t able to make all of the games and the games he didn’t attend, the Sky lost. “Don, this year, bring the sniffle-rags and Theraflu!”

The other day, at an all-vendors meeting, Don kicked it off like the veteran and leader that he is. Don has a tough exterior with a ton to say and, if you’re lucky, you’ll be lucked with a solid word from the man. I melt a lil’ when I see or hear the grizzled veteran give a good word—or 68—to a younger, new vendor. I fill with admiration as the grandfather-figure emerges, as the patriarch stands, and as the leader shows his true self to this fresh-faced vendor.

Any comments or suggestions? Email pedwards@streetwise.org

Rashanah Baldwin

Vendors Russell Adams, John Hagan and Donald Morris chat about the world of sports with Executive Assistant Patrick Edwards.

Wicked Witches and evil queens: why children's books need more female villains

by Anna Cermakova & Michaela Mahlberg

This year, Women’s History Month follows what seems an unprecented upsurge of events that revealed the widespread abuse of women in both professional and private life. So it is not surprising to also see an increased interest in the representation of gender in literature – or rather, as a recently published big data study shows, a significant under-representation of women in literature.

Both female writers as well as female protagonists have been lagging behind their male counterparts for centuries. Gender inequality has naturally become a contemporary topic that has also made it into schools. To mark World Book Day, which was celebrated on the first day of Women’s History Month, Votes For Schools, a voting platform for schools, in collaboration with Let Toys Be Toys, a campaign promoting gender equality in the toy and publishing industries, published a lesson plan for primary schools asking the question “Do bestselling books encourage sexism?”

Votes For Schools then put this question to primary school pupils and got an interesting result: 79% of students said “No” and only 21% said “Yes.” But another vote on “Do we need more female villains in books?” tells a bit of a different story: the result is 67.5% “Yes” and 32.5% “No.” The response further revealed that 80% of female pupils wanted more female villains in books, compared to 54% of male voters.

Books for boys and books for girls

Stories in which male heroes go through all sorts of adventures before they come to the rescue of the beautiful, but passive, princesses are all too familiar. The Observer newspaper collaborated with Nielsen research on a large market study that found that lead characters were 50% more likely to be male than female, and male villains were eight times more likely to appear compared to female villains. This kind of gender stereotyping is, however, just a continuation of a tradition established in children’s literature much earlier.

It was in the latter half of the 19th century that booksellers and book reviewers – “the cultural gate-keepers” as the American literary critic Anne Lundin calls them – started to distinguish between reading suitable for boys and that for girls. At the be-

ginning of the 19th century, the book market was much more general, it did not even clearly delineate between adult and child readers.

From the 1880s, The Times newspaper started to devote separate review essays to literature for boys and for girls. Lundin notes it was rather critical particularly of the books addressed at girls – and it was not the quality of writing that was criticized so much as the subject matter: “Writing for girls … lacked the dynamism of boys’ books.”

Good girls and brave boys

Research at the University of Birmingham looks at gender in children’s literature with the help of corpus linguistic methods. As part of the GLARE project, which explores gender in children’s literature by looking at the computerized body of works, a specialized corpus of 19th-century children’s books has been collected. This collection of 71 books was selected to represent what has been called the “Golden Age” of English children’s literature and contains classics such as "Alice in Wonderland" and "The Water Babies."

A quick look in the GLARE corpus confirms observations on bias of gender representation. Among the books written by female authors, there are only seven where the word “girl” is used much more frequently than “boy.” Among the books by male authors, there are only two where “girl” is used more frequently than “boy.”

The highest relative frequency of “girl” is in the 1886 book "A World of Girls: The Story of a School" by the female author L. T. Meade. The book was greeted by The Academy review

From left: Helena Bonham Carter portrays Bellatrix Lestrange in the "Harry Potter" film series (Warner Bros.). Disney's Cruella de Vil from "One Hundred and One Dalmatians" (image courtesy of Disney). Illustration inspired by Hans Christian Andersen's "The Little Mermaid" by French illustrator Bertall from the 1840s (public domain).

journal on publication (November 20, 1886) as “light and pleasant reading” with “many a quiet, useful hint about the education and general training of young girls.” The highest relative frequency of the occurrence of “boy” can be found in the 1858 cautionary tale "Eric, Or, Little by Little: A Tale of Roslyn School" by

Frederic William Farrar.

In these examples, girls are well behaved and beautiful – and they certainly appear inferior to boys. Boys are strong and brave and ready for the adventures ahead of them. But boys are also trouble sometimes. In many respects, this has not changed much.

But women who wrote books for children also often dealt with male worlds – the relative frequency of “boy” is similarly high in the 1883 novel "Jackanapes" by the female writer Juliana Horatia Ewing. A review described it as: “The wistful tale of heroic sacrifice in which the orphaned son of a Waterloo cavalry officer … dies saving the life of his childhood friend on the field of battle.”

These books are good examples of reading expectations of boys and girls at the time – and the following selection from the corpus provides us with some insights.

Wicked witches and evil queens

Male villains in children’s books outnumber their female counterparts. In fact, not everyone might easily come up with a Top 10 list like that of the British author MG Leonard. Her list features the likes of Mrs Wormwood in "Matilda," Bellatrix Lestrange in "Harry Potter," Cruella de Vil in "One Hundred and One Dalmatians" or Mrs. Coulter in "His Dark Materials."

The female villain is usually represented as a witch – as the White Witch from "Narnia" – or a queen, as the wicked queen in "Snow White," or the Queen of Hearts in "Alice in Wonderland."

Witches embody an unattractive (often old), powerful female figure who is turned to for advice or help when everything else fails – as with the sea witch in the "Little Mermaid" fairy tale. Witches are feared and excluded from society, as illustrated in this example from "The Book of Dragons" (1899) by Edith Nesbit quoted from the GLARE corpus:

And besides a King he was an enchanter, and considered to be quite at the top of his profession, so he was very wise, and he knew that when Kings and Queens want children, the Queen always goes to see a witch. So he gave the Queen the witch’s address, and the Queen called on her, though she was very frightened and did not like it at all. The witch was sitting by a fire of sticks, stirring something bubbly in a shiny copper cauldron.

Children’s books are not only fiction. They provide vital opportunities for children to make sense of their own world. How many more Women’s History Months will it take to see a greater variety of fictional female characters, not just beautiful princesses, good girls and evil queens?

Anna Cermakova is a Marie Sklodowska-Curie Fellow at the Centre for Corpus Research at the University of Birmingham. Michaela Mahlberg is professor of Corpus Linguistics at the University of Birmingham. Courtesy of The Conversation.

How Cinderella lost its original feminist edge in the hands of men

by Alex Sergeant

In the words of its publicity department, Andrew Lloyd Webber’s new production of "Bad Cinderella" (now in previews on Broadway) offers audiences nothing less than “a complete reinvention of the classic fairy-tale.” Written by Emerald Fennell (Oscar-nominated for "Promising Young Woman"), the production promises a feminist revision of the classic fairy tale, updating the well-known story to reflect contemporary attitudes towards gender.

But "Cinderella" has always been a feminist text. You might have heard of figures like Charles Perrault, the Brothers Grimm and Walt Disney, each playing a key role in popularizing the folk story for a new generation. But behind their versions of the classic fairytale lies an untold story of female storytellers like Marie-Catherine D’Aulnoy and the Comtesse de Murat.

Before the Grimms, these pioneering women were drawn to "Cinderella" not because they felt the story needed updating or revising, but because they were attracted by the culture that birthed it – a storytelling network created by and for women.

Cinderella’s origins

"Cinderella" began its life as a folk tale, passed orally from household to household. The earliest recorded copy dates back to China in 850-860. This version of the story probably entered into European society by the women working on the great Silk Road.

At a time when only men could be writers or artists, women used folk tales as a means of expressing their creativity. Female laborers and housewives passed the stories onto one another to dispense shared wisdom, or else to break up the boredom of another working day as they toiled away from the prying eyes of men.

These storytelling traditions echo to this day. It is where we get the notion of the old wives’ tale. According to feminist writers like Marina Warner, it is also why we have to come to associate gossip with women. "Cinderella" reflects these customs. It is a story about domestic labor, female violence and friendship, and the oppression of servitude. Perhaps

most significantly, it is a story about female desire in a world where women were denied any role in society.

The precise story of Cinderella has always been in flux. In some, she still has a mother. In others, the stepsisters resort to slicing off their heels to win the heart of the prince. But whatever incarnation, "Cinderella" has historically been a story about women and for women. So what happened to poor Cinders to make her so powerless?

Well, men. As the story became increasing popular, male writers and artists became interested in adapting the tale. But in doing so, they found in "Cinderella" not a story of female wish-fulfilment but a more general sense of escapism.

It was Perrault who introduced the famous pumpkin and the glass slipper, giving the tale its two most iconic features. The Grimms turned the stepsisters ugly, as well as removed the fairy godmother in favor of a magical wishing tree. These adaptations reflected unconscious misogyny, stripping the story of much of its feminist potential and making it instead about enchantment over representation.

From left: Trehearn lords over Belleville as the Queen in Andrew Lloyd Webber's "Bad Cinderella" (Tristram Kenton photo). Disney's take on Cinderella (image courtesy of Disney). An engraving by Gustave Doré of the famous ball scene in Charles Perrault’s Cinderella (Prisma Archivo/Alamy).

Cinderella goes to the cinema

These traditions continue in "Cinderella’s" cinematic adaptations. The first person to adapt "Cinderella" for the big screen was the French magician-turned film director Georges Méliès. In his hands, the character became little more than a passive, frightened waif, her job seemingly to stand in the corners of the shots and look amazed at the latest special effect appearing on screen.

Decades later, Walt Disney used "Cinderella" as part of the studio’s strategy of mining European folk tales for popular entertainment, a tradition begun with "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" (1937).

Released in 1950, Disney’s "Cinderella" reflected the conservative values of U.S. society at the time. The figure of the wicked stepmother took on a supervillainesque quality in the form of Lady Tremaine. While the figure of the stepmother had been the antagonist in most versions of the folk story, Disney’s Tremaine was a villain to rank among the studio’s many infamous examples of monstrous women. In Disney’s

hands, an often nuanced character within the original tale was turned into a vivid caricature of feminine power and greed.

The most recent live-action remake starring Cate Blanchett as Tremaine did little to change these preconceptions of the folk tale, as "Cinderella" became a nostalgic symbol not only for childhood storytelling, but for Disney as its most popular storyteller. The role of women in the creation of "Cinderella" as we know it was lost to animation and special effects.

So what is the moral of the story of this particular fairy tale?

If anything, it’s that "Cinderella" is not a story that needs a complete reinvention; instead, the story needs reclaiming from the hands of those who would dismiss it as just a fairy tale story, or would use it as a vehicle for spectacle at the expense of the story buried beneath.

Alex Sergeant is lecturer of film & media studies at the University of Portsmouth. Courtesy of The Conversation.

Tenants living in South Side Affordable Apartments Continue Their Fight for receivership

by Wendy Rosen

Tenants of an affordable Kenwood apartment tower continue to battle owners for decent housing after years of suffering squalid conditions, irresponsible management, and the slow repair of more than 100 building code violations.

Residents of Ellis Lakeview Apartments formed the Ellis Lakeview Tenants Association (ELTA) in fall 2020 to pressure city and federal authorities to file lawsuits that demand property owner Apex Chicago IL LLC resolve plumbing, electrical, elevator, pest, and safety breaches. They coordinated 311 calls starting in 2020 to trigger city inspections, and sent a 47-page letter with photos and videos to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the City of Chicago Department of Buildings.

The ELTA, housing activists, HUD, and the City of Chicago have doggedly pressed the Cook County Circuit Court to remove the owner and appoint a receiver to take control of their federally subsidized 11-story, 105-unit building located at 4624 S. Ellis.

But Judge Lisa Marino has denied two separate emergency receivership motions since May 2022. Instead, Marino ordered Apex to replace its property manager, Integra Affordable Management, with 5T Management, a company known for successfully turning around troubled subsidized buildings.

While tenants, HUD, the city, and Apex agree that 5T has made significant improvements since it assumed management in June 2022, 5T has had to stop work twice because Apex ignored court orders keep a $350,000 minimum balance in the repair funds.

FROM THE STREETS

5T President Steve Thomas alerted the city in early January that the repair fund had dropped to $1,500, and their six-month management contract was about to expire. He also told the city that he stopped repairs because there were no funds to pay contractors. That news prompted city attorney Steven McKenzie to file an emergency motion to appoint a receiver to make repairs the owners failed to accomplish, and to make the premises safe for residents.

Despite the slow repair and legal process, tenants remain vigilant. Many have logged into monthly Zoom court hearings for the past six months along with 30-40 others, including city inspectors, housing activists, and attorneys for HUD, the city, the mortgage holder, 5T, and Apex. Tenants describe hazards such as gaping drywall, broken elevators, and standing water while Apex collects approximately $120,000 per month under its Ellis Lakeview Housing Assistance Payment contract with HUD. Additionally, residents are expected to pay 30 percent of their incomes to cover their share of the rent.

“For the last couple of years we’ve been waiting on Apex to get something done,” resident Nadrea Satchell told the court during the January 18 emergency hearing for a receiver. “They’ll start, they’ll stop, which is torture for most tenants because a lot of us have very, very bad conditions in our apartments.”

McKenzie told the judge, “these are people living with open walls in their apartments...it’s the middle of winter, it’s a place for vermin to go in and a place for cold wind to come through... if this was a receivership this wouldn’t be an issue. This would just get funded. We wouldn’t be waiting. The receiver would be doing the work.”

Apex has repeatedly ignored orders to pay for repairs until summoned to court. After they wired funds just hours before the January hearing, the city agreed to put a hold on its receivership request. Judge Marino told Apex, “we’re always at the 11th hour and here we are again.”

The judge ordered the parties back to court on February 1 for a status update. At that hearing, the city withdrew its receivership request after Apex counsel Joshua Kahane confirmed that his client signed another six-month contract with 5T, and fully funded the repair reserves.

But tenants, HUD, and elected officials, including state Sen. Robert Peters (D-13th) and Ald. Sophia King (4th), continue to call for a court-appointed receiver because of Apex’s ongoing mismanagement of the property.

“This is destabilizing to the tenants, and we’re very concerned about that,” said HUD attorney Erin Gard at the January hearing. During a court appearance in June 2022, Gard said that of over 6,000 properties in HUD’s Midwest Multifamily Region,

Ellis Lakeview is “the only property that’s been assessed a civil money penalty greater than $100,000.”

Resident Tammi Brown said she’d like a receiver to take over. “We’re tired of the funding stopping. We’ve been at this for over a year.”

Kahane vehemently defends his client’s actions and ownership rights in court. He insists that management has never left tenants without essential services and a receiver is not warranted. At the January hearing, he said, “this is not where we were six months ago where, literally, there were health and safety issues in every

Zarum, Integra, and Apex are linked to troubled low-income buildings in at least eight states according to government, tax and court records, and local news reports. They are connected to a web of for-profit and non-profit companies that have different names but share addresses and principal officers. Their tenants across the country report similar issues: utility shut-offs, plumbing, electrical, safety, mold, rodents, and pest infestation. These companies have defaulted on mortgages and have lost several properties to court-ordered receivership. In one case, a 62-year-old Georgia man died in a 98-degree apartment with a broken air conditioner. A jury awarded his family $125 million in 2019.

Examples:

unit on the property. And these owners have put in $1.3 million plus $363,000 and are operating in good faith.”

Apex manager Oron Zarum has never appeared in court, nor has he visited the property since Apex purchased it in August 2019 for $10.75 million, according to housing activists. A Google search for Apex Chicago IL LLC does not surface a company website or contact information.

Satchell is tired of broken promises and wants new ownership. “Move to receivership,” she told the court. “That’s it.”

The city of Waukegan, Illinois, filed an emergency motion in August 2022 against Apex Waukegan IL LLC and Integra Affordable Management to appoint a receiver due to numerous dangerous and hazardous conditions at Lakeside Towers. The court motion reads, “defendants Apex and Integra have a history and reputation for their failure to maintain large, residential buildings.”

Attorney Joshua Kahane represented Apex and Integra, and helped negotiate a settlement to avoid court-ordered receivership.

Sherman, Texas tenants at several Apex properties in November 2022 had their water shut off and were on the verge of losing power because owner Apex was late paying bills. The city of

Sherman reported that Apex was more than $20,000 behind in its water bills. Oron Zarum signed corporate documents for Apex Sherman TX LP, according to a report by KXII.com.

Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita filed an emergency motion in July 2021 to appoint a receiver for Lakeside Pointe apartments in Indianapolis. The motion notes, “despite having received hundreds of health code violations over the years ... defendants in this matter have allowed conditions at Lakeside Pointe apartments to deteriorate and result in conditions that are unsafe, unsanitary and uninhabitable.” The nonprofit owner, Fox Lake AHF, lists Oron Zarum as principal officer on its 2019 990 tax form.

From left: Nadrea Satchell speaking at the Ellis Lakeview Tenant Association press conference on Dec. 29, 2021. The exterior of Ellis Lakeview Apartments, 4624 S. Ellis (Wendy Rosen photos). Right: The Emergency Motion for Receivership.

To solve the Sudoku puzzle, each row, column and box must contain the

Last week's Puzzle Answers

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