I chose this piece because I want to tell the Alderman of Cabrini Green how I feel about the buildings getting knocked down in the neighborhood, and how people will lose their culture. The purpose of this piece was to write a letter to somebody and tell them about a problem that is going on in Chicago and how it affects our economy. I am proud of this letter because I am getting my voice heard; people can hear what I have to say and what I think. I learned that you can change a lot of things with just a letter and you don’t have to act crazy just to get attention from somebody.

Chicago, 20th April, 2011

To: Ald. Walter Burnett
Ward office: 1463 W. Chicago Avenue
Chicago, IL 60622

Dear Alderman Mr. Walter Burnett,

Please accept this protest letter as a notification about how I feel regarding the Cabrini Green Project Housing.

I have seen, heard, and read about many buildings getting demolished, for example: The building I grew up in 1230 N. Burling, which was the last building that got knocked down in the neighborhood; it hold a lot of memories and now I can not ever go back to visit it.

This affects a lot of people, who were born and raised in the Cabrini Buildings. It also affects the local economy, because now there are less homes; there will be more homeless people.

I believe this project will hurt people’s lives and change them forever, the same way that it has changed me. Among the impacts, we will see:

  1. Lives being disrupted;
  2. People becoming homeless with nowhere to go;
  3. People losing their culture, forgetting about their own culture;
  4. People getting separated from their families;
  5. Finally, the local economy being totally changed, because of the building getting knocked down.

These buildings were for families with low income. It’s hard for people with low income to find a good apartment with five kids. I’ve seen people who went through having no place to go; it’s hard.

Please think about what people are going through in Cabrini Green.

Sincerely,

MF