History

The Challenge and the Response

Located in the northeast corner of Illinois, Waukegan is a city of more than 80,000 people with a wide ethnic and economic diversity. Waukegan is one of many older, industrialized cities in the Midwest that has been beset by urban decay and blight. In the early 1970s through the 1980s, Waukegan's industrial base was eroded by the closing of several large manufacturing plants and the loss of thousands of well-paying jobs. The depressed economy and displacement of workers led to a surplus of once beautiful and well-tended homes flooding the market. In many cases, these single family homes were bought by speculators who carved them up into several apartments or turned them into rooming houses. Shoddy maintenance, if any, was all that these properties received. Once the residential neighborhoods began to deteriorate, nearby commercial areas suffered, and boarded-up businesses became a common sight throughout the city. Recently, Waukegan's ratio of owner occupied realty to rental property slipped to 60/40, a sure sign of fragility given the typical 80/20 ratio of healthy communities.

In their oft-quoted article on the association of blight and crime, criminologists James Wilson and George Kelling describe how one broken window left unrepaired leads to an ever increasing number of broken windows ("The Police and Neighborhood Safety." The Atlantic: March 1982, 29–38). Decay of one building spreads quickly to others nearby, creating the impression that no one cares about the area, and that there are no community standards or expectations. Normal patterns of socialization are fractured; criminal activity grows freely, and fearful citizens abandon their neighborhoods.

TOWN's goals are to cause:

TOWN monitors the actions of city government and works to enhance the quality of local media. To achieve its goals, TOWN educates the citizens of Waukegan about their rights and responsibilities to protect and improve their neighborhoods and to hold the city government and their local media accountable. TOWN inspires both public and private action to stop the spread of urban decay, to restore healthy community standards, and to ensure that city government and local media act in the interests of the citizens.

TOWN has developed working relationships with Waukegan's code enforcement and community policing departments, and TOWN has begun to serve as an umbrella for Neighborhood Watches and other smaller groups. TOWN members have formed watchdog committees to monitor governmental meetings and to provide citizen input to bodies such as the Waukegan City Council, Unit School District and Park District. TOWN publishes and distributes a newsletter, sponsors candidates' forums and other public events, and has established an office and hotline for the sharing of community information and concerns.

The History and the Action

One of the first tasks undertaken by TOWN members was to drive every street and alley in every ward of the City of Waukegan. Armed with a punch list of code violations, their mission was to identify those properties in gross noncompliance with code requirements and then to ascertain ownership. More than 400 abandoned or derelict buildings were identified in the city; no ward was exempt from the blighted conditions. Some dwellings appeared totally uninhabitable, but nevertheless were occupied by tenants and, in many cases, families with children. So as not to entangle impoverished homeowners in legal proceedings, TOWN resolved to target only income-producing properties, buildings owned by absentee landlords, or commercial property. Each derelict or dilapidated property was inspected by a professional contractor who was knowledgeable in BOCA (Building Official and Code Administrators) maintenance codes that set standards for the upkeep of existing buildings. Within a month of TOWN's first organizational meeting, nine neighbors were willing to serve as plaintiffs against an abandoned and red-tagged (unfit for human habitation) house in their well maintained neighborhood on Hickory Street in an historic area on Waukegan's near north side.

An example of TOWN's successful litigation strategy was a forty acre junkyard overflowing with garbage, old tires and mangled scrap metal that lay along Waukegan's lakefront near the commuter rail into the city. This open junkyard was the first visual impression that many visitors had of the City of Waukegan. Because of a court order issued in the TOWN-inspired suit brought by the resident staff of a nearby Salvation Army facility, the garbage and debris were hauled away at the expense of the property owner. In another instance, a burned-out husk of a building at 416 Ravine Street on Waukegan's south side owned – incredibly – by a Waukegan code enforcement officer, was attracting children from nearby parks and schools. Another group of residents, organized by TOWN and furnished with legal counsel, took action to force the owner to bulldoze the unsafe structure, and a new Cape Cod home has now been built on the site.

Another example of TOWN's successful litigation was the notorious Karcher Hotel on Washington Street in downtown Waukegan,which was fire damaged and literally falling apart. In addition to its structural defects, the Karcher was filled with combustible debris and had no operational sprinkler system. It was a firetrap waiting to ignite one block from City Hall! In response to a TOWN-inspired legal action, the owner was compelled to initiate a facelift of the building and to remove all combustible debris from all eight stories.

Due to TOWN-inspired legal action, an abandoned and disheveled video store on Grand Avenue has become a successful storm door and window business, and the building is now being beautifully maintained. A derelict filling station on Lewis Avenue is now a thriving mini-mart. The K-Mart Corporation was taken to court to clean up its long-deserted, boarded-up building on Waukegan's northwest side, and after rehabilitation, a light manufacturing business moved into the building and began providing employment to 100 people.

In April of 1997, TOWN utilized another Illinois statute, the Controlled Substance and Cannabis Nuisance Act. Eighty-one TOWN members filed a landmark case against the owner of a property that was the center of a major crack dealing operation. A unique cooperative effort between the Waukegan Police Department, Lake County Metropolitan Enforcement Group, the Illinois Attorney General's Office, the Lake County State's Attorney and TOWN led to the indictment of 28 drug dealers and the closing down of a notorious drug house at 842 Adams Street. This two-flat in a residential neighborhood had been an open market for illegal drugs for nearly ten years; nearby residents were intimidated and had almost given up hope of living in a healthy environment.

TOWN's watchdog role over municipal government has prompted positive changes in the way that Waukegan operates. Acting on information provided by city employees, TOWN obtained hundreds of public documents and made an investigation into Waukegan's purchasing procedures. A report of this investigation, showing repeated violations of public bidding requirements, was submitted to the City Council and the Waukegan community. The result has been a new policy by the City Council, which is now submitting large purchases to the bidding process as required by the city's ordinances. Attention has also been focused on Waukegan's troubled downtown. At the request of a downtown store owner, TOWN mobilized its membership and publicized information that a single downtown bar had required hundreds of police calls for problems such as prostitution, drug dealing and weapons violations. The result of this publicity campaign was the surrender of the liquor license by the bar's owner, and a slight but palpable improvement in the condition of Waukegan's troubled commercial core.

TOWN's success and tenacity have prompted other cities and villages to seek input from members of the organization. Residents and elected officials of North Chicago, Round Lake Beach, Highwood and Lake Villa have met with TOWN representatives to explore the establishment of sister organizations in their communities and for guidance in using the anti-blight and anti-drug statutes to clean up their cities.

In December of 1997, the TOWN citizen's movement became an Illinois nonprofit corporation with IRS tax-exempt status. The reason for incorporation was to consolidate and expand the successful program, to move from a purely volunteer effort into becoming an adequately funded, ongoing civic organization.

The Vision

While it faces serious challenges, Waukegan has substantial strengths and tremendous opportunities for rebirth. As the government seat of Lake County, one of the fastest growing counties in the nation, Waukegan has the ability to attract young professionals who would enjoy close proximity to the Lake Michigan shore, the accompanying activities, and the affordable housing that has become increasingly hard to find elsewhere in the county. Waukegan has a rich cultural tradition that offers the kind of artistic opportunities and multicultural experiences that only a true city can provide. And there remain many pockets of safe, stable neighborhoods scattered throughout the city where homeowners, regardless of economic level, maintain their properties in immaculate condition. An increase in these pockets to a critical mass could permanently reverse a trend toward blight, and provide a nucleus that would attract responsible property owners and boost commercial redevelopment.

Waukegan's midsize status may make it less competitive for federal programs and media attention, but its size is advantageous in meeting challenges and solving problems. Major urban centers present problems and challenges on such an overwhelming scale that real solutions often seem out of reach. But in a city of 85,000 – a real city with the same diversity, the same challenges, the same strengths and weaknesses as the big cities – solutions can be created and can become visible. A model can emerge for other communities to tailor to their own needs. Waukegan can be the place where citizen action has transformed a city, where residents from all ethnic and economic backgrounds have taken a stand together, have dug in their heels and gone to work, and have brought their city back from urban decay to health ad prosperity. It is only because of aggressive citizen involvement, the willingness of TOWN's attorneys to work for minimal compensation and the court's cooperation in enforcing state laws, that significant improvements to many Waukegan neighborhoods have been achieved. All segments of the city's population have been active in these legal proceedings –blacks, whites, Hispanics, business owners, home owners, social service agencies and community groups. Even a Waukegan alderman became a plaintiff in a TOWN-inspired legal action when the city's code enforcement department was unable to solve a lead poisoning problem in his neighborhood.

But even more important than the tangible results are the intangible benefits. TOWN has sent the message to Waukegan residents that – regardless of ethnic or economic background – they have the right to live in neighborhoods that are decent and healthy, and in buildings that conform to acceptable standards of safety. Pressure has been put on city officials to increase the quantity and quality of code enforcement, and when they are non-responsive, the citizens have a powerful private mechanism to improve their neighborhoods. A new sense of hope, empowerment and teamwork have come to Waukegan.

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