The Mexican-American neighborhood of Pilsen has welcomed a wave of economic development: loft condominiums, bookstores, coffeehouses and trolleys to bring tourists to shops and restaurants.
Another side of the Pilsen economy also thrived on the sidewalks near 18th and Loomis Streets.
There, day laborers gathered at 5 a.m. to flag down contractors and others willing to pay cash, under the table, for short-term construction and remodeling jobs.
But the two economic forces have found it difficult to coexist. Many merchants say day laborers drive away business and have become increasingly aggressive in harassing pedestrians and police. The workers say they simply want to eke out a living, and they accuse Pilsen merchants of embracing gentrification at their expense.
City leaders joined members of both groups Saturday to discuss a possible solution: a center that would offer job training, English classes, other services and a place to find work.
“It would help workers, and they’re the most important part of this right now,” said Ald. Daniel Solis (25th), who has been working to find a compromise.
His efforts are drawing praise from Latino labor activists and others who say the Pilsen situation mirrors problems throughout Chicago.
“Everybody is finally talking up this issue,” said Jose Landaverde, executive director of Latino Union, an advocacy group for day laborers. “These workers have been ignored for a long time. When are we going to come up with a solution that we can all live with?”
In a show of good faith to the business community, day laborers–jornaleros in Spanish–this month moved their gathering point to Allport Street and Cermak Road, away from the main residential and commerce corridors.
That move helped sway Solis and others to support a permanent center.
“They made the first move, which obligates us to look [at a center],” Solis said.
Both sides agree that part of the problem is a lack of organization among day laborers. They don’t hold licenses. They don’t wear name tags. They come and go.
Latino Union insists that the problems come from a few bad apples, homeless men who mingle with day laborers.
Residents and members of United Merchants of Pilsen, however, say most of the so-called day laborers are troublemakers and only a few are serious about seeking employment.
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Crossing guards say female students from Juarez High School cut through alleys to avoid leers, whistles and threats. One resident found a man had broken into her car to sleep. Residents say some workers leave with prostitutes.
“They don’t want to work. They just want to cause problems,” said Felix Cruz, president of the merchants association. “And the whole neighborhood is suffering.”
Ronald Sodini, 12th District commander for the Chicago Police Department, said citizen complaints have increased. But he agreed it is difficult to separate day laborers from clients of a nearby homeless shelter.
After helping move the day laborers’ meeting place off the main thoroughfare, Solis worked with a Pilsen company to let the workers gather in its parking lot, where portable toilets and tents can be set up. That site opened Friday.
Some community leaders hope to build a permanent center with the help of tax-increment financing, which channels tax revenues toward public improvements.
Solis said he would look to other types of funding as well.
There are about 12 day-labor corners in Chicago, according to Nik Theodore, a University of Illinois at Chicago urban affairs researcher. The two largest are on the Northwest Side at Milwaukee and Belmont Avenues–which for 20 years has seen mostly Polish, Ukrainian and Czechoslovakian day workers–and at Lawrence Avenue and Pulaski Road.
Other cities, including Houston, Phoenix and San Jose, Calif., have built day-labor centers or are considering such facilities. Supporters say the buildings provide order and protection, while critics call them a waste of tax dollars for a labor pool containing many undocumented immigrants.
Landaverde said the plight of day laborers will only get worse as a sour economy and tighter immigration controls make it harder for immigrants to find mainstream jobs.
But bad feelings remain, driven by an undercurrent of class tensions in a neighborhood where rapid gentrification has created hope and resentment.
Near the laborers’ former meeting site, the city remade the sprawling Plaza Tenochtitlan, whose towering statue of an eagle has become a landmark.
Farther east on 18th Street, developers envision an arts district anchored by the University of Illinois at Chicago. Some longtime residents fear the redevelopment will increase property taxes and price them out of the neighborhood.
But merchants say the day laborers hurt efforts to remake Pilsen.
“We’ve invested a lot of effort, a lot of hours of work to get people to come to Pilsen,” said Sergio Gonzalez, manager of the Libreria Giron bookstore. “We worry that they’re going to ruin what we have been fighting to build.”
Day laborers say they are part of the community, too, and accuse critics of channeling their anger in the wrong direction.
“We are on corners to find work to care for our families,” said Rosario Cardenas, one of about 15 day laborers who attended Saturday’s meeting. “Going to the corner is the only way we can earn enough to support our families.”
Martin Manteca, director of the Pilsen Alliance, a community group, said many residents are viewing economic development through too narrow of a lens.
“With all the redevelopment going on around the city, everyone has had a jornalero in their home,” he said. “We should give them the credit and respect that they deserve.”