September 26, 2025 • 5 mins
In our opening episode, we plunge into Lake Meadows and the fast-changing landscape of Black Chicago, where sudden rent hikes and strategic evictions threaten to upend lives overnight. Community organizer Marquinn McDonald wakes before dawn to face the crisis on his block, while nonprofit leader Akilah McCord races grant deadlines just to keep families afloat. You’ll hear from tenants caught in a wave of displacement and experts like Michelle Kennedy, who explain just how high the stakes have become. As the episode closes, we pull back the curtain on the larger forces shaping this crisis—hinting at the power struggles and unraveling alliances that will define the battles ahead.
*This work was made possible in part by funding from the Alliance Matters campaign, an initiative of Chicago Independent Media Alliance (CIMA) and the Field Foundation.
https://www.cnwmedia.com
*This work was made possible in part by funding from the Alliance Matters campaign, an initiative of Chicago Independent Media Alliance (CIMA) and the Field Foundation.
https://www.cnwmedia.com
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:03):
This is the CNW Network, a platform where brilliance meets
everyday life, from politics and sports to entertainment. At interviews,
we go beyond the headlines with storytelling that connects, heals,
and inspires, and with freedom banter to keep it real.
CNW is shaped by your world and shared with your
(00:24):
voice from Chicago to the nation. Welcome to the movement,
Welcome to CNW.
Speaker 2 (00:34):
This is Cornered. Episode one, the New Economics of Displacement.
In this first episode, we explore Bronzeville, a community facing
rising rents, questionable evictions, and a fight for survival against
powerful interest. You'll hear from residents, activists, and experts who
reveal what's really happening behind the headlines and why it matters.
(00:57):
The phone call comes at four forty five am, as always,
another night, another shooting in Bronzeville. Mark when McDonald pulls
on his boots and heads into the darkness that swallows
Chicago's South Side, where he spent nearly two decades patrolling
streets that city officials rarely visit, but constantly analyzing crime statistics.
McDonald is a man of many titles, WatchGuard Chicago, co founder,
(01:20):
Second District community commissioned councilman Dean at It takes a
village leadership academy, but this morning he's simply a father
and a neighbor responding to violence the data shows is decreasing,
even as bullets shat our windows and dreams with ruthless regularity.
For anyone to say they don't get tired is lying,
McDonald says, his voice carrying the weight of countless sleepless nights.
(01:43):
The work, the work. Though Three miles north, Akeela McCord
starts her day as chief operating officer at the Answer, Inc.
Managing autism services that reach families across the city. By
seven am, she's already deep in a grant reporting, onboarding
new staff and strategizing for programs that could disappear with
the next state budget cycle. Every grant headline or state
(02:04):
budget decision directly affects the stability of the people we serve,
she explains. We live grant to grant. On the South Side,
Chris Davis opens his barbershop, where conversations flow as freely
as the clippers through his client's hair. An educator by
morning and an entrepreneur by night, Davis represents the hustle
that defines Black Chicago. Multiple jobs, multiple roles, all aimed
(02:27):
at creating permeans in a city that seems designed to
undermine it. I'm here to mentor these youth, guide them
in the right directions, he says, making sure that they're
in a safe haven environment. Because there's so much going
on in the city of Chicago. These three voices, Activists, executive,
entrepreneur capture the breath of Black Chicago's crossroads moment, from
(02:48):
Bronzeville to the boardroom, from the barbershop to the ballot box.
Black Chicagoans across all economic sectors are navigating converging crises
that threaten not just individual survival but the fabric of
commune unities that have anchored the city for generations. Lake
Meadows towers over Bronzeville like a monument to promises broken
and renewed. The residential complex, home to predominantly black family
(03:11):
since the nineteen fifties, has become ground zero for a
displacement crisis that reaches far beyond individual evictions. They raise
park and from five a month to fifty overnight. McDonald explains,
documenting what residents describe as systematic efforts to force out
longtime tenants, elders, single mothers with children. They're being pushed
out because they can't afford it, and you know what
(03:32):
they want to do, make it student housing. The complaint
mirror is a pattern playing out across historically black neighborhoods
where property management companies exploit legal gray areas to clear
buildings for higher paying demographics. McDonald's WatchGuard Chicago is documented
cases where tenants received a legal five day eviction notices,
(03:53):
with many moving before learning their rights. But this isn't
just about poverty, Akilamacor, despite her executive position, faces similar
similar procarity. Nonprofit funding cycles means security is never absolute,
She notes, Even c suite professionals live grant to grant
their security tied to political wins and budget negotiations. They
(04:16):
cannot control the numbers support these personal accounts. According to
recent analysis, black chicagoan's face eviction at nearly twice the
rate of white renters, with landlords showing less flexibility towards
Black families and payment agreements. In Bronsville, specifically, median home
prices jump nearly two hundred thousand between twenty eighteen and
(04:39):
twenty twenty two, while the area's median household income remains
around forty thousand, making home ownership increasingly impossible for the
community that built the neighborhood. If you're not wealthy and
you're not a black pricing, you cannot buy in Bronzeville,
says Michelle Kennedy, a city planning expert who grew up
in the area. And if you inherit property in Brodie
(05:00):
and you're not wealthy, it's going to be difficult for
you to pay the taxes and to maintain. But as
the neighborhood changes and families fight to hold on, the
real question hangs in the air. Who is pulling the
streams behind these policies, quietly deciding who stays and who goes.
While residents and advocates rally to defend their homes, a
(05:22):
new struggle emerges, one that isn't just about rent or taxes,
but about whose vision will define the future of Bronzeville.
And the coming episodes will meet the politicians, investors, and
organizers shaping these decisions, and follow the stories of those
determined to fight back no matter the odds.
This is the CNW Network, a platform where brilliance meets
everyday life, from politics and sports to entertainment. At interviews,
we go beyond the headlines with storytelling that connects, heals,
and inspires, and with freedom banter to keep it real.
CNW is shaped by your world and shared with your
(00:24):
voice from Chicago to the nation. Welcome to the movement,
Welcome to CNW.
Speaker 2 (00:34):
This is Cornered. Episode one, the New Economics of Displacement.
In this first episode, we explore Bronzeville, a community facing
rising rents, questionable evictions, and a fight for survival against
powerful interest. You'll hear from residents, activists, and experts who
reveal what's really happening behind the headlines and why it matters.
(00:57):
The phone call comes at four forty five am, as always,
another night, another shooting in Bronzeville. Mark when McDonald pulls
on his boots and heads into the darkness that swallows
Chicago's South Side, where he spent nearly two decades patrolling
streets that city officials rarely visit, but constantly analyzing crime statistics.
McDonald is a man of many titles, WatchGuard Chicago, co founder,
(01:20):
Second District community commissioned councilman Dean at It takes a
village leadership academy, but this morning he's simply a father
and a neighbor responding to violence the data shows is decreasing,
even as bullets shat our windows and dreams with ruthless regularity.
For anyone to say they don't get tired is lying,
McDonald says, his voice carrying the weight of countless sleepless nights.
(01:43):
The work, the work. Though Three miles north, Akeela McCord
starts her day as chief operating officer at the Answer, Inc.
Managing autism services that reach families across the city. By
seven am, she's already deep in a grant reporting, onboarding
new staff and strategizing for programs that could disappear with
the next state budget cycle. Every grant headline or state
(02:04):
budget decision directly affects the stability of the people we serve,
she explains. We live grant to grant. On the South Side,
Chris Davis opens his barbershop, where conversations flow as freely
as the clippers through his client's hair. An educator by
morning and an entrepreneur by night, Davis represents the hustle
that defines Black Chicago. Multiple jobs, multiple roles, all aimed
(02:27):
at creating permeans in a city that seems designed to
undermine it. I'm here to mentor these youth, guide them
in the right directions, he says, making sure that they're
in a safe haven environment. Because there's so much going
on in the city of Chicago. These three voices, Activists, executive,
entrepreneur capture the breath of Black Chicago's crossroads moment, from
(02:48):
Bronzeville to the boardroom, from the barbershop to the ballot box.
Black Chicagoans across all economic sectors are navigating converging crises
that threaten not just individual survival but the fabric of
commune unities that have anchored the city for generations. Lake
Meadows towers over Bronzeville like a monument to promises broken
and renewed. The residential complex, home to predominantly black family
(03:11):
since the nineteen fifties, has become ground zero for a
displacement crisis that reaches far beyond individual evictions. They raise
park and from five a month to fifty overnight. McDonald explains,
documenting what residents describe as systematic efforts to force out
longtime tenants, elders, single mothers with children. They're being pushed
out because they can't afford it, and you know what
(03:32):
they want to do, make it student housing. The complaint
mirror is a pattern playing out across historically black neighborhoods
where property management companies exploit legal gray areas to clear
buildings for higher paying demographics. McDonald's WatchGuard Chicago is documented
cases where tenants received a legal five day eviction notices,
(03:53):
with many moving before learning their rights. But this isn't
just about poverty, Akilamacor, despite her executive position, faces similar
similar procarity. Nonprofit funding cycles means security is never absolute,
She notes, Even c suite professionals live grant to grant
their security tied to political wins and budget negotiations. They
(04:16):
cannot control the numbers support these personal accounts. According to
recent analysis, black chicagoan's face eviction at nearly twice the
rate of white renters, with landlords showing less flexibility towards
Black families and payment agreements. In Bronsville, specifically, median home
prices jump nearly two hundred thousand between twenty eighteen and
(04:39):
twenty twenty two, while the area's median household income remains
around forty thousand, making home ownership increasingly impossible for the
community that built the neighborhood. If you're not wealthy and
you're not a black pricing, you cannot buy in Bronzeville,
says Michelle Kennedy, a city planning expert who grew up
in the area. And if you inherit property in Brodie
(05:00):
and you're not wealthy, it's going to be difficult for
you to pay the taxes and to maintain. But as
the neighborhood changes and families fight to hold on, the
real question hangs in the air. Who is pulling the
streams behind these policies, quietly deciding who stays and who goes.
While residents and advocates rally to defend their homes, a
(05:22):
new struggle emerges, one that isn't just about rent or taxes,
but about whose vision will define the future of Bronzeville.
And the coming episodes will meet the politicians, investors, and
organizers shaping these decisions, and follow the stories of those
determined to fight back no matter the odds.
Popular Podcasts
Las Culturistas with Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang
Ding dong! Join your culture consultants, Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang, on an unforgettable journey into the beating heart of CULTURE. Alongside sizzling special guests, they GET INTO the hottest pop-culture moments of the day and the formative cultural experiences that turned them into Culturistas. Produced by the Big Money Players Network and iHeartRadio.
The Joe Rogan Experience
The official podcast of comedian Joe Rogan.
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.