S2 Ep1: The Mayor of Both Bridges

Where I Stay

There are 50 wards in Chicago, but more than 65,000 people living within its limits lack a home of their own - a group activist Carla Johnson refers to as the “51st Ward.”

Our intrepid reporters: Jesse Betend, StreetWise Editor Suzanne Hanney, and StreetWise vendor A. Allen set out to track down Tom Gordon, the so-called “Mayor of Uptown” in hopes of discovering what’s causing a rise in homeless camps throughout the city.

What they find is a community formed in the absence of adequate city services, existing in a legal limbo, and often in conflict with both local leaders and their housed neighbors. But also an unmistakable family. Just who is Tom Gordon? And who exactly made him the Mayor, anyway?

Meanwhile, the forming of a new tent city in a nearby park hits close to home, prompting difficult questions about what, at the end of the day, communities owe each other.

Welcome to the 51st Ward.

Special thanks to Musician Andrew Bird who donated music from his Chicago-inspired, 2013 EP “I Want To See Pulaski At Night” and Block Club Chicago Reporter Joe Ward who broke many of the stories in this episode, also 49th Ward Alderperson Maria Hadden, Erin Ryan, Tom “The Mayor of Uptown” Gordon, and the many encampment residents we interviewed for this story.

CREDITS:

Reported by Jesse Betend, Suzanne Hanney, A. Allen, Kianna Drummond and Keith Hardiman

Produced by Jesse Betend with help from Jennifer O'Neill

Music by Andrew Bird, Jeremy Blake, AETHER, John Patitucci and Freedom Trail Studios

Editing by Suzanne Hanney, Sheila Solomon, Amanda Jones, Julie Youngquist, Terri Lydon and Cindy Paulauskas

About StreetWise magazine

StreetWise has been part of the fabric of Chicago for 31 years, covering everything Chicago from its people to its social issues, politics, nonprofits, arts, culture, and neighborhoods.

Over the past 31 years more than 14,000 StreetWise vendors have found dignity on street corners in many neighborhoods across the city as they are empowered to earn an income with a hand up and not a handout.

About Rivet360

Rivet360 is a business to business podcast agency. It was founded in Chicago in 2013 with a simple mission: Tell the world’s stories, making them engaging and fun. An obsession with elegant solutions and devotion to editorial integrity have been part of the company from day one—along with a flexible, can-do attitude that customers love.