Helping Communities Thrive

ILRE Preserving homes and hope on the South Side and Southland

Lita Scott exemplifies how one person can truly make a difference.

Since 2002, Scott, an information technology project manager, has been acquiring properties on Chicago’s South Side and Southland, fixing them up, and renting to members of the community. But this side business isn’t just about generating a return—it’s part of Scott’s larger mission to provide safe, affordable housing in communities that sorely need it.

“I looked around and saw that there was affordable housing here, but it wasn’t safe,” Scott says. “I realized that, as an African-American woman, if I hadn’t had the supports I was lucky enough to have been born with, I might have been in a situation where I had to live in these conditions. And that wasn’t acceptable to me at all.”

Today Scott’s real estate development company, ILRE LLC, owns and manages 42 units in nine buildings located in Oak Lawn, Auburn Gresham, Greater Grand Crossing, South Shore, and East Garfield Park. For many of the hundreds of tenants she’s rented to over the years, Scott has been much more than a typical landlord: she gets to know renters and their needs; stops for a chat or a game with their children; and even shares career advice.

“It’s so rewarding when I see youngsters who have been in my buildings for years graduate from school and start working and raising children. They’ll contact me every now and again to check in and say hi, ask me a question, or share a picture of a newborn. That is a good feeling right there, like I’ve been able to reach a couple of people,” Scott says.

When COVID-19 hit, Scott was concerned because a number of her tenants’ jobs were eliminated or scaled back, and many had difficulty coming up with rent. To make matters worse, the costs of utilities and maintenance were soaring due to tenants sheltering in place.

Scott reached out to CCLF, with whom she has worked since 2015 to refinance mortgages on several of her properties. CCLF allowed Scott to defer her loan payments and also gave her a $5,000 emergency grant using funds from the Federal Home Loan Bank of Chicago. These measures provided relief for Scott and her tenants until the tenants’ unemployment benefits could kick in and they could begin making payments again.

“CCLF is not just business-focused—they’re also very realistic and in tune with what’s happening in the world. Their flexibility during COVID-19 was such a blessing to me and my tenants.”

Now Scott can continue doing what she was made for: ensuring South Side and Southland residents have safe and affordable living options, with a landlord who cares deeply about them and their wellbeing.

Bubbly Dynamics Reinventing together in Back of the Yards

Back of the Yards is a community that has struggled with disinvestment, unemployment, and poverty ever since the 1970s closure of the famed Chicago stockyards. In 2010, small-business incubator Bubbly Dynamics converted an abandoned meatpacking plant here into a net-zero-energy vertical farm and research operation housing a collaborative community of local food businesses.

The building is home to 20 unique tenants, anchored by Whiner Brewery, Just Ice (a specialty ice maker), Great American Cheese, and Breads by Bungalow. About half of these businesses are minority- or woman-owned or co-owned, and staff have included hard-to-employ individuals such as disabled veterans, ex-offenders, refugees, and housing-insecure individuals.

In 2011, CCLF provided a $540,000 loan to Bubbly Dynamics for parts of an anaerobic digester and combined heat and power system to be installed. The anaerobic digester is designed to transform food waste into valuable outputs, such as heat, electricity, and fertilizer, which can be sold to local businesses. Through a grant provided by the Opportunity Finance Network, CCLF will help Bubbly Dynamics advance their work on the digester.

Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, tenants have all remained open through creative flexing, federal and local subsidies, and Bubbly Dynamics’ ability to offer rent concessions when needed. In March 2020, tenant Closed Loop Farms pivoted to create its own “virtual farmer’s market,” an online delivery portal for selling directly to consumers, and signed up most of the other producers from the building. Within two months, the company had expanded to offer products from 20 other businesses.

Bubbly Dynamics has not wavered from its commitment to the Back of the Yards community. During the pandemic, the company provided free outdoor meeting space to several local nonprofits and continued to participate in the Peace and Education Coalition, which fosters cross-pollination and community-building among neighborhood stakeholders. Carolee Kokola, director of enterprise operations, believes the company’s strong community ties are a huge reason Bubbly Dynamics was made for this moment.

“If you’re already immersed in a neighborhood network, you’re much better poised to jump in when there’s a crisis,” Kokola says.

As the region begins to recover and interest in the green energy sector continues to rise, Bubbly Dynamics will continue to be a leader in the green movement.

Building Self-Determination Building high-tech futures in Pullman

When people have a viable path to self-sustainability, it opens up a world of possibilities for their futures. On the South Side of Chicago, a forward-looking social enterprise is helping residents find such a path through an innovative robotics training program.

Created by the Bishop Arthur M. Brazier Foundation, BSD Industries is named for its mission of transforming communities through building self-determination. The enterprise’s 13-month-long robotics program, hosted at Chicago State University, offers participants five levels of credentials and prepares them for work in high-growth industries as automation technicians, CAD (computer-aided design) drafters, and robotics programmers. This instruction is then augmented by an “earn and learn” apprenticeship program at BSD’s state-of-the-art manufacturing facility at 95th and Cottage Grove. A former shoe factory, the site now produces high-quality, sustainable plastic cutlery and counts the University of Chicago, Bon Appetit, and local healthcare providers among its clients.

In 2014, CCLF and Community Reinvestment Fund pooled resources, equally contributing to a $400,000 loan that gave BSD a line of credit to support cash flow and equipment purchases during its start-up years. Since then, the robotics program has graduated more than 250 participants and BSD has built out its programming with a six-week essential employment skills course and job placement and retention services.

Like many other businesses, BSD had to completely rethink its operations during the COVID-19 pandemic. Training programs moved online, and social distancing and PPE became new norms for all onsite activity. To ensure participants could continue in the program, BSD did everything in its power to support their needs, from providing laptops to helping secure reliable internet access to making that extra phone call in attempts of reaching the person who suddenly dropped off. With its built-in focus on innovation and transformation, BSD was made to handle each challenge dealt in 2020.

“If there’s one thing our communities know, it’s how to jump over hurdles. We pivot when we have to because we’re survivors,” said Karen DeGrasse, workforce development manager.

UPS Store Bringing a UPS Store to Woodlawn

When Rex Ingram heard about the chance to apply for ownership of a UPS franchise, the idea seemed too good to pass up. Ingram, a retired military veteran, and his wife, Monica, a former Chicago police officer for 25 years, were connected to the opportunity by Chicago TREND—an organization that helps entrepreneurs of color secure financing they might not get otherwise for retail developments that can help revitalize neighborhoods.

With origination and technical support from our partner, Chicago TREND, CCLF provided the Ingrams with a $225,000 loan to support the store buildout, provide working capital, and purchase equipment. When their franchise opened in October 2019 at Woodlawn Station, it was the first UPS Store to be located in the neighborhood.

Just five months into the Ingrams’ journey as franchisees, COVID-19 descended on the region. When CCLF President Calvin Holmes stopped by the store one day to ask how CCLF might be of help, he learned that the Ingrams did not have PPE to offer customers, and had to turn away people without masks. CCLF sent masks and hand sanitizer to tide the Ingrams over until they could procure their own and also helped them navigate their Paycheck Protection Program application and secure a loan that allowed them to retain their one paid employee.

The year’s challenges didn’t end there. When the murder of George Floyd sparked rioting and unrest, the Ingrams had to maintain a constant presence at the store to protect it from looters. “Luckily we only had one broken window and no inside damage or theft,” Rex says. “But it brought tears to your eyes to see the waves of people jumping through broken windows of other stores, stealing handful after handful of merchandise all day long.”

“2020 helped me see just how needed our services are in this community.”

One year into the pandemic, Ingram sees a bright future ahead. 2020 showed him just how essential the UPS Store is to the Woodlawn community. Customers use it regularly, not only for shipping, but for printing, faxes, notary services, and safe pick-up of packages. He and Monica are determined that their store will continue to become a vital part of the community, made to fulfill this specific need in people’s day-to-day lives.