Kindness, humanity–and a good lawyer–can go a long way

At JUF’s Evelyn R. Greene Legal Services clinic, volunteer attorneys provide their time and skill to advocate for low-income Chicagoans, supporting them with critical legal representation free of charge.

Meet Mike, a 72-year-old Jewish veteran, father, and grandfather, who had resided in his Skokie apartment for 14 years. He never missed rent, and he had always lived there without incident.

Until last year when a new tenant moved in. This new neighbor drank heavily and displayed general rudeness and rowdiness. On one horrible occasion, this new neighbor started yelling at Mike and smacked him in the face. In self-defense, Mike hit the neighbor back. A bystander called 911; the police asked Mike if he wanted to press charges against the new neighbor, but he declined.

Weeks before Mike’s lease was up, his landlord told him to vacate the building within 45 days, or face eviction. They did not want any more trouble with the police, the landlord explained. Mike panicked, knowing how expensive moving would be.

So, he called JUF’s Evelyn R. Greene Legal Services who connected him with longtime clinic volunteer Nate Lichtenstein, who has been doing pro bono legal advising for more than 40 years.

When Lichtenstein investigated Mike’s case, he uncovered violations of the Chicago Residential Landlord Tenant Ordinance. Then, he drafted a strong letter to the landlord, detailing that the unsafe living situation with the aggressive neighbor, poor building conditions, and retaliation against Mike, was all forbidden by statute.

Ultimately, Lichtenstein negotiated a settlement for Mike, complete with the landlord paying for much of his hefty moving expenses. Mike was grateful to the legal clinic and to Lichtenstein for his advocacy, kindness, and empathy–and for helping him to feel whole again.

Emily Pevnick is the Midwest Regional Deputy Director for AIPAC. She contacted TOV’s Volunteer Concierge service looking for a personal way to honor her late father–Sanford “Sandy” Lee Berman, an attorney for 47 years–on his first yahrtzeit . TOV connected Emily with JUF Evelyn R. Greene Legal Services to conduct interviews and write this piece in his memory.