Michael Chavez

Sex Offender Residence Restrictions Further Complicate Access to Affordable Housing and Social Services

While the home addresses of registered sex offenders are loosely “checked,” the lack of Chicago’s social service programs and affordable housing further inhibit the previously incarcerated from obtaining help or supervision.

Michael Chavez, 33 and, Kevin Smith, 55, are registered sex offenders living in the same building located on 426 South Clark Street.  According to the Illinois state law, a registered sex offender may not live and/or loiter within “1000 feet of a public park.”  Pritzker Park, which is also located across from Harold Washington Library – a host to numerous afterschool programs for children under 18, is located 897 feet from Chavez and Smith’s residence.

“Nine times out of ten… you report this to the local police station, and they’re not going to do anything about it,” said Sgt. Mike Schassburger from the Cook County Sheriff Department.  “These men are clearly in violation of the state law but more than likely the system will take a while before addressing this issue.”

Chavez was 21 when he was arrested on October 13, 2000 for predatory criminal sexual assault with a victim who was 11.  Smith was 40 when he was arrested on October 11, 2002 for aggravated criminal sexual assault with a victim who was 33.  Because both offenses are a felonies in Illinois and both have plead guilty to charges against them, they are required to register as sex offenders for the rest of their lives. 

In 1990, when Harold Washington Library was undergoing its construction, the city of Chicago created Pritzker Park as an “outdoor enhancement to the new library.”  In 2008, the Chicago Park District took ownership and transformed the space with grass plantings and wall’s inscribed with quotations from famous authors.  The area is also home to temporary art installations such as Tony Tasset’s 30 foot tall plexiglass “Eye” in 2010.  Now used as a popular hangout for businessmen during their lunch-hour break, or homeless men finding company in feeding the pigeons, children often frequent the area on their way to the library.

Robert Reid, the security manager for Harold Washington Library, declined to directly comment on the sex offender’s living near Pritzker Park, but said it is a matter of a “police issue that needs to be resolved accordingly.”

Chicago police spokesman Sgt. Cesar Guzman said individuals who register as sex offenders, regardless if it’s for the first time or for their annual renewal, are required to input an address in which they will be residing.  Once their address is inputted in the system, there is a “check” to see if there are surrounding schools or parks within the area, which if appears not far enough, will be asked to relocate to another address. 

“There is a system that the offender’s address goes through to see if they are too close to a school and/or a park,” said Guzman.  “And if they are too close, then they have to relocate immediately.  If the individual violates that law of being near at least 500 feet from school grounds or 1,000 feet from a public park, then they are subject to an arrest.”

However Schassburger believes not many steps are proficiently taken in order to prevent sex offenders from living near public recreational areas.

“If a sex offender registers with an address that clearly shows up on the map near a lot of public schools or parks… then something is done to prevent them from living there,” said Schassburger.  “But if there aren’t as many schools around the area, most likely a second glance isn’t done to see if they’re violating the law.”

Coincidentally, both Chavez and Smith are currently residing in the Ewing Annex Hotel located on South Clark Street.  The hotel has no affiliation with the state judicial system, though it was challenged in court 10 years ago to be turned over to state ownership.  Due to the lack of affordable housing, especially for the recently incarcerated, mentally disabled, or homeless, the Ewing Annex Hotel has served as a sort of an unofficial social services facility.  

A small sign that reads, “Hotel Men Only” sticks out perpendicularly from the building as the entire block of wedged windows and metal fire escapes help camouflage the address.  “Cash Loans,” “Liquor,” and “We Buy Or Sell” take up the rest of the signage on the street, with a couple random seafood take-out restaurants awkwardly placed in between.  Unless looking for the hotel, a passerby probably wouldn’t know the hotel hosts up to 210 men each night. 

“There is a general shortage of affordable housing,” said Dr. Roberta Garner, a professor and director of the sociology graduate program at DePaul University who specializes in urban and political sociology.  “Even for moderate income working people, let alone for individuals who are mentally ill, unemployed, very poor or formerly incarcerated.”

Garner believes the restrictions against sex offenders living at a certain distance from particular areas, “further complicates a situation that is already difficult” and could lead to further displacement of formerly incarcerated individuals trying to seek employment.  With the rapid decline of health care and social services programs in Chicago, Garner doesn’t see a choice for individuals to live in areas other than what is affordable and basic to their needs.

“The issue is not where they live, but whether they are getting the supervision and treatment that can prevent further incidents,” she said.  “That is a matter of highly trained social workers and mental health professionals who would cost the taxpayer more money.   (However) that question is not solvable in today’s housing market except with government spending.” 

Garner believes the services and resources are not available “neither in the market nor in the current situation of government services” unless a dire need is demanded from the community.

The vicious cycle of a failed social service system affected Chavez in 1994 when his mother took him to see a psychiatrist at 15.  Chavez claimed he heard “voices” and constantly talked to himself to “stop them.”  In his arrest report, Chavez said he didn’t return to the psychiatrist after that initial visit until 1999.  Raised by his mother, Inez Seda, and stepfather, Peter Seda, Chavez was sexually abused by his uncle from age 11 to 15.  Never met his father, Chavez felt alone and considered suicide in high school.  Though he tried to get his life together in 1999, Chavez’s mental state caused him to quit after working six months as a paper route boy for the Chicago Sun Times.  That was his first and only job.  His mental state then began to rapidly deteriorate, as he could never “get over” the trauma from his abusive past.  In 2000, he remembers hearing the term “schizophrenic” as his diagnosis, but didn’t receive any prescription or follow up’s regarding that meeting.

Chavez was examined on January 31, 2001, before his trial date for predatory sexual assault, by staff psychiatrist Albert H. Stipes.  He was declared “fit for trial” and showed no evidence of “intellectual deficit.”

Although Schassburger believes the sex offender registry has tried its best to obtain accurate information, particular instances, such as Chavez and Smith’s residence violation, are not fully monitored unless someone points out the flaw directly.  And regardless of their violation, the monitoring of their whereabouts and upkeep of their mental and financial stability is, in his opinion, last on the state’s priority.

“If no one is keeping watch,” said Schassburger.  “Then certain instances such as this one will go unnoticed.”