Woman Evicted Because Family Repeatedly Called Police For Help: Lawsuit

RICHTON PARK, IL — Repeated calls to the police for help with gun violence on her street led a Richton Park woman to be evicted under the municipality’s crime-free housing ordinance, which she argues is unconstitutional in a lawsuit against the village.

Diamond Jones lived in a three-bedroom rental house in the 4200 block of Greenbrier Lane for several years with her two young daughters and her teenage brother, according to the legal complaint.

Then, on June 24, 2022, a person was shot on her street, authorities said. Jones’ mother was watching the girls at the time and called the police, according to a news release from Chicago Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights, which is representing Jones.

The next day, her family was targeted with online threats in retaliation for their cooperation with police and they again notified law enforcement, the release said. Two days after that, someone fired shots into the house while Jones’ mother and daughters were inside and the family called police once more, according to the release.

Bulletholes and fragments littered multiple rooms, including the girls’ bedroom, the complaint said.

Just days later, on July 5, 2022, Jones found an eviction notice on her door, the result of a law that empowers the village to require the eviction of tenants who are involved in alleged criminal activity or make an “unreasonably high” number of calls to police, according to the release.

“I reached out to those who were supposed to protect me and my family, but they let us down,” Jones said in the release. “I was ultimately evicted from the home we had lived in for four years as a consequence of these events, I sincerely hope that no one else has to go through what I did. I feel like I lost everything.”

Village officials did not immediately respond Tuesday to a request for comment on the lawsuit, but in an email listed in the complaint as a legal exhibit, Chief of Police Demitrous Cook wrote that the shooting victim June 24 had been visiting Jones’ home around the time he was struck.

"These incidents have placed the neighborhood in danger and created a high level of fear," Cook wrote.

Jones moved her daughters to a third-floor walk-up apartment that cost over $300 more per month than the house, according to the complaint. She has accused the village of violating her First Amendment and due process rights, the complaint said.

“Because CFO enforcement is triggered by contact with law enforcement and calls for emergency services, these ordinances not only reinforce patterns of local and regional segregation, but also penalize those in need of help—survivors of domestic violence, people with disabilities, and crime victims, like Ms. Jones.” Micaela Alvarez, program counsel at Chicago Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights, said in the news release.

Jones is seeking economic, emotional and compensatory damages, according to the complaint.