Anytime you cram 225 economically disadvantaged people into a small geographically segregated area it’s a recipe for disaster. – The First Ward
And that disaster – or at least the disaster du jour – hit on December 27 in the form of Alejandro Cota fatally stabbing his significant other and her son in their Emma’s Landing “affordable housing” townhome on the west side of Geneva.
Despite what the progressive apologizers are claiming, it couldn’t have happened anywhere else in Geneva. The best proof of that theorem is it’s the first double murder in Geneva’s entire 166-year history.
For the uninitiated, in May of 2020, Geneva Mayor Kevin Burns did his best to use his new COVID-based executive powers to ram the Emma’s Landing project forgoing any form of transparency. But the public caught on, and after a bitter battle including financial shenanigans and attorneys on both sides, the progressive city council approved the development by a two-thirds vote.
But not only does the Burton Foundation, the group behind Emma’s Landing, have a terrible reputation for letting their low-income housing go to rot, but one of their principals, Tracey Manning (or her husband), went to high school with Kevin Burns. I’m sure you’re starting to get the picture.
The eight-acre 45 townhome project is bordered by the Sterling Manor subdivision, the UP tracks, Randall Road businesses, and Lewis Road. To paraphrase my initial column on the topic, “That’s just like cramming 45 homes, at least 225 people, and 135 vehicles into a geographically isolated area the size of Soldier Field. What could possibly go wrong with that?”
A double murder for one. Particularly when the Landing isn’t making the minimal effort to screen prospective residents as they publicly swore they’d do. I realize it’s difficult to say any double murder is predictable, but when you consider the individuals involved, this one is hardly a surprise.
Mr. Cota’s criminal track record is the kind of stuff that makes failed Kane County board candidate Eric Stare blush. Between Kane, DuPage, and Pima County Arizona, Cota has racked up:
- Multiple felonies for aggravated DUI and repeatedly driving on a suspended license
- Driving on a suspended/revoked license at least seven and likely eleven times
- Shoplifting
- Repeated failures to show up in court
He still owes the Pima County courts $1,500 and if Cook County made their criminal court records available online, that list would be twice what it is. His tragically murdered significant other was also a multiple felon.
Though I verified every last one of the court record details, it was a reader who alerted me to their existence. And if a reader can come up with all that data, what does that say about the folks managing Emma’s Landings? I’ll tell you what it says! It says their singular criteria for accepting new tenants is if they’re breathing.
Yes! Domestic violence can happen anywhere, but when you put two troubled individuals together, neither of whom can shake the criminal mindset, in a stilted, segregated, and densely populated housing project, you really can’t count on good things happening. Add a major alcohol problem to the mix and what the fuck did anyone think was gonna happen?
Alejandro Cota is the kind of walking crimewave who wouldn’t have been able to afford Geneva were it not for Emma’s Landing, Nor would the woman he murdered. And isn’t that a great part of the reason most of us chose to live here? The economics involved tend to attract a better “clientele.”
But in their inimitable “wisdom” the Mayor, and particularly ultra-progressive Alderman Martha Paschke, unilaterally determined that all you have to do is remove the jack-booted foot of “The Man” from these poor folks’ throats and they’ll automatically behave like upstanding citizens. But that’s never the case. When it doesn’t involve a mental illness; poverty, homelessness, hopelessness, and criminal behavior are a mindset that gets drummed into disadvantaged children at a very young age. And once any of those mindsets take hold, it’s very difficult to disengage them.
That’s why Chicago finally gave up on dense public housing projects like Cabrini Green and the Robert Taylor Homes. The affordable housing initiatives that actually work involve Habitat for Humanity and local churches who support their new residents as they attempt to make the difficult mental and cultural shift.
Then, when their “it could happen anywhere” argument falls completely flat, those same progressive sophists do their best to claim that “It was an isolated incident.” No, it wasn’t!
Exactly one month earlier, another “stellar” individual with a similarly stunning criminal record beat the crap out of his baby momma’s momma – in her Emma’s Landing townhome. He’s currently a guest of the Kane County taxpayer awaiting trial on six separate felony charges, which may well be an Emma’s Landing record!
And this isn’t nearly the end of the poorly conceived Geneva affordable housing plan. In part two of what will likely be a three-part series, we’ll more fully discuss that incident and explain why Mayor Burns really needs to go.
Author’s Note:
In an effort to be thorough and get the whole story, I’ve issued a rare FOIA request for the following:
- All police and incident reports involving an Emma’s Landing address in 2024.
- All police and incident reports involving an Emma’s Landing resident in 2024.
Given the nature of the request, I’ve provided a peremptory five-day extension. Barring a denial (which would be a really BAD idea on the part of the city), I should have the results in 10 days.