Woodlawn resident alleges unjust foreclosure, gains neighborhood support

CHICAGO - Christiana Powell, a longtime resident of Woodlawn, claims her family was among the first to integrate the neighborhood. 

Now, she's embroiled in a battle to prevent what she alleges is an unjust foreclosure and eviction.

Supporters, including neighbors and allies, have established a protest encampment in Powell's yard, located just blocks away from the Obama Center.

Powell stated that her grandfather purchased their home in 1950. According to her, the property was unlawfully foreclosed on and sold.

"My property has been illegally foreclosed on and illegally sold at a judicial sale that the state law says you cannot have within 90 days and yet my property was sold 28 days after it was foreclosed on by U.S. Bank who committed fraud by changing my mortgage from FHA to conventional without my knowledge or my permission," said Powell. 

Powell claims that in 2016, following the mortgage alteration, her monthly payments skyrocketed from $800 to $3,500.