Gautreaux v. Chicago Housing Authority
| Decision Date | 07 November 1974 |
| Docket Number | No. 66 C 1459,66 C 1460.,66 C 1459 |
| Citation | 384 F. Supp. 37 |
| Parties | Dorothy GAUTREAUX et al., Plaintiffs, v. CHICAGO HOUSING AUTHORITY and James T. Lynn, Successor to George W. Romney, Secretary of the Department of Housing and Urban Development, et al., Defendants. |
| Court | U.S. District Court — Northern District of Illinois |
Alexander Polikoff, Chicago, Ill., for plaintiffs.
Patrick W. O'Brien, and Steven M. Rasher, Chicago, Ill., for defendant Chicago Housing Authority.
James R. Thompson, U. S. Atty., R. Schaefer and R. A. Filpi, Asst. U. S. Attys., Chicago, Ill., for defendant James T. Lynn.
These consolidated cases come before me now on Plaintiffs' motion to appoint a Commissioner to formulate plans for the expeditious construction of new public housing units in the City of Chicago. Since it has not been established that Defendants Chicago Housing Authority (CHA) and United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) have directly contravened my prior judgments and since Plaintiffs' request is overbroad, the motion cannot be granted as tendered. However, to pinpoint responsibility for Defendants' apparent lack of diligence and to develop methods for achieving compliance with my orders, reference of this case to a Master is appropriate. Fed.R.Civ.Pro. 53(a). See LaBuy v. Howes Leather Co., 352 U.S. 249, 256, 77 S.Ct. 309, 1 L.Ed.2d 290 (1957); Schwimmer v. United States, 232 F.2d 855, 865 (8th Cir.), cert. den. 352 U.S. 833, 77 S.Ct. 48, 1 L.Ed.2d 52 (1956).
The history and substance of these lawsuits are extensive and complicated. For an excellent background discussion of this controversy, see Gautreaux v. Romney, 457 F.2d 124, 129 et seq. (7th Cir. 1971) (Sprecher, J., dissenting). After carefully examining the legal contentions and factual proofs of the parties, I entered a Memorandum Opinion on February 10, 1969, holding that Defendant CHA intentionally and unconstitutionally discriminated, on the basis of race, in its public housing site selection and tenant assignment procedures in Chicago. Gautreaux v. Chicago Housing Authority, 296 F.Supp. 907 (N.D.Ill. 1969). On September 10, 1971, a similar finding was made against Defendant HUD by the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit. Gautreaux v. Romney, 448 F.2d 731 (7th Cir. 1971). Each Defendant was ordered to use its "best efforts" to reverse the effects of its prior unlawful conduct. Gautreaux v. Chicago Housing Authority, 304 F.Supp. 736 (N.D.Ill.1969) aff'd 436 F.2d 306 (7th Cir. 1971); Gautreaux v. Romney, 363 F.Supp. 690 (N.D.Ill. 1973), rev'd on other grounds, 503 F.2d 930 (7th Cir., 1974). To that end, on July 1, 1969, I enjoined the further construction of public housing in any "nonwhite" section of Chicago, unless such action was accompanied by the simultaneous construction of at least 75 percent of all proposed units in "white" areas of the City. Gautreaux v. Chicago Housing Authority, 304 F.Supp. 736 (N.D.Ill.1969), aff'd 436 F.2d 306 (7th Cir. 1971).
For the past five years and four months, no public housing construction has been completed by any party. Both HUD and CHA contend that they have employed their "best efforts" to fulfill the mandate of my orders and attribute this inordinate delay to "normal bureaucratic procedures." For their part, Plaintiffs have refrained from charging Defendants with "bad faith" but maintain that additional Court assistance is necessary to bring these cases to a prompt and just conclusion. I agree. For reasons entirely unclear to me, the effect and import of my orders have been avoided and frustrated for over five years. During this period of time, the citizens of this City have been deprived of increased low-income housing. In light of these exceptional circumstances, in view of the unusually complex issues presented here, and in the interests of justice, I conclude that this matter must be referred to a Master for immediate attention and proposals. Fed.R.Civ.Pro. 53(a); 5A Moore's Federal Practice § 53.05.
Pursuant to the discretion vested in me by Fed.R.Civ.Pro. 53(a) and in exercise of my judicial authority, this matter is hereby referred to a United States Magistrate to serve as a Master. See 5A Moore's Federal Practice § 53.05. See also Ex Parte Peterson, 253 U.S. 300, 312, 40 S.Ct. 543, 64 L.Ed. 919 (1920), cited with approval in LaBuy, supra, 352 U.S. at 256, 77 S.Ct. 309. The Magistrate shall be selected according to the local rules.
The Master is directed to study and review the existing patterns of racial segregation in Chicago public housing, to determine and identify the precise causes of the...
To continue reading
Request your trial
-
Toussaint v. McCarthy
...F.2d at 1160-61; Gary W. v. State of Louisiana, 601 F.2d 240, 245 (5th Cir.1979); Newman, 559 F.2d at 290; Gautreaux v. Chicago Housing Authority, 384 F.Supp. 37 (N.D.Ill.1974). The appointment of a monitor is also required by the complex nature of the litigation and of the measures defenda......
-
Halderman v. Pennhurst State School & Hospital
...Auth. v. Austin, 511 F.2d 82 (7th Cir. 1975) (overseeing implementation in public housing discrimination case); Gautreux v. Chicago Hous. Auth., 384 F.Supp. 37 (N.D.Ill.1974) (same); Hart v. Community Sch. Bd., 383 F.Supp. 699 (E.D.N.Y.1974), Aff'd, 512 F.2d 37 (2d Cir. 1975) (coordinating ......
-
Ruiz v. Estelle
...of every ten American prisoners is confined in (TDC) units." 239 See Gary W. v. Louisiana, 601 F.2d at 244-45; Gautreaux v. Chicago Hous. Auth., 384 F.Supp. 37, 38 (N.D.Ill.1974). 240 "Beyond the provisions of (Fed.R.Civ.P. 53) for appointing and making references to Masters, a Federal Dist......
-
Young v. Pierce
...F.2d 625 (7th Cir.1976), vacated on other grounds, 433 U.S. 672, 97 S.Ct. 2407, 53 L.Ed.2d 1044 (1977); Gautreaux v. Chicago Housing Authority, 384 F.Supp. 37, 37-38 (N.D.Ill. 1974), aff'd sub nom. Chicago Housing Authority v. Austin, 511 F.2d 82 (7th Cir. 1975); Hart v. Community School Bo......
-
28 APPENDIX U.S.C. § 53 Masters
...magistrates may make the appointment of outside masters unnecessary in many instances, see, e.g., Gautreaux v. Chicago Housing Authority, 384 F.Supp. 37 (N.D.Ill. 1974), mandamus denied sub nom., Chicago Housing Authority v. Austin, 511 F.2d 82 (7th Cir. 1975); Avco Corp. v. American Tel. &......