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Monday through Thursday at 9am and 8pm; Friday at 9am |
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Making Money in the Brickyard
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Residents of the Brickyard (Photo by Greg Scott) |
An estimated 50,000 Chicagoans inject heroin. Many of them go through life as a so-called “functional addicts.” They work regular jobs and raise families while hiding their addiction. But most heroin addicts experience an unmanageable life: they’ve lost their jobs, their homes, their cars, and many of their relationships. Addiction is their ultimate relationship—an expensive one at that. The drug economy boasts thousands of revenue-generating devices. Mixed in with the debris on the grounds of a brick salvage company on Cicero Avenue in Chicago, you’ll find some variation of nearly every money-making venture known to the drug world. Today, contributor Greg Scott takes us on our second trip to The Brickyard, where we’ll meet people whose lives unfold in stitches that bind the legitimate economy to the drug underworld.
 Learn how laundry is done in the Brickyard.
Music Button: Tom Waits, “Get Behind the Mule”, from the CD Mule Variations (Anti Records)
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Paulie Krane // Wednesday, August 13, 2008 @ 12:39 PM
very interesting how some of the people who you wouldn't ever expect to be involved with these people are some of the ones who fuel this drug economy on a large scale... not just 10/20 dollar bags, but a few thousand dollars worth of these illicit drugs. i look forward to hearing the next piece on the brickyard... keep them coming!
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Maryam, Morton Grove // Wednesday, August 13, 2008 @ 5:57 PM
It's funny how we pass by people every day and never think about their lives. We've probably all passed by Freeway, and we never stopped to think about how he got there, what he's been through, how much he's lost. It must be an imaginable kind of hardship, to be on the street everyday, asking people for money. Especially when most people probably look away.
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David Frank, Uptown / Chicago // Friday, August 15, 2008 @ 8:27 AM
I loved seeing how the guy did his laundry - people have no idea how innovative and resourceful the homeless (and others living off the radar) can be. This reminds me of a guy who built a modest house out of found materials on the albany landfill in the East Bay - it became the centerpiece of a completely functional, underground community. It's easy to dismiss people outside of the mainstream as lazy or useless, but what they accomplish in the face of difficult circumstances paints a really different picture. Then there was also that guy who built a dwelling in the Michigan Ave bridge - he even had a Playstation 2.
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GLH, Uptown // Friday, August 15, 2008 @ 12:42 PM
Like the other segments of the Brickyard Stories, this just shows how normal drug users are. The difference, albeit a big one for many people, is that they have a drug habit. Steve washes his clothes like everyone else, though in the invented way that Brickyard life brings about. Society may marginalize these people, but how much different are they really from you or I? To me it begs the question, if drugs were legal, would society continue to marginalize and stigmatize drug users? Would there even be a Brickyard, or the need for similar encampments? How would users lives change? I have a feeling it would be for the better.
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Allison, Roscoe Village // Wednesday, August 27, 2008 @ 11:55 AM
I was never entirely clear about the difference between a hustle and a lick. It is interesting that some people prefer to hustle to get money and drugs, while others still choose to work for, and earn, their poisons. What is even more interesting is the fact that outsiders, like the man who asked Freeway to look out for a mountain bike, contribute to the culture. I have no doubt that that man could have easily gone to Target or Toys r Us in order to cop a bike for his kid. Great segment!
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