Justice

How the ‘Black Tax’ Destroyed African-American Homeownership in Chicago

Predatory (yet perfectly legal) tax-lien sales were perfected in the city in the 1970s. The crisis continues today.
Charles Rex Arbogast/AP

The best time to steal someone’s home is at Christmas.

That’s when folks find their budgets stretched the tightest by the gift-giving season. People put off their bills to focus on family. The holidays are distracting: friends and loved ones come and go, there’s all that merriment. Christmas is the perfect cover for taking a family’s home away from them.