This story was originally published by the Illinois Answers Project as part of their series Making it in Chicago: Detours and Dead Ends on the Path to Opportunity.
LaShon Minter Williams is waiting for a letter that could arrive any day now—one that may force her to leave the home her family has owned for generations.
She can’t afford to pay off the mortgage on the West Side home all at once. But she shouldn’t have to. Ten years ago, her grandmother, Louise Minter, was tricked into a reverse mortgage scheme on the premise of home repairs. But the repairs never came, and the equity in the home is now gone, stolen by now convicted scammer Mark Diamond.
Eight months after her grandmother’s passing, the total amount…
