Little Village Tenants Fight Back Against Novak

Tenants of the Little Village Discount Mall are taking legal action against Novak Construction to avoid getting kicked out of the building and having inventory thrown away.

The attorney representing the various vendors, Canon Law Group, filed a request for emergency injunction in court on Tuesday to buy its clients some time, as they were set to be locked out this weekend, Block Club Chicago reported. An emergency hearing was scheduled for Thursday.

John Novak’s company, who has owned the mall since 2020, came to an agreement with one of the mall’s operators, Pilsen Plaza Corporation, allowing its portion of tenants to continue running as normal. However, the other operator, PK Mall, never reached an agreement with Novak, and its tenants now must relocate or all inventory will be considered a loss.

Canon Law Group is pushing back on behalf of the tenants, claiming its clients have the right to remain through the duration of their leases as long as they continue to pay rent weekly and don’t violate any rules. Attorney Ramsin Canon alleged at a news conference that Novak and mall operators “wanted all the rights to terminate, kick these people out, but all the benefits of having stable stores that attract people day after day,”

Alderman Byron Sigcho-Lopez, of the 25th Ward, is opposed to Novak’s course of action and has urged him to find a solution for all of PK’s vendors to stay. He even threatened to take legal action when he learned Novak would lock tenants out if no agreement was reached.

Sigcho-Lopez believes shutting down half the mall would contribute to inequality and poverty in Little Village. He said the emergency filing will at the very least give tenants time to find a new location and a place to store inventory, which the alderman and affected vendors have begun searching for, the outlet said.

It’s unclear how Novak would proceed if half the mall were to vacate. His overall plans for the site include new facades, roofs, a surface parking lot with an underground stormwater detention system, upgraded lighting and landscaping.

— Quinn Donoghue