CHICAGO (December 26, 2013) - Tivonte Lee looks out on his community from the house he cannot leave, after receiving a letter from his university, saying that if he doesn't attend soon his entire financial aide and scholarships will be redistributed. The letter is meaningless to Tivonte, as he has no control in the matter. His next hearing is Jan. 10th, and its only a preliminary hearing to see if the case is plausible enough to go in front of a jury of his peers. Even with that, it will be a long, time consuming and expensive road for his family that can barely afford their housing.
CHICAGO (November 28, 2013) - Although Tivonte Lee's mother works a fulltime government job, the house has no internet, no home phone, and currently the gas has been turned off during the Thanksgiving weekend. Each day, Tivonte asks his mother to use her cellphone so that he may receive an outlet to the outside world. The lack of gas has isolated the family of four, as each family member must stay in their own room with an electric space heater to conserve heat, and it also has downgraded their Thanksgiving dinner to whatever they can fit in the microwave, one person at a time.
CHICAGO (December 17, 2013) - Tivonte Lee occupies his time by cleaning his home while on house arrest. Unknown if the situation was a case of mistaken identity or corruption in the police force, Tivonte’s collegiate career has been put on hold as he awaits his day in court. Tivonte has been charged with unlawful possession of a firearm, a strong offense in Chicago gun regulations. Police reported that they suspected Tivonte of hiding a gun in the neighborhood. With an overcrowded justice system, Tivonte’s wait for court is long. Unfortunately, each time Tivonte appears at court, the arresting officer requests a continuance, as he is too busy to attend the hearing. Tivonte has currently missed his first semester in college with little hope of being able to attend in the spring either.
CHICAGO (November 28, 2013) - While on house arrest, Tivonte Lee spends his time playing videogames for hours, as he cannot leave to even go to the local library. Tivonte initially planned to leave his video game system to his younger brother when he left for Southern Illinois University, but with little left to do, he has reclaimed the game station for himself. Tivonte’s reach to the outside world is his brother TJ Canaday, but with the house being so cold, TJ has retreated to his grandparent’s house for a hot meal and warm accommodations.
CHICAGO (December 25, 2013) - Tivonte borrows his mother's cellphone, after seeing all of his day's cleaning ruined by the family dog, as his mother lies down drained after a 12-hour shift. Tanica Lee received her bachelors in business from DePaul University. Afraid to leave her city, Tanica never relocated, a fact that she sometimes regrets. Unable to find a job in her career field, Tanica took a job as a postal worker. The job paid well until the post office downsized, cutting her pay by nearly 20%. When her son was arrested, Tanica used the little savings that she had to bail him out in order to get him ready for his out-of-city college. This became a fruitless effort as the back-to-back police continuances have now pushed Tivonte's house arrest into his second semester.
CHICAGO (November 28, 2013) - Tanica Lee tries to make light of her situation as she talks to her son Tivonte Lee. Though the house is cold and the food ill-prepared, the two eat carrot-cake as Tivonte tells his mother of how good the food that they have is. When Tanica first moved into their home in the Chatham neighborhood, life was much better than any of her previous living situations. However, with government cutbacks, she has seen her pay drop nearly 20%, and with her son's court case, she has dipped far into the red. Despite all of these factors, Tanica still encourages her son and assures him that he will finally be able to go to college. However, even she admits that she is skeptical at times as she has little faith in the court provided public defender.
CHICAGO (December 25, 2013) - Tanica Lee sits alone in her room smoking as she contemplates her next move. Her son's case has put her so far into the red, that she took a loan on her job's benefits to pay the rent and turn the heat back on. Living paycheck to paycheck, Tanica has downgraded the house’s amenities and prepared the house televisions for pawning. The stress has put Tanica into spells of depression as her family only sees her awake an hour before and after work.
CHICAGO (November 29, 2013) - Tanica Lee delivers mail in Chicago's coveted Lincoln Park neighborhood. Lincoln Park is seen as one of Chicago's best neighborhoods, a polar opposite of Tanica’s neighborhood, Chatham. Although the houses are structurally identical, the housing pricing and quality of life is greatly different. Tanica said that she isn't look for a life of luxury like many of the houses in Lincoln Park, but she simply wants stability and comfort in whatever neighborhood she lives in.
CHICAGO (December 25, 2013) - Tanica Lee buys soda and a pack of cigarillos from her local convenience store through a plate of bulletproof glass. Violence in the Chatham area has not only turned the neighborhood into a police state, but a food desert as well. Tanica must drive miles in nearly every direction to find a grocery store with healthy food. With her little time at home due to her job, Tanica’s sons are reduced to eating fast food or ordering pizza, which after 8 pm will no longer deliver to her neighborhood.
CHICAGO (December 25, 2013) - Though prone to fits of depression and exhaustion, Tanica Lee tries to make time for her kids, and listen to their problems. With any spare money that she has, she makes sure that her youngest son TJ is able to strive in school, both academically as well as socially.
CHICAGO (December 27, 2013) - TJ Canaday and his brother Tivonte Lee get dressed for the day. Tivonte was arrested while defending his brother from local police. When Tivonte ran to the scene, the police drew their weapon on him. Even after explaining that his urgency was in defense of his brother, the police arrested him for looking suspicious. Now under house arrest, Tivonte depends on his brother as a reach to the outside world. TJ must buy food, pay bills, and run errands for his brother, as their mother isn't expected home from work until late at night.
CHICAGO (December 14, 2013) - TJ Canaday gets dressed for a high school dance. Not having much money of his own, TJ makes money in a variety of ways. Right now, TJ sells iPhone cases to keep himself fed and well dressed. TJ said that he understands the fine line of his neighborhood's police presence. To him, though the police are to be respected, they are not necessarily to be trusted. TJ has found ways to avoid police completely, even when the situation would have been beneficial with their aide.
CHICAGO (December 27, 2013) - Tivonte Lee gives his brother TJ Canaday money to buy food for the both of them. The food in Chatham is cheap, but not very healthy as their immediate neighborhood has only a supply of liquor stores, fast food chains, and a dollar store. TJ feels indebted to his brother for his current plight, so he tries to help his brother as much as possible. Despite his situation, Tivonte doesn't hold anything against his brother and supports him anyway possible, usually by loaning him money from his own college savings.
CHICAGO (December 26, 2013) - Tivonte Lee looks out on his community from the house he cannot leave, after receiving a letter from his university, saying that if he doesn't attend soon his entire financial aide and scholarships will be redistributed. The letter is meaningless to Tivonte, as he has no control in the matter. His next hearing is Jan. 10th, and its only a preliminary hearing to see if the case is plausible enough to go in front of a jury of his peers. Even with that, it will be a long, time consuming and expensive road for his family that can barely afford their housing.
CHICAGO (December 27, 2013) - After a night of being awakened by the sound of a drive-by, Tivonte sits on his front porch, the farthest place that his ankle bracelet will allow him to go. His mother Tanica admitted that her worst fear in all of this was that she would see her son miss his opportunities and watch the world pass him by. She has since said that this fear has come true. Tivonte's case won't even begin until well into his second semester. Tivonte must now reapply for all of his financial benefits without scholarships. All this depends if the justice system will prove his innocence.
