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Neighborhood on edge after vendor is shot
Humboldt Park attack on 'corn lady' crosses line
By Steve Schmadeke

Tribune reporter

May 14, 2008

Artemia Torres has pushed her white wooden cart through Chicago's Humboldt Park neighborhood for more than a year, trying to put her two children back in Mexico through college by selling corn, mangoes and snow cones on the street.

Torres, a single mother who previously worked in Mexico City-area restaurants for little pay, heard from relatives living here that she could quickly earn more in Chicago than she did at home. They did not tell her about Chicago's street crime, which surprised and scared her once she arrived.

So as she woke each morning by 6 to prepare her cart, Torres prayed for God's protection. Torres, a devout Catholic, armed herself with what she could: a rosary and two printed images of Catholic saints.

But the violence reached her anyway. Torres, 50, had just started her roughly 3-mile route—it was 12:30 p.m. and she hadn't sold a thing—when a man approached her in the 1300 block of Central Park Avenue. He asked for elotes, Mexican-style corn-on-the-cob that Torres sells for $1.75, tried to rob her, then shot her through her left thigh when he found she didn't have any money, she said.

"Chicago is not the way they painted it [at home]," Torres said in Spanish through a translator. "It was not true."

The shooting in broad daylight on April 25 has sparked anger and action in a neighborhood that sees its share of violence. As word of "the corn lady's" shooting spread, local businesses put out fundraising jars and neighbors donated food. Participants in a local anti-violence march Friday night stopped at Torres' home and presented her with the money that had been raised.

"My best sense of it was that a taboo was really broken," said Rev. Tom Pelton of the nearby Maternity BVM Catholic Church, referring to the attack. "There is some honor among thieves, and there are taboos."

Pelton said the violence so far in West Humboldt Park, including the drive-by shooting deaths of two men on May 6, is the worst he's seen this early in the 12 years he's spent at the church.

"It's really traumatic," he said. "We're all holding our breath to see what's going to happen next."

David Rubio, president of the block club on the block where Torres was shot, had bought elotes from her and spearheaded the fundraising efforts after hearing she'd been attacked.

"Everybody was shocked about that," he said. "We didn't expect to hear that happening in our community."

Street vendors are increasingly coming under attack in Humboldt Park, Torres said. Her brother Arturo's cart was flipped over Monday, about a week after a group of men tried to rob and then beat him, Torres and her brother said. Her brother did not report the attack to police.

Police said they were not aware of any increase in violence against street vendors there.

Hector Villagrana, chief of staff for Ald. Billy Ocasio (26th), whose ward includes Humboldt Park, said it is difficult to measure violence against eloteros because vendors are afraid to report crimes.

"Most are working without a license," he said. "Many are probably not documented as well. I've heard anecdotal stuff, but nothing really concrete."

The city has attempted numerous times, most recently in 2000, to regulate pushcart vendors but has never followed through, Villagrana said.

Though they earn very little, street vendors are easy targets. They are out early in the morning and, sometimes, late at night, and some are reluctant to report crimes because of their Immigration status, Villagrana and others who work in the community said. Last month's attack may have been the worst reported street vendor assault in Humboldt Park since two vendors were beaten and stabbed in 2003 trying to fight off robbers.

"When I talk to police, I risk everything," said Torres, who came to the U.S. illegally. She identified two suspects in a lineup the day she was released from the hospital.

Police arrested two men in connection with the attack the day it happened. Robert Lamar, 18, of the 400 block of North Ridgeway and Eric Pointer, 24, of the 600 block of North Spaulding were charged with aggravated battery with a firearm and attempted armed robbery. Lamar was also charged with obstructing a police officer.

"Oh my God!" said Elia Pedroza, 45, who lives near the shooting scene and had heard the details. "For them to shoot her for something she didn't even have yet—that's insane."

Many other residents were taken aback by Torres' shooting.

"It's crazy out here, and it's not even summer yet," said Sandra Rivera, 17, a senior at North-Grand High School. "This had to be someone really, really bad."

Her children want Torres to return home, but she feels a responsibility to earn money for them.

Torres said she sent about 80 percent of her earnings—about $150 a month, on average—back to her children. Jesus Enriques, 24, the oldest of her three children, is studying to be a pharmacist, and her youngest child, Ana Lucia, 17, is studying marketing, Torres said. Her middle child, Julio Ramon, 19, is living here with his mother.

Torres borrowed money in Mexico to get into the U.S and recently took out another loan there for her children's schooling while she is unable to work. She also expects to be billed soon for the pain and anti-inflammation medications she is taking.

All of which means that her dream of saving enough to return home and open a shop out of her home in the Mexico City suburbs looks like a long shot. Torres said she now hopes to save enough just to return next year.

Despite the shooting, Torres expects that she'll be back pushing a cart when her leg heals enough to walk without crutches. She doesn't have a choice: Restaurant, factory and office jobs are hard to come by and she needs to pay her bills, Torres said.

She will manage the pain with aspirin—"muchos," she said with a smile.

sschmadeke@tribune.com

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