In July, Mayor Brandon Johnson spearheaded a groundbreaking ceremony for Fifth City Commons, an upcoming affordable housing complex set to emerge on the previously vacant property of Chicago's West Side. | Chicago Mayor's Office / Facebook
In July, Mayor Brandon Johnson spearheaded a groundbreaking ceremony for Fifth City Commons, an upcoming affordable housing complex set to emerge on the previously vacant property of Chicago's West Side. | Chicago Mayor's Office / Facebook
In Late July, Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson posed for pictures with members of a joint venture of developers who received a bundle of City Council-approved tax credits to build Fifth City Commons, a low-income apartment complex slated for construction on vacant city-owned land on the West Side.
“Fifth City Commons is revitalizing a corner in West Garfield Park that has been sitting vacant for decades, turning this underutilized space into affordable housing for West Side residents,” Johnson said on Facebook at the time.
“Thank you to the many partners and community groups that brought this project to life!”
The next month, a new political action committee, "ZPACT," was formed by one of the partners in the Fifth City Commons joint venture. The new PAC quickly collected donations from some of his development partners, a convicted felon, and a company controlled by a political insider linked to the FBI's City Hall corruption probe, among others. On Aug. 29, ZPACT reported receiving 15 donations totaling $46,500. On the same day, ZPACT reported making a $50,000 donation to Mayor Johnson's campaign fund, according to public records.
Among the donors were companies and individuals associated with the Fifth City Commons project, including Skender Construction and Ashlaur Construction. Zollie Carradine, CEO of Ashlaur Construction, is listed as chairman of the Calumet City-based ZPACT political action committee formed on Aug. 7.
Campaign records show:
- Ashlaur Construction made two donations to ZPACT totalling $8,000.
- Skender Construction donated $2,500.
- ZPACT treasurer, lawyer, and radio personality Theodore London donated $2,500.
- The ZPACT fund accepted a $500 donation from Bamani Obadele, a former state Department of Children and Family Services worker who was convicted of funneling nearly $200,000 to contractors that he held a business interest and skimming A $70,000 personal profit.
- Tequity Partners, controlled by Malcolm Weems, donated $10,000 to ZPACT.
All Donations to ZPACT:
| Donor | Total donated | Latest date |
| Tequity Partners, LLC | $10,000.00 | Aug 29, 2023 |
| Ashlaur Construction Company, Inc. | $5,000.00 | Aug 29, 2023 |
| C&G Construction Supply Company | $5,000.00 | Aug 29, 2023 |
| Shari Wilson | $4,000.00 | Aug 29, 2023 |
| Ashlaur Construction JV | $3,000.00 | Aug 29, 2023 |
| Theodore London | $2,500.00 | Aug 29, 2023 |
| FH Paschen | $2,500.00 | Aug 29, 2023 |
| Skender Construction LLC | $2,500.00 | Aug 29, 2023 |
| All Masonry Construction | $2,500.00 | Aug 29, 2023 |
| Mark Ericksen | $2,500.00 | Aug 29, 2023 |
| Burling Builders | $2,500.00 | Aug 29, 2023 |
| J.T. Barrier | $2,500.00 | Aug 29, 2023 |
| The Luci Lu Revocable Living Trust | $1,500.00 | Aug 29, 2023 |
| Bamani Obadele | $500.00 | Aug 29, 2023 |
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