Little Village Discount Mall vendors plead for help outside Chicago City Hall as move-out looms

CHICAGO (WLS) -- Discount Mall vendors have said the mall is like the heart of Little Village, but its future is at stake.

A Cook County Circuit Court judge granted a 10-day order of protection, so tenants don't have to leave by the end of the week -- for now.

Little Village residents, mall vendors and advocates gathered at City Hall Wednesday morning, asking for help.

The group is demanding more time to find a new work location for the vendors.

Forty of the mall's vendors were expected to vacate the property this week, after the mall owner was unable to reach an agreement to extend the lease with only one of the mall's two operators, threatening hundreds of jobs.

The mall was purchased by Novak Construction in 2020 to make improvements to the property, including new facades, roofing, infrastructure and parking upgrades.

RELATED: Little Village Discount Mall vendors worry about its future as developer plans improvements

One vendor said decades of hard work could be destroyed.

"I think we deserve to be treated fair 'cause we don't have a place to go. We cannot just go on the street. We have bills to pay. We need a relocation. We need something fair for us," mall vendor Miguel Gutierrez said.

Novak Construction said it does not comment on active litigation.

Vendors are also touring a potential new site later Wednesday afternoon.