Little Village Discount Mall vendors asking judge to halt eviction as move-out looms

CHICAGO (WLS) -- Vendors at the Little Village Discount Mall are hoping to find out about another lease extension Thursday.

Little Village Discount Mall vendors said the mall is a cultural anchor for the community and inside are hard-working small business owners, some of whom have been there for decades.

But, its future is in jeopardy.

Forty of the mall's vendors were originally told to leave by the end of the week after the mall's owner, Novak Construction, was unable to extend a lease with one of the mall's two operators.

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But, a Cook County judge issued a 10-day order so tenants don't have vacate yet.

Later Thursday morning, vendors are hoping a judge grants an emergency injunction, giving them more time to find a new work location.

Vendors, advocates, 25th Ward Alderman Byron Sigcho-Lopez discussed just how much this mall means to this neighborhood.

"If we don't have good economic development, then we will have a lot of displacement a lot of violence that our community can not put up with anymore,"Netza Roldan, CEO Binational Institute of Human Development, said.

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

Novak Construction says it does not comment on active litigation.

That hearing is set for 10 a.m. at the Daley Center.