The ‘dream’ home the Willborn family found in the Bridgeport neighborhood on the South Side had everything they wanted: the ‘man cave’ for dad; basketball hoop in the backyard for the son; a private bathroom for the daughter; and t
A home run had been hit –– they thought. The ‘dream’ home the Willborn family found in the Bridgeport neighborhood on the South Side had everything they wanted: the ‘man cave’ for dad; basketball hoop in the backyard for the son; a private bathroom for the daughter; and the ideal closet space for the mother, said comedian and radio personality George Willborn and his wife Peytyn. The Willborns made a verbal deal for $1.7 million with the owners, Daniel and Adrienne Sabbia, for the five-bedroom home at 3300 S. Normal Ave. Less than a month after the agreement, the Sabbias refused to sign the contract and took the home off the market after they allegedly found out the Willborns were Black, according to a $100 million discrimination lawsuit filed Thursday. “No one can understand what my family’s gone through. We decided as a family that we wouldn’t buy a home unless it met the specific requirements of us all. This house had all those things we wanted. This was our house,” Willborn said after filing the suit in federal court. “It’s very heartbreaking.” Willborn, a Chicago native and 22-year comedy veteran, is the co-host of the nationally syndicated afternoon radio show, “The Michael Baisden Show,” heard in Chicago on WSRB-FM/106.3. The family’s citywide search for the perfect home began in early 2009. After they reviewed about 40 homes, in January they saw the palatial 8,000-square-foot residence in Bridgeport and knew the search was over. The home had been on the market for about two years. Instead of the home run the Willborn’s thought they hit, it turned out to be a foul ball after the owners allegedly did an internet search on the comedian and found out he was Black, according to the suit. The suit also names Jeffery Lowe of Lowe Group Chicago, Inc. and Prudential Rubloff Properties. Both represented the Sabbias. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development filed a discrimination complaint this month against all defendants, stating they violated the Fair Housing Act. Calls made to the defendants by the Defender went unanswered. Texas-based attorney Charles Peckham, part of Willborn’s legal team that’s led by Florida-based attorney Willie Gary, said no other conclusion could be drawn. “After they negotiated the price, the question then became could they afford it because they [Sabbias’] didn’t know who they were. They apparently looked them up on the Internet and immediately took the house off the market. Then they came back with all kinds of goofy, ridiculous, pre-texual reasons why they took it off the market. There’s something wrong there,” Peckham told the Defender. Gary said it was a “slap in the face.” “This is the year 2010. Nobody should have to deal with this. They work hard; they saved their money. It’s not right. We filed a $100 million punitive lawsuit. It’s not about the money. This is a cause. This is a mission. They didn’t want to sell it to them. To just flat out discriminate…this is a slap in the face…this is breaking the law,” said Gary. When Willborn was asked why the neighborhood was considered since its history includes racial strife, he said it wasn’t about the neighborhood, it was about ideal home for his family. “I wasn’t looking to move into Bridgeport, I was looking to move into a home. I didn’t care where it was. We found the house we were looking for, it just happened to be in Bridgeport. By no means do I think all of Bridgeport feels the way that some have expressed,” he said, vowing to see the fight until the end. “We have no intension of laying down; no intentions of letting up,” he said. After the disappointing blow of rejection, Peytyn Willborn said it broke her heart to explain to her 19-year-old daughter and 12-year-old son why they weren’t moving into their dream home, and, how she couldn’t guarantee they wouldn’t face the same racial discrimination when they were ready to purchase their own home. “As parents, when she asked us if she will have to go through the same thing, it was very difficult to have to explain to her that no, yes and maybe. I really didn’t have an answer for her,” she told the Defender. Copyright 2010 Chicago Defender Photo Captions: (left to right) George Willborn, Charles Peckham, Willie Gary and Peytyn Willborn address the media after filing a $100 million discrimination suit in federal court Aug. 26 in Chicago. (Defender/Kathy Chaney) The five-bedroom, 8,000-square-foot home in Bridgeport the Willborn’s wanted to purchase in January 2010. The deal fell through after the owners allegedly found out the Willborn’s were Black, according to the suit. (Defender/Kathy Chaney)
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