Monthly Archives: August 2019

 By Erin Ivory, WGN-TV  |  August 28th, 2019   (Click here for Original Article) CHICAGO — The Cook County Land Bank Authority is giving away a mortgage-free next month, with an assist from a pair of local celebrities. One lucky Chicagoan will receive the keys to the Washington Heights home rehabbed by brothers Anton and Anthony Downing of HGTV's "Double Down." It was a perfect pairing for the job, taking place in the same neighborhood where they grew up. "It means everything to us to get to make a difference in these neighborhoods across the South and West Side," Anthony [...]

By Dennis Rodkin, Crain's Chicago Business  |  July 8th, 2019   (Click here for the original article) A pair of charismatic house-rehabbing twins who have a television show in the works at HGTV are teaming up with the Cook County Land Bank to makeover a house in the city and give it away. Anton and Anthony Downing, who grew up in the West Chesterfield neighborhood and have been rehabbing homes for a decade, this spring signed a contract to create an HGTV show called “Double Down.” Production hasn’t yet begun, Anthony Downing said. They specialize in instilling stylish new looks into worn-out [...]

By Odette Yousef, WBEZ Chicago  |  July 11th, 2019   (Click here for the original article) George Porter wistfully remembers the Saturday morning smell of bacon and eggs wafting out of homes on the 6500 block of South Sangamon Street, where he grew up. Neighbors would be outside cutting their grass and sitting on their front porches. “I ... could walk down this street, and about six, seven elders would be like, ‘Son, you hungry?’” Porter said. “‘Here, here you go. Some Kool-Aid? You want pop? Take these bottles to the store and cash them in.’” Porter, now 50 and no [...]