Sat 2/11 @ 10AM
Judge Raymond L. Pianka, who died unexpectedly January 21 at the age of 65, served in Cleveland Municipal Housing Court for more than 20 years, winning his first election in 1995. That put him on the bench in the middle of the foreclosure crisis, which swept the nation and hit Cleveland especially hard. And like former Cuyahoga County treasurer Jim Rokakis, now with the Western Reserve Land Bank, he was recognized locally and nationally as one of the leaders in using his office creatively to do what he could to ameliorate some of its impacts.
One of the most powerful tributes to Pianka was posted on Facebook by Chicago journalist/author Alex Kotlowitz, author of the award-winning 1992 book There Are No Children Here, about brothers growing in the Chicago projects.
Bestowing on Pianka the highest accolade possible by calling him “the anti-Trump politician,” he said Pianka was “humble, a student of history, courageous, empathetic, filled with a (sometimes corny) sense of humor and directed by the belief that life ought to be fair.”
He continued, “I met Ray Pianka eight years ago reporting a story for the NYT Magazine on the foreclosure crisis. His city, Cleveland, had been particularly hard hit. Pianka had given up his city council seat in Cleveland to run for judge of the city’s housing court, the lowliest of courts, one which his colleagues derisively referred to as ‘Rat Court.’ But come the housing crisis, Pianka became the city’s hero. When banks refused to take care of the hundreds of properties they foreclosed on, he hauled them into court. The banks thumbed their noses at Pianka and simply wouldn’t show up, so he refused to evict people from their properties and then dredged up an old law and tried them in absentia, fining them tens of thousands of dollars. When a slumlord refused to repair his properties, Pianka sentenced him to six months house arrest, in one of his dilapidated homes. When people came into Cleveland to make money off the misfortune of others by flipping homes, Pianka hauled them into court, and fined and even jailed them when they refused to maintain their properties. When individual homeowners, many on the cusp of foreclosure, ended up in front of him, Pianka just wanted to know what got them to this place — and what they, the city, could do to help get them back on their feet. “
Kotlowitz concluded, “When Michael Moore recently urged people to run for office, I thought of Ray Pianka. He’s our north star. He’s what we all should aspire to. He’s the best of America. He was a good friend. And a good man. He’s shown us the way.”
No doubt there will be a mob scene at Pianka’s funeral, taking place at Our Lady of Mt. Carmel in Detroit-Shoreway Sat 2/11. Visitation is from 10AM-noon, mass takes place from noon-1:30pm. Be warned that parking will be at a premium. Pianka had many friends and admirers.
Cleveland, OH 44102