WEST LOOP — West Loop trader Francis Wisniewski will open his palatial pad to the public on Super Bowl Sunday to raise funds for a worthy West Side cause.
With help from former Chicago Bears Kelvin Hayden and Jason Davis and Warm Belly Bakery's Joe Dela Pena, Wisniewski will host the party from 4:30-11:30 p.m. Sunday in his 15,800-square-foot West Loop loft, 1140 W. Monroe St. All proceeds will benefit the Lawndale Christian Legal Center, which gives North Lawndale residents access to attorneys for free.
Partygoers can register for the event online and Wisniewski is asking attendees to donate $60 or more the Lawndale non-profit.
Food, wine and beer will be provided, and the big game will be shown on big screen TVs in the loft. Wisniewski will also open his on-site garage with 15 classic cars and the party will feature chair massages, manicures and Warm Belly cookies, too.
$100,000 goal
The Super Bowl party is part of Wisniewski's larger goal to raise $100,000 for the Lawndale Christian Legal Center this spring. Through April 1, he is matching all funds donated to the center up to $50,000.
After watching the HBO documentary "Gideon's Army," which follows three young, overworked public defenders with staggering caseloads and chronicles the downfalls of the criminal justice system, Wisniewski said his felt called to help Chicagoans who could not afford an attorney.
"Even with their best efforts, some public defenders don't have the time to defend [those charged] to the best of their abilities," Wisniewski said.
Headquartered in North Lawndale, the Lawndale Christian Legal Center helps Lawndale residents 24 and younger navigate the criminal justice system, providing an attorney pro-bono to young men and women who normally couldn't afford one.
The result is a better defense, and can make a "big difference" to those who are charged with a crime, Wisniewski said.
"There's a lot of videos out there of people being treated poorly by police and this is way for me to make a difference," he said.
Trader Francis Wisniewski and former Chicago Bears Kelvin Hayden and Jason Davis will host a Super Bowl party in the West Loop Sunday. [Francis Wisniewski; Chicago Bears; Philadelphia Eagles]
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