Radical Louie was one of the main reasons I fell in love with street photography. I met him in 1998 on the north side of Chicago. We sat in Starbucks and chatted about his story over several cups of coffee, keeping an eye on his cart through the big windows. He was writing a book about his life in America.
Louie immigrated to Chicago from Hungary, where he was a policeman. After a couple years, he found himself homeless and not able to get things going. You can see his shopping cart overflowing, full of his life's possessions. In fact so full that the Chicago PD made him put his cart next to a parking meter and pay it daily.
Louie wasn't having that and began a long lasting combative battle with them that cost him numerous tickets and nights in jail.
The local Russian community would stop by to give him expensive clothes and shoes to wear. Very different to see on a homeless person.
What a character he was.
