Chicago seeks $10M in damages from “city’s worst landowner”

The City of Chicago is ramping up its legal fight against Suzie B. Wilson, a Chicago property manager whose companies racked up $15 million in rat-related fines.

The city has sued Wilson and her company Regal LLC, seeking more than $10 million in damages over a vacant South Side lot, at 6722 South Ashland Avenue, that’s been turned into a dumping ground with a mountain of decomposing rubber tires, the Illinois Answers Project reported. 

Chicago claims that Wilson’s negligence extends well beyond the lot in question, describing her as a “scourge on the city and its residents” and “the city’s worst landowner.” Wilson’s company allegedly owes the city more than $250,000 in fines, with numerous vacant lots across the city left unattended, particularly in vulnerable neighborhoods on the South and West sides.

The city accuses Wilson, a Northbrook resident, of disregarding the safety and well-being of local residents and causing significant environmental harm. She allegedly hides behind multiple corporations and LLCs to evade responsibility.

The lawsuit highlights Wilson’s extensive history of judgments against her businesses, surpassing any other property owner in Chicago by a significant margin. Wilson and her attorneys have remained silent on the matter.

The lawsuit outlines the removal of the tires from the West Englewood lot after issuing violations, sending pre-litigation notices, and drafting the complaint against Wilson. The accumulation of tires posed various hazards, including breeding grounds for mosquitoes, habitats for rats and environmental and fire risks. Tire fires can burn uncontrollably and release hazardous pollutants such as methane gas and melted rubber oil, the lawsuit claims.

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It’s the city’s latest effort to hold Wilson and her companies accountable for their alleged neglect and to circumvent liability through corporate restructuring.

Wilson’s alleged efforts to shield herself from liability by transferring properties between LLCs are detailed in the lawsuit, including recent transfers to entities based in South Dakota with opaque management structures, the outlet reported. 

—Quinn Donoghue