Chicago’s housing crisis is pushing vulnerable residents out of their homes, as a wave of evictions, deteriorating building conditions and aggressive real estate practices disrupt communities across the city’s low-income neighborhoods.
After 25 years in his South Side apartment, 71-year-old Paul London and two dozen other tenants were abruptly evicted in January due to severe safety violations, leaving their once-vibrant building at 11000 South Michigan Avenue vacant since then, Injustice Watch reported.
The eviction came after the building was sold in 2022 to Levav Properties, a real estate company owned by Brooklyn, New York-based Shaya Wurzberger and Tinley Park-based Christopher Milliner.
Under the new ownership, tenants noticed a sharp decline in building maintenance coupled with significant rent increases, the outlet reported. London, who had been paying no rent under an agreement to perform maintenance duties for the previous owner, was suddenly charged $540 for his studio, a figure that quickly rose to $840.
The building’s condition deteriorated rapidly, with frequent burglaries, drug activity, fires and even a murder occurring in the months leading up to the eviction.
The final blow came when the city of Chicago sued Levav Properties over serious building code violations, including missing smoke detectors, rodent infestations and defective plumbing. Cook County Associate Judge Joseph Sconza, who handles many of the city’s lawsuits against landlords, ordered the building vacated, citing life-threatening conditions and ongoing violence. While this action was one of the most severe enforcement measures available, it left residents like London suddenly homeless.
The landlord gave each of the tenants $1,500 for moving costs. Levav’s attorney Erika Norton acknowledged that the investors were in over their heads with the property.
“Levav is an up-and-up property management company who does the best they can with the circumstances at hand. This circumstance ended up being bigger than they anticipated,” she said.
London’s story is emblematic of a broader housing crisis in Chicago, where tenants in low-income neighborhoods are increasingly vulnerable to eviction and displacement. An analysis by Injustice Watch revealed that buildings with chronic code violations are more likely to see tenants pushed out, either through formal evictions or informal pressure.
The legal system, designed to protect property owners’ rights, frequently leaves tenants with little recourse, even as they endure dangerous living conditions. Courts cannot force landlords to fix their buildings, but they can force them to stop renting them. Evictions like this often hit people who don’t have the time, money or savvy to navigate the legal system.
“In many instances these tenants who are the subject of an eviction case come without any lawyers at all, without any representation at all, and they are at a disadvantage,” Cook County Circuit Court Chief Judge Timothy Evans told the outlet.
Former Chicago Mayor Rahm Emmanuel’s administration ended regular building inspections, and instead, tenants are expected to call 311 if they have concerns. But that could also put them at risk of eviction, if their building is found to be uninhabitable.
Mayor Brandon Johnson didn’t respond to the outlet’s request for comment.
Buildings Commissioner Marlene Hopkins issued this statement: “The men and women of the Chicago Department of Buildings will continue to fight for those who lack the resources to fight for themselves through aggressive enforcement of the minimum health and safety standards as set forth in the Chicago Construction Codes.”
The situation in Roseland reflects a growing trend in Chicago, where aging buildings in disinvested neighborhoods are being bought by investors seeking to maximize profits, often at the expense of tenant safety and stability.
As the building at 11000 South Michigan Avenue enters its seventh month of vacancy, its future remains uncertain. For London, the eviction has been a devastating loss, not just of his home but of the community he helped maintain for over two decades. Now, like many other displaced Chicagoans, he is struggling to find affordable housing, while the city grapples with how to address the ongoing crisis.
“The city should be after the landlord, not the tenants, ” London said.
— Andrew Terrell
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