Just 35 paying tenants are left in the 130-unit South Shore building raided by federal agents in the middle of the night last month, a massive operation that stirred national controversy over immigration enforcement.
After the raid disturbed the residents and left lingering uneasiness over the South Side neighborhood, a Cook County circuit court judge is now considering ordering them to move out due to its hazardous living conditions.
Prior to the raid, the building had both paying tenants and squatters, though it’s unclear how many. Federal agents, including from the ATF, the FBI and ICE, arrested 37 people on Sept. 30 for a variety of offenses, though information on the severity of the alleged crimes has been limited so far.
Local officials criticized the tactics that federal agents used in the raid, including allegedly temporarily detaining residents who were not later arrested.
The building, along with several others in a portfolio held by Wisconsin-based investor Trinity Flood, is the subject of a $27 million foreclosure lawsuit brought by Wells Fargo on behalf of CMBS bond holders.
More details about the aftermath of the raid were revealed in a Friday hearing regarding Wells Fargo’s request to appoint a receiver to the building. Property manager Corey Oliver of Strength in Management said at the hearing that some tenants have moved out since the raid and about 35 have stayed put. He estimated that there are about 10 nonpaying squatters still occupying the property, as well.
Conditions at the 7500 South South Shore Drive building had been deteriorating for some time.
The foreclosure was filed earlier this year after Flood, the landlord, failed to make debt payments on the South Shore building as well as several others in Chicago and across the U.S.
At last week’s hearing, Cook County Circuit Court Judge Debra Seaton heard from city inspectors, the ward’s alderman and Oliver, who all relayed varying descriptions of the current state of the building. City inspectors tasked with evaluating electrical systems at the building were particularly alarmed by faulty wiring leading out to the city’s utility poles, noting that lines hang low enough to hit the top of a garbage truck.
They also pointed to fire hazards caused by extension cords and hijacked meters in the building, likely used to provide power to squatters’ units. Only one of the building’s elevators is operating. A plumbing inspector noted that the boiler room had a strong odor that could be attributed to a gas leak and stated that raw sewage and sewer gases were leaking into the building at various points.
But Oliver said that since the raid Flood had already invested $100,000 into repairs to the building, including plumbing and electrical repairs. He also said he was told he needed to re-submit a permit for some of the electrical work that needed to be done at the property. Another new addition is three armed security guards that now patrol the building from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. every night.
Flood’s attorney attended the hearing on her behalf which was a choice Seaton criticised.
Seaton said she will not appoint a receiver until she can evaluate the progress of the work currently ongoing at the property. If the immediate dangers are not resolved quickly, though, she said she will not only consider appointing a receiver but will also weigh issuing a court order for all the remaining tenants to relocate.
The order would also likely require some form of relocation assistance be provided to the tenants.
During the hearing, 7th Ward Alderman Greg Mitchell, who represents the area, said he is skeptical that things will turn around in the next few weeks. “My current concern is that I don’t feel the building is safe,” Mitchell said. “The building has been broken into several times and it is a target now.”
Jonah Karsh with the Metropolitan Tenants Organization said that prior to the raid, tenants he heard from did not want to stay in the building. “We had dozens of tenants requesting relocation,” he said.
Seaton said she wanted to hear from the current tenants herself before deciding if an order was necessary. She asked that current tenants attend a hearing regarding the receivership next month. She ordered another inspection for Nov. 6 and a hearing for Nov. 7.