CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) -- The Lightfoot Administration is hoping to shame some of the city’s worst landlords and building owners into cleaning up their acts.
It’s a roster of what Matthew Beaudet, Commissioner for the Department of Buildings, called the 99 most troubled buildings.
"These are the real bad ones. We really need to get these fixed. These owners have not been responsive. They have live safety violations that they just need to address," he said.
Mayor Lightfoot said in a statement: “As City leaders, we owe it to residents and visitors alike to provide the safest buildings possible. The best way we can accomplish this goal is by updating our building protocols and holding building owners accountable for unsafe conditions. This new Building Code Scofflaw List, with enhanced criteria and mandatory inspections, will do just that, as well as send a clear message that owners who do not remediate code violations will face consequences for their inaction.”
Beaudet said the list is live now, but it doesn’t contain information about the building owners yet. The Law Department has to check out the information, but the info will be there by Oct. 1, Beaudet said.
"We've already had them in court for some time, but they have not stepped up to the plate and fixed their buildings; so these are buildings on the troubled building initiative list or the drug and gang house list," he said.
These are mostly cases of multiple health and safety violations. And while they don’t like things to get to this stage, Beaudet said if shaming the owners helps the tenants, they’ll do what it takes.
Building owners included on the Building Code Scofflaw List face prohibition of business licenses, zoning changes, acquisition of city land or receipt of financial assistance like tax increment financing (TIF) or obtaining building permits.
Buildings on the list are also subject to follow-up inspections by DOB at least every 12 months, and once removed from the list, continued inspections until the building receives two consecutive inspections, at least six months apart, during which no serious violations are found.
DOB completes approximately 30,000 building inspections per year from the city’s 311 service request system. Residents with building-related concerns are encouraged to contact 311.
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