A series that examines the city’s failures to fix unsafe housing and explore potential solutions.
As Chicago Punts on Apartment Safety, Denver Shows What’s Possible
Chicago has no way of tracking landlords, nor does it require rental units to be inspected. That was the case in Colorado’s largest city, until officials decided to do something about it.
Chicago Doesn’t Keep Track of Landlords. Renters Are Demanding Change.
Chicago’s building safety enforcement lags behind many peer cities. Boulder offers a model that Chicago could follow.
Repeat Violators Leave Families Out in the Cold
Hundreds of buildings across Chicago have been cited repeatedly for violating heat-requirement ordinances, which are in effect from November through May.
Smoke Detectors Save Lives, But Chicago Slow to Toughen Rules
A joint investigation with Illinois Answers and the Chicago Tribune found that smoke alarms were absent, defective or missing batteries in 57 out of 87 fatal residential fires in Chicago from 2020 through 2022.
Fires Continue to Kill People in Unsafe Buildings as Chicago Ignores Problems with its Inspection System
As other cities across the country adopt innovative programs to fix problem buildings, Chicago lags behind
We work for you
Stories like this take months of digging, records requests, and persistence — and our work has led to real change for the people of Illinois. If this kind of journalism matters to you, consider making a tax-deductible donation so we can continue to do this work for Illinois.
