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Building Inspections

Posted inSolutions

As Chicago Punts on Apartment Safety, Denver Shows What’s Possible

by Alex Nitkin September 18, 2023September 21, 2023

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.

Posted inSolutions

Chicago Doesn’t Keep Track of Landlords. Renters Are Demanding Change.

by Alex Nitkin September 18, 2023September 20, 2023

Chicago’s building safety enforcement lags behind many peer cities. Boulder offers a model that Chicago could follow.

Unsafe & Unsound: How Can Chicago Ensure All Its Apartments Are Safe?

Illinois Answers 400x400 by Illinois Answers Project September 17, 2023September 20, 2023

Join Illinois Answers Project Reporter Alex Nitkin and Metropolitan Tenants Organization Organizer Arieh Venick for a conversation about Chicago’s building safety record, what other cities are doing to fix unsafe […]

Posted inInvestigations

Repeat Violators Leave Families Out in the Cold

by Sidnee King June 15, 2023September 8, 2023

Hundreds of buildings across Chicago have been cited repeatedly for violating heat-requirement ordinances, which are in effect from November through May.

Chicago firefighter Felix McAfee passes out smoke alarms with a 10-year battery life to residents in the 1600 block of North Mayfield Avenue on Dec. 22, following a fatal fire on the block. (Credit: Antonio Perez/ Chicago Tribune)
Posted inInvestigations

Smoke Detectors Save Lives, But Chicago Slow to Toughen Rules

by Alex Nitkin, Adriana Pérez and Kelli Duncan March 13, 2023March 16, 2023

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.

A fire in the 500 block of North Central Avenue in April 2022 seriously injured Herrsterstine Burns, 57, who died three weeks later. Investigators found the apartment had no smoke alarms, even though city inspectors had visited the building as recently as early 2021 on other issues, records show. (Credit: Jose M. Osorio/ Chicago Tribune file photo)
Posted inGovernment Finance & Accountability

Fires Continue to Kill People in Unsafe Buildings as Chicago Ignores Problems with its Inspection System

by Alex Nitkin, Adriana Pérez and Kelli Duncan March 10, 2023March 16, 2023

As other cities across the country adopt innovative programs to fix problem buildings, Chicago lags behind

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