City responds after 70-year-old pleads to escape unsafe Chicago apartment

The Brief

  • A South Side apartment building has a long history of problems: City records show years of violations involving the elevator, pests and maintenance, including at least two dozen since the current owner bought the property in 2023.
  • FOX Chicago’s report prompted action: Multiple city departments inspected the building, and the property owner was given 15 days to address repairs.
  • Tenant Yvette Thomas wants out: The 70-year-old says unsafe conditions have made the building unlivable, and her birthday wish is to move before she turns 71.

CHICAGO A broken elevator has left 70-year-old Yvette Thomas relying on the stairs to get in and out of her South Side apartment building. Now, even the stairwell is raising concerns.

“Oh, shoot,” Thomas said as a banister pulled away from the wall at the building in the 4700 block of South Michigan Avenue.

“I need to get out of here, that’s for sure,” she said.

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