Alderman Desmond Yancy’s office for months received calls from tenants battling a South Shore slumlord while living in unsanitary conditions, without water and heat, the Chicago Crusader has learned.
For the first time since May, when the Crusader began reporting on slumlord CKO Real Estate, Yancy held a closed-door meeting on Monday, March 3, with several CKO tenants at his office in South Shore. The meeting fueled criticism that Yancy was late responding to complaints about the company as residents sought help with few resources.
Yancy did not disclose details of that meeting, but in a text message on Tuesday, March 4, he said, “I’m waiting to hear back from the building’s commissioner. I should have more info tomorrow.”
The Crusader never heard back from Yancy by press time Wednesday.
The Crusader has written many stories on problems created by CKO Real Estate. Still, since the firm’s closure last week, attention has shifted to Yancy, who is working with tenants and city officials to address the problems.
Last week, the Crusader contacted Yancy, asking how CKO Real Estate tenants can get help with their problems. Yancy preferred an off-the-record conversation, which meant the Crusader could not print what he said. The Crusader asked Yancy to go on the record with his comments, but he declined.
For the past year, some CKO Real Estate tenants in the 5th Ward have flooded Chicago’s 311 hotline with complaints of having no water, heat and electricity in their apartments, some in the middle of winter. There have also been complaints about mice, leaky ceilings and garbage dumpsters that haven’t been emptied for months. One tenant lived with human waste in her bathtub and her toilet was backed up with feces.
Another tenant who lived at a CKO Real Estate building at 6733 S. Paxton said when they called Yancy’s office in November, someone said: “Oh yeah, we already know about that building.” A different tenant said they were told they would have to organize tenants to get Yancy’s attention.
A Crusader journalist who was once a tenant called Yancy’s office twice about CKO Real Estate but never got a response.
It’s uncertain how much Yancy knew about the complaints or the situation. It’s also unclear whether Yancy will make changes to his staff to improve communication on urgent matters affecting his Ward’s residents.
Some CKO Real Estate tenants also blame the city’s Department of Buildings, which they say has been too slow to respond to 311 complaints about problems that affect their daily lives. The Department of Buildings usually send inspectors to properties in response to tenant complaints.
A former organizer, Yancy impressed voters in South Shore when he campaigned for the 5th Ward. After winning a runoff race against Hyde Park’s Tina Hone, Yancy, in 2023, introduced an ordinance that would protect existing South Shore residents from displacement due to nearby developments.
That move reassured 5th Ward voters in South Shore that Yancy was on their side on issues impacting apartment renters. But in 2024, Yancy accepted a $1,500 campaign donation from Mac Property Management, a landlord that has drawn unfavorable reviews from its numerous apartment buildings in Hyde Park.
Campaign records from the Illinois State Board of Elections also show that Mac Property Management gave $5,000 to the Fifth Ward Regular Democratic Organization, which is chaired by Yancy’s predecessor, former Alderman Leslie Hairston, often criticized for spending more time and resources on Hyde Park than South Shore.
In the 2023 aldermanic election, Hairston privately endorsed Yancy and used her resources and connections to help get him elected. Some voters chose not to vote for Yancy because of his ties to Hairston, who decided not to run for reelection after voters in the 5th Ward grew disillusioned with her leadership.
There is concern that tenants in other CKO Real Estate apartment buildings in other Black wards may be experiencing similar problems.
Nine of the company’s properties are in Alderman Greg Mitchell’s 7th Ward, four are in Alderman Pat Dowell’s 3rd Ward, three are in Alderman Jeanette Taylor’s 20th Ward and one is in Alderman Monique Scott’s 24th Ward. The Crusader emailed their offices on Monday but did not receive a response by press time Wednesday for the newspaper’s print edition. In response, the 3rd Ward office said they haven’t received any complaints from CKO Real Estate residents in that Ward.
In the 5th Ward, questions remain about what actions Yancy will take to address the complaints about CKO Real Estate. The real estate firm was permanently closed last week after a fire at one of its properties in South Shore. The Crusader has learned that some tenants were told through a notice to send their rent payments to a new owner named OGSSP LLC.
When it was operating out of its office in the West Loop, CKO Real Estate owned at least 29 apartment buildings in Chicago. About 26 are in five predominately Black wards, and about 17 of those buildings are on South Shore, more than any other neighborhood in the city.
About 10 of those buildings are in the 5th Ward, raising questions about the future of tenants of South Shore as landlords target the lakefront neighborhood, while construction of the Obama Presidential Center and Library fuels gentrification concerns before it opens next year.
CKO Real Estate owns five buildings on Paxton in South Shore. Two of those buildings have been condemned by the city. One located at 6733 S. Paxton caught fire on February 23. Local and federal law enforcement officials are investigating to determine the cause of the blaze.
According to the Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning, at least 75 percent of South Shore residents are renters, and almost half of South Shore residents spend more than 30 percent of their income on rent. For many renters, finding an affordable apartment with good and honest landlords can be a challenge.
However, holding landlords accountable by filing a complaint with the city’s 311 hotline can be even more challenging. An ABC7 Chicago investigation in 2020 found that the city handles over one million 311 complaints a year, and response times are often determined by the zip code where tenants live.
But multiple sources say landlord accountability depends on the aldermen, some of whom are quick to call on the Department of Buildings to send out inspectors or go after slumlords.
