CKO Real Estate, the property management firm that forced many tenants in South Shore to live in uninhabitable conditions, is $20 million in debt and CEO Chikoo Patel owes $63,000 to American Express, according to a recent lawsuit filed against the firm.
The report comes as some tenants in South Shore face eviction proceedings despite their efforts to address problems in their units that were once managed by CKO Real Estate. The firm at one time managed 34 apartment buildings in Chicago, including 26 in South Shore.
The Chicago Crusader has been following the story since 2024, when CKO Real Estate began receiving numerous complaints about tenants living with no water, no heat and in some cases no electricity. Earlier this year, many tenants were forced to move after the city shut down four large apartment buildings managed by CKO Real Estate on Paxton Avenue in South Shore. Those buildings remain vacant and boarded up.
Tenants were told CKO Real Estate closed in February after investors alleged that as head of the firm Patel stole $4 million. But tenants across Chicago and Illinois told the Crusader they continued to receive rent bills from CKO Real Estate.
The firm still owes a maintenance and cleaning firm at least $140,000 for unpaid work. The Crusader learned that former employees who had worked for CKO Real Estate had been laid off in February after they had not been paid for weeks.
As it turned out, CKO Real Estate owes other vendors and institutions. According to the real estate news outlet The Real Deal, CKO Real Estate is unraveling with $20 million in debt and broken contracts. The outlet also reported that Patel and investor Shai Wolkowicki are being sued for $16 million by the Old National Bank for a distressed multi-family deal in Springfield, IL.
Wolkowicki was one of five investors whose buildings in South Shore were managed by CKO Real Estate. According to the report in the Real Deal, Wolkowicki did not answer questions or grant an interview when asked about how he and other investors are recovering after their soured business deals with Patel.
The report said American Express is among “a slew of lenders going after the embattled Chicago landlord in Cook County court.” According to the report American Express in a recent lawsuit said Patel missed a minimum payment on a $63,000 bill this past summer.
Sources told the Crusader Patel has been seen driving different luxury cars from time to time. They include two Range Rovers-one black, the other white-a sports car and two convertible Mercedes Benzes. The Crusader has been unable to verify whether Patel owns those vehicles.
After CKO Real Estate parted ways with investors in February, Halsted Taylor and PIP Realty managed the apartment buildings in South Shore. As the problems with water, heat and mold issues continued tenants in those buildings formed a tenant union to address problems.
But the problems worsened as the union organized by Southside Together held protests and a series of meetings where they presented their demands to investors and city officials that included Alderman Desmon Yancy (5th), Mayor Brandon Johnson and Buildings Commissioner Marlene Hopkins.
The tenants demanded annual inspections, compensation and back rent forgiven after some spent their own money on unaddressed repairs. Despite their demands, many of the residents were never compensated and tenants who lived in the buildings that were shut down were given just $2,500. Many of the original tenants who formed the union grew disillusioned with Southside Together and withdrew from the union.
In August, former CKO Real Estate tenants Chynel Cooper and Russell Carter received eviction notices. By then, their buildings were managed by Halsted Taylor, a property management firm. Carter had been a vocal leader with the tenant union who lived with his ceiling caving in, water coming out of his walls, radiator leaks causing water damage, and a rodent infestation. Carter had filed a lawsuit alleging retaliation after complaining about similar problems in her unit.