Life has been hard for Essence Nelson. The 26-year-old single mother and her 4-year-old son now live in an apartment in Blue Island.
Nelson has struggled to move on after a fire in February abruptly forced her out of her South Shore apartment. Unable to find something affordable in the neighborhood, Nelson settled for a two-bedroom unit in Blue Island in the South Suburbs.
Today, Nelson travels 15 miles daily to take her son to an elementary school in Chatham before heading to her job at Roseland Hospital, where she works in social services. Since the fire, Nelson’s dream of returning to college has faded as she spends more time on the road and contends with rising gas prices.
Nelson is a former tenant of CKO Real Estate, the alleged slumlord that managed 27 buildings in South Shore. Tenants in many of those buildings filed complaints about the lack of heat, water, and electricity. Four of those buildings on Paxton Avenue have gone into foreclosure, including Nelson’s former residence. As part of the process, many tenants are receiving $2,500 in relocation assistance—but not Nelson.
She and about seven other tenants who lived at 6725-6733 South Paxton Avenue have received nothing, and their chances of getting anything appear slim.
Four months after a fire ripped through their building, reality has set in. To get the $2,500 check, the city says they must contact Chikoo Patel, the elusive and disgraced CEO of CKO Real Estate, which owned the building at the time of the fire.
“I could use that money to move [back to South Shore],” Nelson said.
There may be many other tenants from Nelson’s U-shaped brick building that may qualify for relocation assistance, but the Crusader has identified at least eight. Most requested anonymity for this story, but Nelson has remained vocal and continues to question why she wasn’t offered any relocation assistance, especially after being told the owners were boarding up her building two days before the fire.
The questions come as a tenant group led by Southside Together, a community organizing group, celebrates a recent court ruling that awarded them $50,000 in relocation assistance. That amount covers about $2,500 for 20 tenants who lived at 6715-23 South Paxton Avenue and 6952-58 South Paxton Avenue.
After many city code violations, Cook County Circuit Court Judge Joseph Sconza ruled that those buildings were unsafe. The city wanted the tenants out by the end of May, but Judge Sconza granted them an extension. Tenants at 6715-23 South Paxton have until June 18 to vacate. Those at 6952-58 South Paxton must leave by June 25.
Nelson’s building is the only condemned CKO Real Estate property on Paxton Avenue where displaced tenants received no relocation assistance.
Like many CKO residents, Nelson and her neighbors lived without heat. An email from Property Manager Jerome Faulker informed tenants that a broken boiler had left them without heat since November 2024. The email stated that the few options available would “each require that the impacted residents vacate their respective units for the foreseeable future.”
On January 24, a city inspector visited a two-bedroom apartment at 6725 South Paxton at 9:21 a.m. and found the temperature at 31 degrees in one bedroom and 35 degrees in the other. According to the report, the heating system was off.
On Sunday, February 23, a two-alarm fire ripped through Nelson’s building. Chicago Fire Department spokesperson Larry Langford said the department’s official report concluded the fire was caused by human action but did not specify whether it was intentional.
Two days earlier, on February 21, Nelson received two voicemail messages from a city inspector who told her the property would be boarded up and urged her to retrieve her belongings immediately.
Nelson kept both messages and later texted them to the Crusader.
One message said: “Hello Essence, this is Inspector Vazquez. This is the scoop now. We bought you some time. They’re going to board it up tomorrow morning. You have ‘til tonight. Again, this is serious. I’m trying to be nice, and I don’t want to sound aggressive. But I’m going to tell you how it is and what’s going on. But they’re going to board it up tomorrow. The owner is sending a team out to board it up. So, as of tomorrow, it is going to be boarded up. I strongly recommend that you get your stuff and do what you need to do; get it down because tomorrow I guarantee, it’s going to be boarded up.”
Other tenants the Crusader spoke with said they did not receive any similar warning.
Contrary to Inspector Vazquez’s message, the building was not boarded up the next day. That Sunday, a two-alarm fire broke out on the second floor, eventually reaching the third floor and roof.
Most of the residents’ furniture and belongings were still in their units. The fire was contained to one section of the building, so many units suffered only minor damage. Though residents were able to retrieve their possessions, most had nowhere to go. One tenant moved in with relatives and placed her belongings in storage, incurring monthly fees. Another moved in with a friend on the North Side.
None of those tenants say they have received any relocation assistance.
According to Kristen Cabanban, director of news affairs for the Chicago Department of Law, at the time of the fire the limited liability company that owned the property was still controlled by CKO and Chikoo Patel. That entity was responsible for relocating the tenants. A receiver was not appointed until April 29, 2025.
Cabanban said that once appointed, a court receiver becomes responsible for providing relocation assistance. The receiver fronts the money and is later reimbursed by the court through a certificate that can be recorded on the property.
The receiver in this case is Chicago Neighborhood Resources, LLC, registered to Phillip Bettiker, according to the Illinois Secretary of State.
However, Cabanban said Nelson and the other tenants must reach out to Chikoo Patel for their relocation assistance because he controlled the property at the time.
The chances of that happening are slim. Since investors severed ties with Patel and “permanently closed” CKO Real Estate in February after the fire, the Crusader has received emails and text messages from tenants across Chicago and Rockford, Illinois, indicating that CKO is still operating. One text message shows CKO tried to raise a tenant’s rent by more than $500. Another tenant in Rockford reported the company was not providing heat or essential services.
CKO investors or owners reportedly terminated Patel in February after accusing him of embezzling $4 million. The company hired PIP Realty Group to manage its properties, but the group was reportedly still taking directives from Patel. Another firm, Halsted Taylor Realty, has been in bad standing with the state since 2011, according to public records.
Tracking down Patel is nearly impossible. Hidden behind multiple LLCs, he has no known phone number or address. Two tenants who attempted to sue him in small claims court had their cases dismissed because the Cook County Sheriff’s Office could not serve him due to a lack of a valid address. A maintenance company owner said Patel still owes him $140,000 for work completed on CKO properties.
Romeo Dixon, executive director of Southside Together, who persuaded the city to issue relocation funds to former CKO tenants, said he was not aware of Nelson’s situation but pledged to help secure assistance for her and her neighbors.
One month before the fire, CKO Real Estate was forced to pay $2,500 to Nancy Jones, a tenant who lived nearby at 6755 South Paxton. When CKO failed to pay her after she moved out, Jones contacted the city’s Law Department, and the money was paid within the hour.