City says East Garfield Park building, where a porch collapsed, killing one and injuring two others, 'must be demolished'

CHICAGO (CBS)-- The city determined an East Garfield Park building that collapsed, killing one and injuring two others, is "is not structurally sound and must be demolished."

On Tuesday, 52-year-old man Anthony Wright died in the collapse, at 3418 W. Jackson Blvd., and two of his relatives were seriously injured. CBS 2's Tim McNicholas, after spending two days at the scene trying to figure out what happened, city building inspectors have determined the entire building must be torn down.

"The Department of Buildings has determined that the building located at 3418 W. Jackson is not structurally sound and must be demolished. The department plans to work closely with the owners to determine a timeline for demolition and will continue to assist them as they recover from this tragedy," a Buildings Department spokesperson said in an email.

But some neighbors are asking the city for more than that. Danny White said he's calling his alderman "to have him send the city inspectors out to inspect the whole block to keep this from happening again."

The building already failed an inspection in 2015 because the owner didn't "maintain the exterior walls of a building...free from holes, breaks, loose or rotting boards or any other conditions which might admit rain or dampness..."   

The city's records posted online don't say whether those issues were ever fixed. The most recent permit issued was in late 2020 for roofing work.

Creative Scott is a first cousin of the building owner. He showed us paperwork and receipts claiming payment for recent work done on the building.

"She paid $40,000 to the get the roof fixed, and also for the tuckpointing to get done for the part that fell in front of the building – she also paid to get that done," Scott said.

Scott said the tuckpointing work was undertaken nine months ago.

"She's not a contractor, so she didn't know they didn't do a complete job," Scott said.

A Google Street view image dated seven months ago appears to show the part that collapsed, just below the roof, beginning to separate from the rest of the building.

"Maintain your property and have the city come out and inspect it as much as possible. That's the only advice I can give right now," White said.

At least eight people lived in the building, including the owner. She lived on the second floor and is related to Wright and the others were injured. She declined to be interviewed. Anthony Wright's sister and White both praised her on Wednesday.

"Just trying to help out everybody. I don't have nothing bad to say about her, she is a really good person," said Yolonda Wright.

On Wednesday, Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot said the family was not able to keep up the property and a truss at the top of the building failed and part of the façade fell down. 

The Department of Buildings hasn't said what caused the collapse or whether those 2015 violations were fixed. The building owner filed for bankruptcy two weeks ago.