Albany Park Residents Can't Boot Problem Tenant Because Of Evictions Moratorium; 'Cops Come At All Hours Of The Day'
CHICAGO (CBS) --People living in one Albany Park apartment building said they're living in a nightmare.
And scared for their own safety.
It's all because of one renter who can't be kicked out because of the eviction moratorium. But CBS 2 has found that some evictions are indeed happening.
CBS 2's Brandon Merano reports on the sticky situation. He spoke with a landlord and residents of the Albany Park apartment complex who said the moratorium is keeping them from kicking out a nightmare of a neighbor.
As the deadline for the Illinois eviction moratorium quickly approaches, tens of thousands of people are hoping Governor JB Pritzker will extend it to keep people from being evicted from their homes or apartments.
Angelica Delgado, her landlord and the whole apartment association filed a lawsuit hoping for an eviction. But they said a judge decided against it, even though residents said it's one of the worst cases they've seen or heard.
People living at West Sunnyside Place Condominiums said they're dealing with a dangerous neighbor.
"We've had the 16th District police tell us they've come over here at least in one day, like five or six times in one day," said Delgado.
She said broken windows, busted down doors and a year of not paying rent doesn't even begin to tell the story.
"It's not an environment for children to be hearing these types of profanities and the things that are going on there, and having cops come at all hours of the day," Delgado said.
She lives two doors down and one level below the bad tenant, but was still able to record violent threats from the apartment from her phone.
Delgado and other tenants said incidents like that happen all the time. It's also why Delgado, her landlord Annabelle Wong and the condo association filed a lawsuit to get the troubled tenants evicted for a problem that started before the pandemic.
"It's hard for me as a responsible landlord in good conscience to continue renting the unit out," Wong said. "Because I can't subject someone else to live in those conditions."
But a judge ruled not to evict the tenants, saying they haven't done enough to be kicked out under the Illinois Eviction Moratorium, even though there have been 114 emergency evictions in Cook County since the pandemic began.
"My hands are tied because as a condo owner and as a landlord, we don't, or condo associations doesn't usually get involved in evictions. This has gotten to the point where an association, not a landlord, but the association is taking a legal stance," Wong said.
The next step is refiling the lawsuit. But Wong and her tenant said what the ruling will be is anyone's guess.
"I would never want anyone to be put out on the street," Delgado said. "But at the same time, if you're not being mindful of your neighbors then you shouldn't be here because no one else is causing the same destruction that you are."
The current eviction moratorium is expected to end January 9, which Governor Pritzker is expected to extend.
CBS 2 did knock on that tenant's door Thursday and called him. He got back to CBS 2 and said he didn't want to comment about the complaints and referred CBS 2 to his attorney.
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