Click here to view the Wacker House Photo Gallery
Welcome to the OTTA forum for tracking activity on the house at 1838 N Lincoln Park West! Please note here when you see unauthorized activity or work on the building, and any steps you took to halt it. (eg. called 911, police arrived in 15 minutes) It’s also helpful to us for you to leave your name and address or interest in the building. Thank you!
I’m appending the latest I heard from the alderman’s office last week. This represents the most up to date actions taken by the city (all through the Department of Buildings). August 18th.
We are pushing hard for DOB to take action here, and the Alderman is in direct communication with the Commissioner.
As you are aware, this property has a lot of history, which includes two previous stop work orders that I know of in the last 3 years, one being for the lead paint, and the other being for the illegal construction of a rooftop deck. Getting the inspector out and the stop work order issued is where our office typically hands things off fully to DOB. It is our understanding that once a stop work order and violations are issued, the matter can proceed through the City’s administrative enforcement process and, where appropriate, the Circuit Court of Cook County, where the owner can be ordered to correct the violations, obtain proper permits, and often pay fines. I do not think there has been any resolution for those two previous stop work orders since no new permit has ever been approved, but I am trying to get an update on that question from DOB.
Unfortunately, violating Landmarks rules, as with any other illegal construction activity, can require additional enforcement proceedings through the City’s administrative and court systems. While we are sure that the City can and will continue to take enforcement action, issue fines, and seek orders to correct the violations, we are in a difficult position when an owner is simply ignoring those actions and continuing to do whatever they want regardless. The Landmark Ordinance does appear to technically give the City authority to pursue remedies for unlawful construction, but actually getting illegal work corrected or requiring an owner to undo work that has already been completed can be a much more difficult and time-consuming process when the owner refuses to cooperate. Our office has not run into this situation before, and are therefore are working to learn how this authority is actually applied.
Our office has escalated the newest issue of the wood planks, netting etc. to both Landmarks and directly with DOB’s Commissioner on multiple occasions over the last month, and in the last couple of weeks, as we have received updated photos from neighbors. They have let us know that they are internally investigating what options the City has here. We are specifically looking into legal avenues that exist in the event that an owner refuses to cooperate with the City to stop work or make corrections to illegal work. We are continuing to follow up with DOB, and we have looped in CPD directly on those emails to ensure that they are kept apprised of the situation and can assist if there is an enforcement option that is identified that involves CPD.
I hope this provides some needed context for why this is not a straightforward fix and why, in practical terms, getting the existing violations corrected can be particularly difficult when the owner is unwilling to cooperate. While we hope to have more specific updates on next steps the city will be taking soon, seeing corrections to what has been done seems like it will take quite a long time should the owner continue to refuse to cooperate. If you have any follow-up questions on this info, please let me know.
The Alderman also sent another email this morning directly to the Commissioner of DOB requesting an update. We will continue to push on this and send updates once we have them from DOB.
Additional note from alderman’s office Friday, August 21st:
We have had several more conversations with DOB over the past week. Since our last update, we can confirm there is an active stop-work order at this property, which we advocated for. The city is taking the property owner to court and there are no further steps DOB can take until the court hearing is held, as any further action requires a court order.
Any continued work on the property is illegal, but can only be enforced by the Chicago Police Department. Because CPD is the only enforcement for Stop Work Orders on buildings, neighbors should continue to call 911 if they see someone actively working on the property. Our office will continue to check in with DOB on the status of the court case as it progresses, but at this time, we have taken all actions available to us.
Leave a Reply