The owners of a Back of the Yards three-flat where a single motherand her two daughters died of carbon monoxide poisoning have agreedto sell their seven properties, give the proceeds to the victims'family and never again own or manage rental property in Chicago,under an unprecedented settlement disclosed Friday.
"I'm overwhelmed. It's the first time in the city's history thatthey've done something like this," said Michael Robb, 28, whose twinsister, Anna, and her two daughters-Elizabeth, 9, and Erica, 8-diedof carbon monoxide poisoning Jan. 23 in a four-bedroom apartment at4542 S. Wood.
"I just hope there's a stand being made here against landlords whoare not following the city code. . . . There are other women who havekids like my sister who are a step away from tragedy because ofimproper living conditions. It's waiting to happen again."
Salomon and Marie Guzman agreed to the extraordinary terms aftercity inspectors uncovered 387 building code violations at thecouple's seven properties that would have cost $30,000 per buildingto fix.
They ranged from broken plaster, stairways and plumbing fixturesto shoddy porches, hanging electric wires and defective windows.Fifty-two of the violations were found at the Wood Street buildingwhere the Robb family died of carbon monoxide poisoning from a 1950sheater behind the bedroom wall.
"There were no other options for them. They have seven properties.They don't have the money to get them up to code, and they can't getthe financing because the city's case liened all the properties,"said Nishay Sanan, an attorney for the Guzmans.
The Chicago Sun-Times reported earlier this year that policebelieve there were no carbon monoxide detectors in the Robbs'apartment, and that the detectors were installed afterward by theGuzmans to cover their tracks.
Sanan disagreed with those findings, insisting there were "workingcarbon monoxide detectors" in the apartment before the deaths. Theissue of when detectors were installed is expected to be theprincipal focus of a pending civil lawsuit against the Guzmans.
The settlement marks the first time in Housing Court history thatthe city has required a landlord to sell all Chicago properites.
"I saw the picture of the mother and the two daughters after theydied. They didn't have a lot in the world," senior counsel JudyFrydland said. "They only had each other, and they were hit with thistragedy. Their lives are over.
"It just struck me that the best thing that could happen for thecitizens of Chicago is that (the Guzmans) get out of town and not dobusiness here. The city doesn't want landlords like this who putpeople's lives in jeopardy."
Six of the properties have already been sold and $200,000 placedinto an escrow account for the victims' family. Insurance proceedsfrom a fire at the seventh building are expected to add as much as$50,000 to the fund.
Asked why the Guzmans agreed never to be landlords in Chicago,Sanan said, "They'd be watched no matter what they did. The citywould be scrutinizing them so much, they realize that it's justbetter to never own property."
Landlords who allow their buildings to fall into dangerous statesof disrepair are routinely slapped with hefty fines and court ordersto correct the violations.
City Hall believes the Guzman case fell into a different category.For one thing, the Wood Street property was not insured, making itdifficult for Michael Robb to seek compensation for his sister'sdeath. And with 387 violations at seven properties, there was noguarantee the tragedy wouldn't be repeated at other buildings.
Michael Robb said he's not concerned about the $250,000 windfallhe stands to gain from the sale of Guzman properties. He's stillpushing for a stalled ordinance that would require the city tolicense absentee landlords and inspect their apartments.
"I'm not focused on being bitter and hating the landlord. I wantsomething done," Robb said.
"My sister and I were twins. We never knew our father. We wereseparated at 13 when our mother passed away. She was in Princeton,Ill. I was in Chicago. We came back together as adults. We started toreally get to know each other again in the past five or six years andthen, this happened. She was all the family I had."
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