* Landlord Faces Housing Court

Neighborhood for a Safe Rogers Park vs. Slumlord Jay Johnson


By LORRAINE SWANSON - News Star Staff Writer

North of Howard residents want their day in housing court when a neighborhood building owner goes before a judge on March 6.

Jay Johnson, who has contributed thousands of dollars in campaign funds to Alderman Joe Moore, 49th, and sits on Moore's Zoning and Land Use Advisory Committee, was cited for 46 building code violations at 1638-42 W. Jonquil Terr. and 7700-06 N. Marshfield Ave., the scene of a deadly fire that killed six children on Sept. 3. The building faces both Jonquil and Marshfield.

Residents claim that Johnson--who owns several North of Howard properties for which he receives federal tax credits in exchange for providing low-income housing--is one of the area's most notorious landlords.

"Jay Johnson has been a thorn in the neighborhood for a very long time," said Eva McCann, CAPS beat facilitator for the Rogers Park (24th) Police District and president of the park advisory council for the North of Howard area.

"I'm trying to get court advocates to attend housing court and let the judge know that we don't want these kinds of landlords in our neighborhood," McCann added.

Johnson's attorney, Mark Noor, who is representing Johnson's case in housing court, said that the building owner has been cooperating with the city.

"Mr. Johnson has been operating in complete candor and full cooperation with the city and will continue to do so. He was precluded from initiating any repairs to the third-floor unit at 7706 N. Marshfield (where the fire occurred) by the other parties who are trying to protect the evidentiary record," Noor said.

A copy of the complaint from the Chicago Law Department lists 46 separate building code violations at the three-story, 16-unit building. The complaint lists Marshway M, one of several buildings identified in Johnson's portfolio of rental properties, as the last taxpayer of record.

During an inspection that took place on Sept. 5, 2006, two days after the fire, the Chicago Department of Buildings cited the multi-unit residential building for violations such as a faulty rear porch system, exposed electrical equipment and wiring, a missing fire door in the basement furnace area, holes in the interior walls and ceilings, and failure to repair open mortar joints in a chimney.

"Some (of the violations) are related to the fire, like water damage and missing door frames and locks," said Jenny Hoyle, a spokeswoman for the city's Law Department.

"This doesn't reflect the condition of the building before the fire. Missing and broken window panes and water damage are identified as being related to the fire," Hoyle added.

Hoyle said that the complaint's first eight violations were addressed in an administrative hearing before the city. The other, more serious violations were filed in the housing division of the Cook County Circuit Court.

Chicago Fire Department investigators attributed the cause of the Sept. 3 fire that killed the six children to candles being used to light the third-floor apartment after the electricity had been shut off because the family was unable to pay the utility bill. The apartment was also found to be without a working smoke alarm, fire officials said.

Both families have since filed a lawsuit against the owners of the building, claiming that the owners had failed to maintain adequate smoke detectors in the Ramirez family's apartment. Named in the lawsuit were Marshway Limited Partnership, Marshway LLC, CIG LLC, and Johnson. The building owners have not been cited by a city department or other regulatory agency for negligence or other wrong doing that directly caused the fire.

The upcoming housing court date for the Marshfield building isn't the first time one of Johnson's buildings has landed in court. One of his buildings at 7722-34 N. Ashland Ave. was found potentially in violation of the city's Drug and Gang House Ordinance in 2005, as part of a multi-tiered process for resolving the building's deleterious impact on the neighborhood.

Another Johnson-owned property, the Howard Theatre Apartments at 1615-43 W. Howard St., a project in the Howard-Paulina TIF District that is subsidized by $3.7 million in property tax money, has also fallen under the scrutiny of the city's Department of Buildings. Between 2001 and 2006, the building was cited for code violations ranging from a defective emergency call system in the elevator, damaged flooring, roofing and door frames, and rodent infestation.

Mary Jane Haggerty, director of the Housing Action Program for the Rogers Park Community Council, said that while she hasn't had any complaints about the building on Marshfield, she has fielded complaints about other Cornerstone rental properties.

"In terms of responding and dealing with things, (Johnson) isn't the worst landlord I've ever dealt with," Haggerty said.

"He has always been reachable and returned my calls. Admittedly, his buildings aren't what I would consider well-maintained buildings. I'd like to see them better maintained. Generally, it takes outside interference to get him to do what he needs to do," Haggerty added.

Haggerty said she was unaware that the building was in housing court until last month, when she was attending court on another unrelated case. The building's first hearing was held on Dec. 11, and a second on Jan. 30. The case has been continued to March 6.

Current tenants at 7700-06 N. Marshfield Ave., who requested that their names be withheld, confirmed that efforts to clean up the building and bring it into compliance have been stepped up.

On a recent visit earlier this month, a resident was removing a piece of paper that held the lock open to the front entry door. He said it was the third time in as many weeks that front door lock had been replaced. While the walls in the common areas appeared to have been freshly painted and patched, the halls smelled of urine.

"I'm worried about security. (There are) guys standing in the halls smoking blunts all night. They don't live here and I don't think anyone lets them in. People in the building mind their own business. The place isn't very flavorful," he said.

A woman who has lived in the building for several months said that her apartment on Marshfield is cleaner than one she occupied at another Cornerstone building in the neighborhood.

Several times this month, she's had to call police on her way to work early in the morning, to roust out a homeless man who's been sleeping in the hallway before her daughter leaves after her for school.

"But I shouldn't have too," she said.