Nearly 2 year after deadly Kenwood fire, high-rise residents frustrated they're still displaced

Wednesday, November 13, 2024
CHICAGO (WLS) -- Residents on the city's South Side are demanding action nearly two years after they were displaced by a massive fire.



Hundreds of tenants were displaced from the Harper Square apartments in Kenwood when a deadly fire broke out in the Lake Park Avenue high-rise in January 2023.

One person was killed and several others were injured.

Residents praying for a miracle said that fire was just the start of their problems.

SEE MORE: Chicago high-rise fire: 1 dead in extra-alarm fire that tore through multiple floors, CFD says

Insurance funds have run out, and they still have not been able to get back into their homes. Residents say there have been repeated delays and a lack of transparency.



"I've lived at Harper Square 50-plus years in the same apartment," resident Mildred Richardson said. "Everything I own, I don't even know where it is. A lot of stuff was lost; I don't know how much of what. Even when I try to talk to people about that, no calls back, no information."

Harper Square residents gathered at a neighborhood church Wednesday said move-in dates keep getting pushed back, and they are frustrated that the city has not stepped in to help.

"We thought the fire was bad enough when it happened, but the things we've gone through since the fire has just added more and more trauma for each of us," Richardson said.



Joy Woodfolk says she's not only been unhoused, but hasn't been able to mourn the death of her husband, who died four months before the fire.

"I feel like I am standing on the edge of a cliff, and about to fall over. I want to go home," Woodfolk said.

Many are still either living with friends or relatives, and may be on the verge of having to pay for temporary housing now that their insurance is running out.

There's also concern the property could go into foreclosure because resident occupancy requirements for the mortgage haven't been met.

"We're actually facing the opportunity for a foreclosure or being in default of our loan come Jan. 1," longtime resident Ken Harris said.



An alderman told ABC7 Chicago that the property passed the building inspection on Tuesday, and the fire department will be out at the property by Thursday to check the standpipe's condition.

That could pave the way to start scheduling move-ins for displaced residents.

"We will be getting them attorneys to file a lawsuit because this is unacceptable," said the Rev. Robin Hood, with the Illinois Anti-Foreclosure Coalition.

The co-op board does have a meeting scheduled for Wednesday night. That's when displaced residents are hoping to be able to get any detailed information about when they can move back into their homes.

It's little relief for Rita Harris, who, after living in her apartment for more than 50-plus years, can't take any more disappointments.



"I just want to go home; I just want to go home," Rita Harris said.

ABC7 reached out Harper Square Cooperative Apartments and the city of Chicago and has not heard back.
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