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Squatter Removed From Beverly Home After Numerous Complaints: O'Shea

By Howard Ludwig | January 28, 2016 3:55pm
 A squatter was removed from a home at 9901 S. Winchester Ave. in Beverly on Thursday afternoon, according to Ald. Matt O'Shea (19th).
A squatter was removed from a home at 9901 S. Winchester Ave. in Beverly on Thursday afternoon, according to Ald. Matt O'Shea (19th).
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DNAinfo/Devlin Brown (file)

BEVERLY — A squatter was removed from a house at 9901 S. Winchester Ave. in Beverly late Thursday afternoon, according to Ald. Matt O'Shea (19th)

O'Shea said the squatter was a woman in her 30s, and that Chicago Police along with officials from the city's Chicago Department of Buildings removed her from the bank-owned property.

Applebrook Realty overseas the house and promised city officials to better secure the property in an effort to keep such issues from reoccurring, O'Shea said Thursday afternoon.

O'Shea said he began receiving calls from concerned neighbors late this summer. Some reported seeing lights on in the empty house during late hours. Others reported suspicious cars in the driveway.

Such calls increased last week which prompted Thursday's police action, O'Shea said.

"If that person who was removed today comes back to the house, she can be arrested," said O'Shea, adding there was very little furniture in the house and no heat.

This isn't the first time squatters have been removed from homes in Beverly and Morgan Park. A group of four men has been accused of gaining access to about a dozen homes in the area and renting them to tenants. Some of the squatters were so bold as to plant flowers in the yard so as to blend into the neighborhood, according to reports.

The alleged masterminds behind this plot have all been arrested, and O'Shea believes this latest incident is separate — unrelated to grander scheme of last summer.

"Thanks to the many neighbors who cooperated with law enforcement on this case. Thanks also to the hardworking men and women of the Chicago Police Department and the Chicago Building Department for their efforts to keep our community safe," O'Shea wrote in an email sent to constituents.

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