LOGAN SQUARE — The shooting of a 6-year-old girl outside a Logan Square house was the final straw for the city to step in and deem the home uninhabitable.
The home, 2108 N. Bingham St., had been deemed a "problem house" by Ald. Proco Joe Moreno (1st) and residents of the block for years.
Three days after 6-year-old Jaylene Bermeo was shot in the back while playing with sidewalk chalk in front of the house, a strategic task force inspected the building and determined it failed the inspection, forcing the residents out.
“We've been constantly pushing the Department of Buildings regarding this matter, maybe a new impetus was created as a result of the incident," said Raymond Valadez, Moreno's chief of staff.
The strategic inspections task force program is a partnership between multiple city agencies, including the Department of Buildings and the Chicago Police Department that conducts inspections and investigations of buildings that are the subject of ongoing criminal activity — especially narcotics and gang activity.
The Department of Buildings conducted a task force inspection June 9 after complaints from multiple sources, including a 311 complaint, according to Mimi Simon, a spokeswoman for the Department of Buildings.
"The inspection discovered dangerous conditions that warranted a vacate order, including exposed wiring, lack of required smoke and carbon monoxide detectors and a door leading to the rooftop deck without the required guardrail protection, creating a falling hazard," Simon said.
In total, inspectors cited the home with nine violations, including bullet holes in a first-floor window, missing handrails, a "trip hazard" due to a shifting sidewalk, missing siding on the garage and an issue with a meter socket, according to city records.
The shooting occurred about 8 p.m. June 6.
Prosecutors said the house was Jaylene's aunt's home and was "associated with Spanish Cobras."
Neighbors of the "problem house" said the residents regularly threw parties and that the home had been an issue for more than a decade.
One neighbor said the block had made "hundreds" of calls to police regarding the house over the years.
“The alderman had been working continuously with the Department of Buildings and the Police Department about this building, so that is a result of our efforts asking the department to look at this building," Valadez said.
Department of Buildings records indicate the home had failed six inspections since 2008, including a strategic task force inspection in June 2008.
The building violation records indicate inspections dinged the homeowner on issues such as missing digits of the address posted on the building, missing gutter downspouts, missing roof shingles and for having high weeds in the backyard.
The homeowner is due in court for a hearing on the latest failed inspection Thursday morning and intends to dispute the forced removal, Valadez said.
"Hopefully the case is strong enough to keep the building unoccupied," he said.
The hearing is set for 11 a.m. at the Daley Center.
RELATED: Logan Square Gang War To Blame For Shooting Of Girl, 6, Authorities Say
Police said the shooting that initially left Jaylene in critical condition was part of a gang war.
There had been multiple shootings in the area in recent weeks.
Jaylene returned home from the hospital Tuesday.
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