Caroline Bermudez, a resident of West Humboldt Park, has filed a lawsuit against the Chicago Housing Authority (CHA) and two property management firms. She alleges that their failure to maintain a vacant CHA-owned bungalow next door to her home allowed it to become a center for drug activity, which endangered her and other neighbors.
Bermudez described the ongoing issues with the property at 849 N. St. Louis Avenue. “Even though it was freezing, the dealers were out doing business from 7 a.m. until midnight,” she said. “I heard them constantly yelling, ‘Yellow! Purple!’” referring to drugs for sale. She added, “I was inundated with the noise. I remember thinking, ‘I have to wear headphones in my own house so I don’t have to hear drug trafficking outside. Not even my house is my refuge. I can’t escape this crap.’”
After repeated attempts to get help from city officials, police, and CHA representatives yielded no results, Bermudez decided to take legal action last week. The suit argues that neglect of scattered-site properties like hers is not an isolated problem but part of a broader pattern affecting hundreds of CHA homes across Chicago’s Black and Hispanic neighborhoods.
“What we are looking for is for CHA to bring these properties back into livable condition and to get them leased,” said Emily Coffey, housing attorney with the Chicago Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights who helped file the lawsuit. “What Caroline experienced is happening to other people too. There are so many units that are just allowed to sit there unaddressed, sometimes for a decade or more.”
The lawsuit seeks compensation for damages suffered by Bermudez and calls for reforms in how CHA manages its scattered-site program—an initiative meant to distribute affordable single-family homes and small apartment buildings throughout the city.
According to CHA records, demand for affordable housing remains high: over 69,000 households are currently waiting for placement in scattered-site units—a number that has grown by more than 20,000 since 2024.
In response to inquiries about the lawsuit, CHA officials stated they could not comment on pending litigation but affirmed their commitment “to rehabilitating hundreds of empty scattered-site units and advancing our mission of preserving and creating more housing opportunities for families.” They indicated dozens of properties are undergoing reviews but provided no specific plans regarding 849 N. St. Louis Avenue.
A previous investigation by Block Club Chicago and Illinois Answers Project revealed in 2023 that nearly 500 out of approximately 2,900 scattered-site residences were vacant at that time—almost 18 percent of all such properties.
Following media attention on the issue in early 2024, CHA announced its Restore Home plan—a $50 million initiative aimed at renovating vacant homes over eighteen months.
By May 2024 conditions at Bermudez’s block had deteriorated further; police made more drug arrests there than anywhere else in Chicago during that period according to reporting from Block Club Chicago.
Despite public attention and official announcements, neighbors reported little improvement or maintenance work at the site by either CHA or its management partners such as Hispanic Housing Development Corp.
Federal authorities charged several individuals involved in drug distribution on North St. Louis Avenue in January 2025; surveillance cameras were also installed on the block by city officials afterward. Residents noted some decrease in drug traffic locally but observed activity moving elsewhere nearby instead.
Research conducted by HOPE Fair Housing Center—a co-plaintiff with Bermudez—found persistent problems with vacancy rates among scattered-site homes disproportionately impacting majority-nonwhite communities: while those neighborhoods contain 62 percent of all such units citywide, they account for nearly three-quarters of vacancies.
“CHA’s policy and practice of neglecting vacant scattered site units — even after CHA received repeated demands for action — allowed these properties to deteriorate into community blights that triggered the health and safety consequences associated with vacant properties,” states the lawsuit.
Since initial reporting in 2023 prompted reform efforts at CHA, progress has been slow: about half of promised renovations under Restore Home have been started or completed so far according to agency statements cited by Block Club Chicago.
Manage Chicago took over oversight duties at 849 N. St. Louis Avenue last July but has struggled with ongoing maintenance issues according to Bermudez; trash continued piling up behind the house as recently as November 2025.
Chris Amatore, CEO of Manage Chicago noted: “Many of the incidents referenced in the [lawsuit] complaint predate our management… Since assuming responsibility we have operated within the scope of our contractual authority with CHA regarding maintenance and security matters. Because this matter is currently in litigation we are limited in additional comment.”
Bermudez reports some improvements on her block but says concerns persist until proper action is taken regarding the vacant property next door.
