“The Tenant Trap,” a yearlong Injustice Watch investigation, found Chicago tenants regularly face eviction and informal displacement at buildings with histories of serious safety violations. Meanwhile, the court system prioritizes landlords’ property rights over the rights of residents.
We relied on several public databases to learn about building conditions and the identities of their owners. These databases are free and maintained by the city, county, or state governments.
Here’s how to use them to research a building’s code violation history, property ownership, and the people behind the companies that often own housing.
Part 1: Researching Chicago building code violations
This database is useful if you want to check the history of code violations at a building before moving there, or learn about violations in a building you already live in. It is not an overview of complaints about a building, but rather contains violations documented by city inspectors.
Step 1: Visit the Chicago City Data Portal.
Step 2: Enter the building address in the Search bar.
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If no results come up and it’s a small building with one address, it could mean there have been no violations documented there since 2006. If it’s a building with multiple entrances, check other addresses in the same building before assuming there have been no violations.
Step 3: Once results are displayed, scroll right to the Property Group column.
Step 4: Copy the Property Group number.
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The Property Group number is a unique ID number assigned to each building by the City regardless of how many addresses it has.
Step 5: Clear the Search bar. (Don’t worry about the screen changing!)
Step 6: Scroll back to the Property Group column and hover over “Property Group” until three horizontal lines appear to the right.
Step 7: Click on the three lines and then on the funnel symbol to the right.
Step 8: Paste the Property Group number you copied and press Enter.
Part 2: Researching Cook County property ownership
Property ownership records are maintained by a variety of Cook County agencies, such as the Clerk, the Assessor, and the Treasurer. There are several ways to look up property ownership information. One simple method is outlined below.
Step 1: Visit the Cook County Assessor website.
Step 2: Click Search at the top.
Step 3: Select Search by address.
Step 4: Fill out address details (leave out designations like St./Ave.). Select “I am not a Robot” and click Search.
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If there are no results on an address in a large building with multiple entrances, try other addresses at the same building.
Addresses outside Chicago might return a result with a highlighted PIN. Click on the PIN and continue to the next step.
Step 5: Scroll to the bottom and click the long blue button that says “Access more in-depth property details here.”
Step 6: Select “Sales” on the left.
Step 7: See the most recently dated transaction — the most recent “Buyer” is the current owner of the property.
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This database may not contain information on older property transactions. See the video at 2:02 for tips on ways to find older sale information using Cook County GIS and the Recorder of Deeds database.”
Many buildings are owned by LLCs and corporations. We’ll explain how to find the people behind them in the next step.
Part 3: Researching corporations and LLCs
It is a common business practice for building owners to use limited liability companies (LLCs) to hold property because it protects their other assets in the event of a lawsuit. You can use this tool to look up the owners behind the LLCs.
Step 1: Visit the Secretary of State website.
Step 2: Select “Business Name.”
Step 3: Enter the LLC or company name in the search bar.
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You can enter a full or partial name.
Step 4: Click Submit.
Step 5: Click on the correct “Entity Name.”
Step 6: Scroll down and select the “Managers” tab.
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Managers are more likely to be the actual owners of the company than the “agents” who are frequently lawyers or company registration services.
You can also click on the “File History” tab and select the most recently filed form LLC-50.1 to see information about the company’s current managers.
Step 7: If the manager of the company is another company, repeat the “Business Name” search for that company.
Bonus: Finding information about landlords facing lawsuits
Following our reporting, Chief Judge Timothy Evans issued General Administrative Order No. 2024-14. The order entitles tenants to quickly receive information about whether their landlords are being sued for building code violations.
Here’s what Chief Evans’s order says about how Cook County tenants facing eviction can request housing court information on their building:
Step 1: Email CivilDivServices@cookcountycourt.com.
Step 2: In the subject line, include “Code Violation Inquiry” and the property address of the inquiry (for example, “Code Violation Inquiry — 123 Main Street, Chicago, Illinois, 60601”).
Step 3: In the body of the email, write that you’re requesting building code violations for the property address.
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If the property is part of a building that has multiple addresses or an address range, include all known addresses.
Step 4: If you have it, include a property identification number (PIN), or other unique IDs from an eviction case. Include the name of the property owner if you know it, too.