26-Dec-15 – At the end of 2015, the city has settled with almost half of the residential buildings it sued this year over violations of the Life Safety ordinance.

Between March 3 and May 14, the owners of 95 Chicago buildings were sued, each housing complaint filed in the Municipal Division of Circuit Court. The buildings had flunked their Life Safety Evaluation, in which a licensed architect or professional engineer looks for fire hazards, such as an apartment door that does not close on its own. The lawsuits asked the court to require each building to correct violations or else pay $500 for every day not in compliance.

Most of the 45 settled cases were dismissed by agreement but in three cases, the judge stopped the lawsuit because the city lacked evidence or otherwise could not make its case.

Of the cases still active, at least ten are in the Gold Coast neighborhood. Six are on North Lake Shore Drive. One is 1500 North Lake Shore Drive, where at least two units are currently for sale for more than $3 million.