Aldermen move to protect homeowners stuck with smelly windows

Chicago aldermen have been raising a political stink for months about the foul odor emanating from sound reduction windows installed by the city in homes around O’Hare and Midway airports.

On Monday, the moved to do something about it.

The Council’s Finance and Aviation Committees approved a pair of ordinances tailor-made to protect homeowners.

One would require the city to replace the stinky windows, even if the warranties have expired.

The second ordinance would require the city to inspect at least ten percent of the homes where residents have complained about the foul smell.

Aviation Commissioner Ginger Evans, who has been on the hot seat about the smelly windows, said she is working feverishly to obtain redress for impacted homeowners. But the effort is complicated by the fact that some of the companies have since gone out of business.

“I want to emphasize the importance and urgency of this issue before us today,” Evans told aldermen.

The [Department of Aviation] is addressing this topic with a full commitment toward understanding the issue, which is why we are focusing our attention on overseeing a rigorous and thorough testing program so that we can address this issue in a meaningful way.”

The first phase of testing was focused on “laboratory testing and indoor sampling of nine homes,” Evans said. That was “ten percent of the confirmed cases” of smelly windows when testing began, the commissioner said.

“Today, we are committed to conducting indoor air quality testing in an additional sixteen homes, bringing us to a broader sample of 25 homes which as of Dec. 8, is ten percent of the confirmed cases of houses with odor issues,” Evan said.

“In January, we will apply for funding from the FAA to support a solution on this matter based on the outcome of the testing. If the results of testing find that there is a health hazard associated with any of the findings, we will take steps immediately to resolve it.”