For more than a year, city sought security improvements at Englewood home where 8 people were shot. Yet nothing was done

Chicago’s lawsuit seeking fencing, heavy-duty locks and security cameras stalled because the owner could not be reached.

SHARE For more than a year, city sought security improvements at Englewood home where 8 people were shot. Yet nothing was done
Chicago police keep watch and crime scene tape hangs outside a house in the 6200 block of South Morgan, where eight people were shot, four fatally, inside the Englewood building, Tuesday afternoon, June 15, 2021.

Chicago police keep watch and crime scene tape hangs outside a house in the 6200 block of South Morgan, where eight people were shot, four fatally, inside the Englewood building, Tuesday afternoon, June 15, 2021. The city filed a lawsuit against the home’s owner in 2020 to improve safety features, but the lawsuit hadn’t even been served to the owner by the time of the mass shooting.

Ashlee Rezin Garcia/Sun-Times

More than a year ago, the city of Chicago filed a lawsuit against the owner of the Englewood home where eight people were shot this week, asking that he install fencing, heavy-duty locks and security cameras to make the property safer.

But the lawsuit stalled because officials could not reach the owner, who did not live in the home in the 6200 block of South Morgan Street. When gunfire filled the two-story house early Tuesday, killing four, the city had made no progress on any of the security measures.

Two days later, the city finally reached the owner, Enrique Badillo Sr., according to city Law Department spokeswoman Kristen Cabanban.

She couldn’t say why the city took over a year to serve Badillo with the lawsuit. Public records show he owns several properties in Chicago and resides in Logan Square.

The court will now have more jurisdiction over compliance with safety improvements, Cabanban said. City officials have seen no evidence that any of the measures have been taken by the owner, she said. A hearing is set for July 1.

The city filed the “public nuisance” suit in March of 2020, months after a man was shot during a large party inside the home, according to the lawsuit.

Police found the man bleeding in the kitchen from several gunshot wounds on Nov. 1, 2019, the suit states. He was taken to a hospital in serious condition. At least 50 people were in the home at the time, the suit claims, and there was drinking and a dice game.

It’s unclear if any of the victims from Tuesday’s mass shooting were living in the home back then. One of those shot and badly wounded was a barber who lived there and cut hair at the house.

Attempts to reach the property owner were unsuccessful Thursday.

Homicides Database

Chicago homicide database and map

71788071.jpeg

Police tape outside a Chicago apartment building.

Getty Images


Homicides in Chicago — A list of every victim: Our comprehensive database tracks every homicide in the city with information about victims, locations and more.

Police have released few details about Tuesday’s shooting, and it’s unclear whether any of the measures sought by the city could have prevented it. Police have not said whether there’s any video of the attack, or how the gunman got into the house.

The city had filed the lawsuit to “take action to abate criminal activity” at the home, a two-story wood-frame house with a gray stone front. The lawsuit listed a series of actions the city could take to make the home safer: Evicting residents and ordering the owner to install security measures, including fencing, gate locks, outdoor lighting, security cameras and hiring a security guard.

The home was last inspected in January 2020, though the inspector was unable to enter the home, according to the suit. The inspector listed several code violations: broken windows, an unsafe staircase and porch, and construction work performed without a permit.

The city sought to fine the owner $10,000, plus $1,000 per day for each violation since the inspection.

Ald. Stephanie Coleman, whose 16th Ward includes the home on Morgan Street, did not respond to a request for comment.

The attack was one of three mass shootings in Chicago in little over a week.

Relatives said one of the victims, 34-year-old Blake Lee, lived in the home and did odd jobs in the neighborhood. He died in the attack. Another resident of the home, James Tolbert, ran a barbershop from the house. He was seriously wounded.

From left, victims Shermetria Williams, Denice Mathis and Blake Lee. They were among eight people shot, four fatally, Tuesday morning in Englewood.

From left, victims Shermetria Williams, Denice Mathis and Blake Lee. They were among eight people shot, four fatally, Tuesday morning in Englewood.

Provided photos

“That man is a barber, he cuts hair from here, this is his business and this is his home,” Robyn Eddmonds said during a Wednesday vigil for the victims. “It was his home that he opened up to [others] but it also was his business. He wasn’t a gangbanger... He didn’t do any of that.”

Also living in the home was Tolbert’s girlfriend and their 2-year-old daughter. The girlfriend remained in critical condition with a gunshot wound to the head. The girl was not shot but was taken to a hospital for observation.

The victims were gathered in the home for the 28th birthday of Ratanya Aryiel Rogers, who was shot and killed in the attack. Police said a gunman broke into the home before 5:40 a.m. and started shooting. All but one of the victims was shot in the head, police said.

The others who died were Denice Mathis, 32, a mother of four boys, and Shermetria Williams, 19, the mother of a 2-year-old girl.

Contributing: Madeline Kenney

The Latest
Unite Here Local 1, representing the workers at the Signature Room and its lounge, said in a lawsuit in October the employer failed to give 60 days notice of a closing or mass layoff, violating state law.
Uecker has been synonymous with Milwaukee baseball for over half a century.
Doctors say looking at the April 8 eclipse without approved solar glasses — which are many times darker than sunglasses — can lead to retinal burns and can result in blind spots and permanent vision loss.
Antoine Perteet, 33, targeted victims on the dating app Grindr, according to Chicago police.
Glass-facade buildings can disorient birds in flight. The city is expected to update and revise rules for new developments and rehabbed buildings next month. But bird groups say the proposed guidelines need to be mandatory.