A Chicago police officer has been stripped of his police powers while the police department investigates whether he allowed dangerous living conditions to fester in a home he owns that was the site of a mass shooting in Englewood earlier this week, a department spokesman said Friday.
Enrique Badillo Sr. was facing a lawsuit from the city demanding that he install fencing, heavy-duty locks and security cameras to make the property safer.
But the lawsuit stalled because, for more than a year, the city could not reach Badillo, who doesn’t live in the home.
When a mass shooting took place inside the house early Tuesday, the city had still not made contact with Badillo.
Then, two days after the shooting, the city finally reached him, according to Kristen Cabanban, a city Law Department spokeswoman.
Badillo, who lives in Logan Square, hasn’t responded to attempts by the Sun-Times to seek comment. The house is surrounded by a fence, which was locked Friday night when a reporter visited.
An inspector last checked the house in the 6200 block of South Morgan Street in January 2020 but was able to examine only the exterior of the building. The inspector found code violations, including broken windows and an unsafe staircase and porch. Each of those violations totaled over $10,000 in fines plus $1,000 a day for each violation since the inspection.
The city filed a “public nuisance” suit in March 2020 after a man was shot during a party inside the two-story, wood-frame structure, which has a gray stone front. The lawsuit was filed to “take action to abate criminal activity” at the home.
A series of actions were listed in it that the city could take to enforce its demands. They included evicting the home’s residents and making Badillo install security fencing, gate locks, outdoor lighting, security cameras and hire a security guard.
There have been few details released by police about Tuesday’s shooting, in which four people were killed and four others wounded. It’s unclear whether any of the victims were living in the house when the lawsuits were originally filed.
The shootings occurred early Tuesday. The police say someone broke into the house some time before 5:40 a.m. that day and started shooting.
Killed were Ratanya Aryiel Rogers, 28, mother of a young boy; Denice Mathis, 32, a mother of four boys; Shermetria Williams, 19, the mother of a 2-year-old girl; and Blake Lee, 34.
Relatives said Lee lived at the home where he did odd jobs in the neighborhood.
The four who were seriously wounded included James Tolbert, another victim seriously wounded who ran a barbershop from the house. Tolbert’s girlfriend and their 2-year-old daughter also lived in the home. The girlfriend remains in critical condition while the girl was not shot but still taken to the hospital for observation.
Contributing: David Struett, Madeline Kenney
