Neglected Home Becomes Safety Concern for Neighbors

Resident and Business Owner Guy Spinello says "I'm very concerned about the children that live in the area it's a low income area there's a lot of activity of children. And I'm concerned that someone might fall in the house, get pushed in there, get mugged, raped, and robbed."

Kishwaukee Elementary School is located just a block away from the dilapidated home. Dozens of kids walk past the property every day.

Alderman of Rockford's 11^th Ward Karen Elyea says "these kind of open and abandoned properties are a significant safety factor for the neighborhood."

Spinello explains "my business is near here and I always am concerned about these homes. and this is not the only one that I've talked to the city about sometimes they've been very good about getting them down and sometimes they've been rather slow."

 A state statute is making it difficult for the city to start demolition. Director of Community and Economic Development Todd Cagnoni says the home needs to be open and unsecure to authorize demolition.

Ald. Elyea says "it concerns me that it's not boarded up and the whole process of getting them taken down. We have to leave it un-boarded in order for it to be an emergency, in order for it to be on the emergency tare down list."

The owner of the lot has been notified and it's up to him to sign a waiver to bypass the fast track demolition process. The waiver allows the city to demolish the home in weeks instead of months.

Ald Elyea says "I'm pushing for it to get torn down as soon as possible."

The owner was contacted throughout 2012 about code violations. Because he did not choose to rehab the home the city was forced to intervene. The home is first on the list to be torn down in 2013.