Residents at Harrison Courts on Chicago’s West Side say they are stuck in increasingly dire conditions inside a complex owned and overseen by the Chicago Housing Authority. They report visible mold, leaking roofs, ongoing rodent and roach infestations, and repeated plumbing failures. Tenants and local organizers say problems have gone unaddressed for months and that some residents have fallen ill. Anxiety is rising because CHA signaled in May that it plans to put the buildings up for sale, leaving tenants unsure whether major repairs will ever happen before the property changes hands.
Tenants Describe 'Deplorable' Conditions
Residents told reporters that maintenance requests often vanish into a black hole and that damage frequently returns soon after patchwork fixes. "I like my place, but it's just not livable for me," tenant Javan Clayton told CBS Chicago. Rev. Robin Hood, a neighborhood leader, said people are "falling ill constantly" and that residents are now organizing to press CHA and city leaders for urgent repairs.
Which Building are they talking About
The complaints center on Harrison Courts, a 122-unit, seven-story affordable housing complex on West Harrison Street in East Garfield Park. Public property listings and job postings describe the development as a multifamily affordable building managed by WinnCompanies and list the address as 2910 W Harrison St. ForRent and related notices show the unit count and building height.
What CHA Says It Is Doing
The Chicago Housing Authority says it is listening and has started making internal changes to deal with problems across its portfolio. That includes launching a resident survey as part of a "Year of Renewal" campaign and reorganizing its Property and Asset Management team. "For the first time in CHA’s recent history, we are surveying the residents to ask them specifically what needs to improve," CHA Interim CEO Angela Hurlock said in a press release. Chicago Housing Authority officials say they have also added more oversight of third-party property managers.
Why Repairs May Be Slow
Residents and organizers say the backlog is tangled up in legal and funding limits. CBS Chicago reported that Harrison Courts operates under a special contract with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development that restricts how CHA can use federal dollars for repairs and redevelopment. With that constraint and limited agency funds, residents fear meaningful fixes could be pushed off until a sale is completed, a process organizers warn could take years. The drawn-out sale timeline and funding restrictions have become the core of residents' frustration as they push for immediate remediation.
Legal And Political Stakes
The fight over Harrison Courts is unfolding during a bruising stretch for CHA leadership and the agency’s legal exposure. CHA has been operating without a permanent CEO and has faced high-profile litigation over lead-paint harms that has raised uncomfortable questions about maintenance and oversight. Reporting by the Chicago Sun-Times says leadership turnover and earlier lawsuits help explain why many residents no longer trust official assurances that repairs will happen quickly.
What To Watch Next
Organizers say they plan to keep pressing CHA and Mayor Brandon Johnson for immediate remediation and have discussed legal action and protests to force the issue, a sign of how long frustration has been simmering. CHA says it will review resident survey results "soon" and discuss findings with resident leadership while ramping up oversight of property managers, according to its release. Watch for public statements from CHA and any upcoming board agenda items or city oversight moves that could finally set a concrete timetable for repairs or a formal disposition process for Harrison Courts.
