Marcia and Carlon Lee finally got their South Side house back after a monthslong fight against a woman prosecutors say occupied the property, produced fraudulent paperwork, and refused to leave. Now the couple is staring down foreclosure, after the ordeal left them so far behind on mortgage payments that Marcia Lee says bankruptcy may be her only way to save the home.
A Reclaimed House, A New Threat
The Lees fought to reclaim a house allegedly occupied by Shermaine Powell-Gillard and her boyfriend, according to ABC7 Chicago. Powell-Gillard was arrested after the station's I-Team investigation aired and was charged in the case, the outlet reported. Marcia and Carlon Lee eventually regained possession of the property, but the station notes the victory came at a steep cost: they fell behind on their mortgage while dealing with the occupied property and paying for repairs.
Marcia Lee says the alleged squatter destroyed the home, according to the same report. While repairs were underway, she says she contacted a lender representative every week and told the lender they would be late on mortgage payments because the property was damaged. A lender representative reportedly told her the lender would do its best to help — but the station's account indicates the foreclosure process is continuing despite Marcia Lee's belief that the lender would work with the couple.
Squatter Pleaded Guilty, Faces Probation
Powell-Gillard pleaded guilty to theft and was sentenced to 24 months of probation and 50 hours of community service, per the outlet's reporting. The case echoes an earlier incident reported by Pacific Legal Foundation: in May 2025, another South Side homeowner, Marco Velazquez, said Powell-Gillard and her boyfriend occupied his family home that was on the market and produced fraudulent mortgage documents, prompting him to briefly move in with them before paying a $4,300 cash-for-keys settlement to get them out.
Chicago police arrested Powell-Gillard after the initial I-Team report, according to footage from the investigation. She had already pleaded guilty to theft by the time the foreclosure story emerged.
A New State Law Born From This Fight
Marcia Lee's family's experience helped build support for new Illinois legislation, the reporting notes, and the state has since changed its law governing removal of people illegally staying in homes. Governor JB Pritzker signed Senate Bill 1563, also known as Public Act 104-0029, into law on July 21, 2025, according to Capitol News Illinois. The Lees' ordeal served as a high-profile catalyst for the bill, which aimed to close the gap between civil eviction procedures and criminal trespass law by giving police clear authority to remove unauthorized occupants who present fake documents, the outlet reported.
The new law took effect January 1, 2026, and gives law enforcement new authority to remove someone illegally staying in a home once the property owner establishes property rights, per ABC7's account. Under the updated statute, occupants without a valid lease may be subject to removal, according to TenantCloud. Hoodline previously reported on the bill's passage before Pritzker signed it, and later covered a Chatham homeowner's own struggles enforcing it.
Even with the law now active, enforcement friction has lingered. In Chatham, homeowner Mary Welch found that Chicago police remained hesitant to execute immediate removals without court orders as the department worked through operational implementation, according to a report cited by ABC7 Chicago's Facebook page — a pattern Hoodline also detailed in coverage of Welch's case.
Why Squatters Target South Side Rehabs
State Representatives La Shawn Ford and Marcus Evans were associated with legislative debates about squatting, according to reporting cited in the legislative record. The pattern isn't unique to Chicago: a 2023 survey by the National Rental Home Council found approximately 1,800 squatted properties across major metropolitan areas, reflecting a national trend of unauthorized occupants exploiting civil eviction delays through forged documents, per the Pacific Legal Foundation.
The Foreclosure Fight Ahead
Marcia Lee is now fighting with the mortgage company, according to the ABC7 report, and says she believes bankruptcy is her only option to try to save her home. She asked the lender to put the mortgage payments on the back end rather than relinquish the property, and plans to file for bankruptcy. Silver Hill Capital, the lender, was contacted about the foreclosure and whether it would work with the Lees but did not immediately respond, the station reported. The couple was served with a foreclosure notice as the case unfolded.
Illinois Legal Aid Online provides information about the mortgage foreclosure process. Owner-occupied properties in Cook County and other Illinois judicial circuits are also eligible for court-sponsored mediation programs that temporarily pause litigation to facilitate loan workout negotiations, per the 19th Judicial Circuit Court of Illinois.
If Marcia Lee follows through on filing for bankruptcy, that would be part of the couple's effort to try to save the home. The Citizens Law Group provides information about Chapter 13 bankruptcy, but the report does not establish how a filing would affect the foreclosure. The couple is working to keep the roof they fought to reclaim.
