Property Manager Piles Up $15M In Rodent-Related Tickets As Chicago Battles Rat Capital Reputation

As the city’s “rat rage” rises, a new analysis indicates some landlords and property managers are doing more than their share of exacerbating the problem. 

A collection of real estate companies managed by Northbrook resident Suzie B. Wilson has tallied up more than $15M in fines from rat-related tickets linked to hundreds of properties, Block Club Chicago reported as a part of a larger series about the city’s war on rodents.

The city issued the tickets to Wilson-managed companies for violations such as uncut weeds, dumping and providing shelter for rats by allowing the accumulation of materials and junk, per Block Club. To date, the city has struggled to collect almost all of the debt owed by the companies managed by Wilson. 

City finance data collected by Block Club shows that since 2010, Chicago issued tickets to over 800 addresses owned by companies Wilson manages. Those companies have paid only about $75.7K, or less than 0.5% of what is owed, per Block Club. 

Most of the properties are vacant lots on the city’s South and West sides, according to the analysis. While the properties are worth little on their own, experts told Block Club their values could increase significantly if the real estate market improves or a developer needs a lot for a project. 

To recoup some of the city’s debt, municipal attorney Mark Sterk said that trying to foreclose on the properties using liens is a top option.

“But all you end up with is the property — that doesn’t get you the dough,” Sterk told Block Club. “Then you have to sell the property.”

Wilson and her attorneys declined to answer the outlet’s questions about the properties and the outstanding debt.

Chicago’s rat problem isn’t anything new. For the past eight years, pest control company Orkin has rated Chicago No. 1 on its annual list of the rattiest cities in the country. 

Chicago officials could take a page out of New York’s book to handle its rat problem: The Big Apple recently hired its first "rat czar," Kathleen Corradi, to combat an increase in rat sightings that started during the pandemic, per the Illinois Answers Project. However, even rat removal royalty may be too little, too late for Chicago to get a handle on the situation. 

“We’re outnumbered at this point. We’re way outnumbered,” Janelle Iaccino, marketing director for Rose Pest Control, told the Illinois Answers Project. “It doesn’t give us much hope for coming down in the ranks for rattiest city.”