Chicago police investigated 255 reported crimes in 2 years on these 2 River North blocks

Kim Cooper and her husband have lived in the same River North apartment for 20 years. For most of them, she said, the balcony was the best place in the neighborhood to take in the view.

Not anymore.

"We've seen people having sex. We've seen people defecating," Cooper said. "It can literally be just a floor of garbage. That includes needles, dirty underwear and a lot of food products, which is attracting a lot of rats."

The alley Cooper looks down on runs behind her building, and she and her neighbors say it is where nearly all of the problems are concentrated: break-ins, drug use and piles of trash, reported day and night. At times, Cooper said, there can be 30 people in it.

In an email to CBS News Chicago, she summed the block up in the subject line: "Filthiest block in River North."

Cooper said she and her neighbors have called Chicago police, contacted their alderman's office and written a letter to the mayor, on top of repeated 311 calls going back six years. Crews sometimes come out and clean the alley. The trash and the rest of it come back.

"We really need help here," Cooper said.

Chicago police crime data shows police investigated 255 reported crimes in the last two years on the two blocks where the vacant buildings sit.

Those buildings are the former Hard Rock Café at 63 W. Ontario St., which closed in 2025 after 39 years, and the former Rainforest Café at 605 N. Clark St., which closed in August 2020, according to prior CBS News Chicago reporting. The two sit across the same alley from each other. CBS News Chicago also reported in November that the owner of the 22,000-square-foot Rainforest Café building was facing a $9.3 million foreclosure lawsuit alleging a default on an $8.3 million loan. The owner told Crain's Chicago Business at the time that the suit stemmed from a single late payment and that he was working to refinance.

Alex Blachowicz, who lives in the same building as Cooper, said what bothers him most is what children in the building see from their own balconies.

"It's public nudity, sexual acts, drug use, and you see this during the day, in the daytime," Blachowicz said. He said his own apartment doesn't have children in it, but the building does.

Neighbors say inconsistent cleaning isn't enough. What they want is a clear answer about who is responsible for securing the vacant properties and keeping the area around them safe.

Blachowicz said he isn't sure what the best solution is, "but it doesn't seem like anything's really being done."

Under the Chicago building code, an owner is required to maintain existing structures and outdoor areas, keep shared and public areas of a property in clean, sanitary and safe condition, and exterminate rodents and other pests. The code also states that an owner remains liable to the city for those duties even if the owner has contracted the work out to someone else.

Complaints filed through 311 go to the Department of Buildings, which reviews them each business day and decides which need immediate inspection, according to a city guide to the enforcement process. A supervisor then sets the level of enforcement: a warning notice for maintenance issues, an administrative hearing for life-safety violations that aren't considered dangerous, and Circuit Court for violations deemed dangerous and hazardous. In Circuit Court, the city has more options, including asking a judge to appoint a receiver to fix conditions an owner won't or can't fix, or to authorize vacating the building.

The alderman's office told CBS News Chicago it is aware of the issue and has been pressing the property owner for improved maintenance.

The Department of Buildings issued the following statement:

"The Department of Buildings continues to monitor both properties and responds to the 311 calls for service that residents have submitted over the years. At the time of inspection, which was within the last 30 days, inspectors found both properties vacant and secure in accordance with the Chicago Construction Code. Additionally, following our inspections, we coordinated with the Department of Streets and Sanitation to clean up the area. 

The Department recognizes residents' concerns about activity around these properties and continues to coordinate with other city departments to address the community's needs. In response to these ongoing concerns, the Department is reviewing all available enforcement options, including referral to the City's Department of Law to pursue court action against the property owners for failing to maintain the premises in a clean, sanitary, and safe condition, as required by the Chicago Construction Codes. Neighbors should call 911 to report illegal activity or any immediate life-safety emergency." 

CBS News Chicago reached out to the property owners and managers and has not heard back.

"It's depressing, because this is such a beautiful city and we're in the heart of it, and we're proud of it and we love being here," Cooper said. "I don't blame this on any certain group of people. I just want help. That's all. Just help."