Chicago Police Post Warning Fliers About Troubled Rentals In West Town
CHICAGO (CBS) -- Shut it down. That is the message from a North Side alderman regarding a trouble Airbnb rental. A woman was shot after leaving the home this weekend, and it is not the first time police have been called to that house near Greenview and Blackhawk.
Now Chicago police are actually warning the neighborhood about the home.
Many of them are already well aware of it. They have complained about it for months. Now the shooting has prompted CPD to post fliers asking people to call 911 if they see anything illegal and warning people, "There is an address on your block that drives up crime."
"It's scary, you know?" said one neighbor who did not want to share her identity.
She does not want to be recognized by whoever rents the home next.
"There's loud music. There's cars double parked. There's groups walking back and fort yelling and talking very loud," she said.
CPD is warning neighbors about "dangerous criminal activity associated with short term rental properties in this neighborhood."
Early Sunday a woman told police she was leaving a party at the rental and heard gunshots. Police say she ran and then realized a few doors down that she had been shot in the leg.
"I could've been any of us," the neighbor said. "It could've been a stray bullet through a window. It's very scary and unsafe.
Police say they broke up another party at the same address in 2019 and found two guns.
Ald. Brian Hopkins said he has asked the city to investigate the property, and the owners could face fines.
"Enough is enough," he said. They've been through all their chances and they're out of chances now. Now the goal is simply shut them down, put them out of business."
No one answered the door at the rental when CBS 2's Tim McNicholas went there Friday.
The listing showed the property is booked for much of the summer, but now Airbnb says it has deactivated the listing as it investigates what happened over the weekend and the history of the property.
"There's all sorts of illicit activities that happen in these Airbnbs, and it's just not a good fit for a quiet residential neighborhood where people are just trying to go about their lives," Hopkins said.
The CPD fliers encourage condo associations to ban short term rentals in their buildings by registering with the city's prohibited buildings list.
Neighbors say they hope the Airbnb is gone for good.
"I hope the Airbnb owners take responsibility for what's coming to the block," one neighbor said.
The woman who was shot drover herself to a hospital, and police said she was in good condition.
Airbnb said it is ready to help CPD however it can. A spokesperson also noted other measures the company has taken to stop parties, such as a 24/7 neighbor hotline and a recently announced partnership with VRBO to combat party houses.
So far no arrests have been made.
UPDATE: An Airbnb spokesperson said the address has now been permanently banned from the site and all future rentals have been canceled.
