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South Shore Residents Steamed About Garbage Pile-Up

CHICAGO (CBS) -- The 2 Investigators are tackling some trash trouble.

Imagine walking out of your home and seeing piles of garbage everywhere. Residents of one South Side building said it's been that way for months. And they want to know why the city hasn't done more to help.

2 Investigator Dorothy Tucker has the story from the South Shore neighborhood.

It is not only unsightly, it is smelly. It's been there for four months. The building's tenants want it gone.

"Trash, dirty mattresses. It smells like dead rats," said one building resident.

Trash lines the gangway of 2334-36 East 70th Street. Around the corner there's more.

"A dead cat back there. Dog feces on the back of the building," she added.

Residents are reluctant to show their faces, but they're more than willing to voice their complaints about the Lynd property mangers, complaints they also made to the city.

"The city did respond because the city come out," said the resident.

That was on May 23rd. There were five violations: broken concrete, broken windows, raw sewage in the basement, no one on site to host the inspection and the junk and debris in the back.

On June 24th, a final warning from the Chicago Department of Streets and Sanitation appeared on the door.

"There's no response from managers at all," said another resident.

City officials said they are waiting on the property managers to response to the violations.

But it's been four months. Residents felt they've been waiting long enough and want the city to do more.

"Can't the city come out and do an emergency order and do cleanup and then bill the owner," asked the resident. "That might be a solution."

"If it was them, if it was their daughter or mother, would they want to live in this," asked a resident.

CBS 2 tried calling the property managers and no one was available. CBS 2 left a message with the company's president.

As for the city's response, the building inspector said the four month time frame is not uncommon. However if they determine that it is a health hazard, the city will take action.

The people in the building are very worried about the rats, perhaps biting their children. They think it's a health hazard and want to see some action.

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