I live on the southeast side of Chicago with my boyfriend and 2 small children. My block alone has had 4 murders and 3 shooting incidents this summer. Most people in this area are hard working people and because the color of our skin good people are often looked upon by the police as being criminals. If you complain to the landlords about the people they allow to move in the building they tell you that their rent is guaranteed because they have Section 8 and because we don't have Section 8 and pay our rent ourselves our complaints go unheard. I'm scared for me and our girls but my boyfriend is the real target if approached by gang members and questioned he must give the right answers or risk being beat down or shot and police in this area are so afraid they sometimes shoot first and ask question later. They torn down the projects and relocated them to our once nice quiet neighborhood and now it just THE HOOD. We can't afford to break the lease. What can I do?


Sincerely,
TDoss

You can do nothing sadly. The Landlord is not accountable for the actions of others. Nor can he be held accountable for crime in your area. He can however take action if one of the other tenants breaks law or poses a real threat to others. Whatever time is left on lease use to save money and look for new place to live. Just as a side note. I always look up crime stats before moving to any area this includes Megan's Law websites to see if Sex offenders live in area.

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Your best advice legal advice does not come from internet message boards, Police, friends, family, your neighbors etc.It comes from an Attorney. Advice given here should not replace legal advice from a qualified Attorney.
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Have you browsed through the information in LawInfo's Free Legal Resource Center to learn more about your issue yet? See: http://www.lawinfo.com/consumer.html. You can certainly try to speak to a lawyer to determine what legal options may be available. In the meantime, you may be able to learn more on your own. Search the "Free Legal Resources" tab, or browse the Consumer Resources. Good luck.