Cicero — Part II Ch. 46 Art. X Minimum Housing Code § 46-479

The designation of dwellings or dwelling units as unfit for human habitation and the procedure for the condemnation and placarding of such unfit dwellings or dwelling units shall be carried out in compliance with the following: (1)
Defects constituting building unfit for human habitation. Any dwelling or dwelling unit that shall be found to have any of the defects listed in this subsection shall be condemned as unfit for human habitation and shall be so designated and placarded by the health inspector. A dwelling that is unfit for human habitation is one that:
a. Is so damaged, decayed, dilapidated, unsanitary, unsafe, or vermin-infested that it creates a serious hazard to the health or safety of the occupants or the public or is a fire hazard, threatening damage to human life or to neighboring property.
b. Lacks illumination, ventilation, or sanitation facilities adequate to protect the health or safety of the occupants or of the public.
c. Because of its general condition or location is unsanitary or a fire hazard or otherwise dangerous to the health or safety of the occupants or of the public.
(2) Designation, placarding, vacation of unfit buildings. Any dwelling or dwelling unit condemned as unfit for human habitation and so designated and placarded by the health inspector or the fire inspector or the building commissioner shall be vacated within a reasonable length of time or not less than ten days as ordered by such inspector. Following the condemnation of a building, written notice advising the owner of the condemnation shall be sent to the owner of the property, as identified in code enforcement files and at the address provided in those files. The notice shall include costs incurred by the Town in the relocation of tenants under subsection (7), if applicable.
(3) Reoccupancy. No dwelling or dwelling unit that has been condemned and placarded as unfit for human habitation shall again be used for human habitation until written approval is secured from the health department. The inspector shall remove the placard whenever the defects upon which the condemnation and placarding were based have been eliminated.
(4) Defacing, removing placard. No person shall deface or remove the placard from any dwelling or dwelling unit that has been condemned as unfit for human habitation and placarded, except by order of the health department.
(5) Hearing. The owner of a building affected by any notice or order relating to condemning and placarding of a dwelling or dwelling unit as unfit for human habitation may request and shall be granted a hearing before the president or his designee. The request for an appeal shall be submitted in writing to the legal department and shall be made no later than ten days following the date of the notice sent to the owner. The hearing shall be conducted no later than 45 days after the building is placarded and designated as condemned. All interested persons shall be given a reasonable opportunity to be heard at the hearing. The formal rules of evidence shall not apply at the hearing and hearsay evidence shall be admissible if it is of the type commonly relied upon by reasonably prudent persons in the conduct of their affairs. Notice may be taken of matters of which the Circuit Court of the State may take judicial notice. Additionally, notice may be taken of generally recognized technical, or scientific facts and facts within the hearing officer's specialized knowledge. If, after the hearing, the hearing officer determines by a preponderance of the evidence that the property was unfit for human habitation as defined in this section, on the date that the property was condemned, the hearing officer shall enter an order upholding the condemnation of the property, and ordering the repair of the property. The hearing officer may also order the owner of the property to pay the cost of relocating any tenants until the necessary repairs are made, as described in subsection (7) of this section. These costs will be in addition to any other fines imposed for the violations at the property. The fines and relocation costs shall be a debt due and owing the Town. The Town may take any steps necessary to collect any remaining debts, including, without limitation, recording a lien against the owner of the property in the amount of the unpaid debt. If the officer shall find that the property was fit for human habitation on the date that the property was condemned, he shall enter an order that the condemnation placards be removed from the property and that the residents of the building be allowed to return.
(6) Administrative review. The finding of the hearing officer shall be a final administrative act by the town and shall be subject to review pursuant to 735 ILCS 5/3-101 et seq. Also known as the Administrative Review Law.
(7) Relocation of tenants in certain circumstances. In circumstances where a violation of this section is deemed to have occurred, the town may relocate those tenants of a residential rental property desiring relocation. Actual notice to the property owner is not required prior to relocation of tenants. Appropriate premises for relocation include town shelters and, when such shelters are at full capacity, hotels or motels. If such tenants are relocated to hotels or motels, the owner of the residential rental property shall be liable for the cost of relocation in addition to the penalty provided for in section 46-468 . The Town may record a lien against the owner's property in the amount of the relocation costs remaining unpaid after the exhaustion of or failure to exhaust the review procedures set forth in subsections (5) and (6) of this section.