Chicago plays hardball on alleged St. Matthew building violations
March 5, 2010
By Miriam Y. Cintrón
When the Rev. Julio Loza came to St. Matthew Lutheran Church in Pilsen in 1980, he knew it would take time and money to restore the 138-year-old building, which was in disrepair. Since then, the church has made the most important repairs needed and as finances allowed.
So Rev. Loza was shocked when he received a summons from the Circuit Court of Cook County earlier this year concerning City of Chicago allegations of building code violations at St. Matthew, located at 2108 W. 21st St. Along with a laundry list of repairs that need to be made, the summons warned that the church faced a daily fine of $5,500 if the building did not achieve compliance.
As a church that primarily serves low-income, unemployed, and homeless people, St. Matthew does not have the funds to make all the repairs at once or pay the proposed fine, and Rev. Loza said he and others feared the church would have to close. He added that the City’s aggressive approach, the high fine, and what he perceived as a lack of help from City agencies gave him the feeling the City was looking to take over the building, which has been assessed at $2 million and occupies an area now being sought after because of its location just ten minutes from downtown by train.
St. Matthew’s congregation is willing to make the repairs, but limited financial resources put them in a “rather desperate situation,” Rev. Loza said.
The situation began three years ago when the City discovered violations during an annual inspection, according to the City’s Department of Law. Long before being contacted by the City, however, the church had begun improving the structure — sandblasting and tuckpointing occurred in the mid-1980s, and the interior has been remodeled. In 2009, St. Matthew fixed the church tower, replaced the louver wood, filled holes in some bricks, repaired walls damaged by water leakage, and fixed a hole in the ceiling as requested by the City’s Building Department.
The repairs made then satisfied most of the City’s requirements, so Rev. Loza and the congregation were surprised and frightened by the summons. During a court hearing on Feb. 10, St. Matthew’s pro bono lawyer, Demetris Kare, motioned to have the church reevaluated because some of the issues listed in the summons already had been addressed. The church now will be reevaluated; another court date is set for May 26.
The Law Department said that the City is seeking regular progress on the repairs and another inspection by a building inspector. Additionally, the department said the amount claimed on the complaint is $5,500 per day, not $10,000 per day as Rev. Loza thought, representing $500 for each of the 11 violations noted in the complaint. While the threatened costly fine did not materialize, the congregation must determine how it will pay for the repairs that eventually must be made. The nonprofit group Partners for Sacred Places, which provides training and technical assistance to congregations to sustain old, historical sacred places, has reached out to Rev. Loza.
The organization’s project manager, Shelley Sandow, said the group recognizes sites such as St. Matthew provide a major resource for social services in poor areas, making it all the more important to help such facilities when they are in need. St. Matthew is a self-supporting ministry that offers community services such as immigration help; child care; and the El Comedor Popular soup kitchen, which serves 1,200 meals each month.
After the reevaluation concludes and Rev. Loza can obtain cost estimates for the remaining construction work, he will apply for the organization’s Accessible Faith Grant program, which offers grants up to $30,000 to houses of worship in Cook, Lake, and DuPage counties. Ald. Danny Solis (25th) also has offered support. Vince Sanchez, Solis’s chief of staff, said the alderman’s office will help St. Matthew get into compliance and explore options for fundraising. Sanchez also noted the church’s landmark status from the Illinois Historic Preservation Agency qualifies it for special grants through the City and State.
For more information on St. Matthew Lutheran Church, go to www.stmatthewchicago.org or call (773)-847-6458.
