Ear on Chicago; Red Streak Final: Chicago Daily News; Part 1

These are the sounds we hear near the city desk of the Chicago Daily News. Over this desk tumbles today's news in the raw, the commonplace with the catastrophic, all the unpredictable stuff the day is made of. But it takes a tremendous amount of effort to get the news, and it's not by accident that gripping, picture -painting words breathe life into a story. It's the combined efforts of news -gatherers, writers, editors, photographers, and all the behind -the -scenes departments that result in a story, perhaps a vital story in an area teaming with millions of people. And the development of this story is the theme of this report on how our city covers the news. The time is 9 a .m. And once again we listen in on the hustling activity around the city desk and the city editor, Clem Lane. We have a complaint here that there are a

couple of slums, slum buildings. One is at 6 .99 Milwaukee Avenue. I'll give you a memorandum. This is a three -story building with some flats above the stores. There are about 20 families on the upper floors. There are a lot of kids there. The water supply is bad. They have these common toilets, and they seem to be in a bad way. Then there's another one at 6 .89 Milwaukee. This building is an old timer built about 1880. That's 75 years ago if you can do addition. The stairs are steeped. The first floor looks all right, but upstairs we're told that things are pretty bad. They're mostly single men living there. And there's some old age pensioners and some crippled folk. Will you take a photographer, go on out there and take a good look at these two places, and then call me from there, will you? All right. You have a photographer for a slum, okay,

thanks. And so reporter Bob Sever leaves on his assignment. We follow along with our portable equipment and join Bob and photographer Bob Stewie on the pavement outside a building in the 600 block of North Milwaukee. Three stories. These carnices are a little bit rusty, and there might be a violation there, but let's go inside and see what happens. A broken stair tread. Do you want to take a shot of that, Bob? Well, let's look the place over first, and then we'll come back to it. I noticed an electric wire plugged into a ceiling fixture and running up here. That's a violation. Broken,

I guess that's broken wingscoating. You can see the plaster behind it could be a rat hole. Daily news, we're making a housing survey. Like to look at your apartment, ma 'am. I miss pictures of these. Well, could we look at the apartment? Examine the apartment, look it over. All right, thank you. There's a remarkable gas connection. There is some little broken plaster here. Where does that wire go? Up to the ceiling fixture in the hall. So that it runs in through the wall, and over to another ceiling fixture, which apparently isn't operating, and power is the light there. What is your name? Juan Acepero. How long have you lived here? Four months. Four months?

How many in your family? Five. You and your husband and three children? Four children. Four children and you alone. Where are the other children? It's good. How much rent do you pay? $15. $15 a week? $60 a month. Do the, does the plumbing work? You get hot and cold water. And how about the toilet? Does it work all the time? You don't have a private one, do you? It's down the hall. You share it with how many other apartments on this floor? Four. Four other apartments. Do you know how many people live in them? Okay, so that's two rooms. Your panel is missing and replaced with corrugated cardboard. Here's a violation on this. I guess it's a kitchen life. Yeah, once again it's running from some of the furniture if there's exposed connections up at the ceiling. And

all kinds of amateur things. There's a gas pipe that runs through this whole apartment that along the walls exposed and apparently connects with the stove and refrigerator. The inspection of the first apartment has disclosed several probable violations. Right now we're following Bob Seever along the narrow passageway, past the overflowing garbage cans, past the heavily laden lines of family washing, down towards the rear of the first floor and the community toilet. All kinds of rubbish in here behind the back tub, papers, bits of cloth, and so forth. That doesn't flash completely. And Bob,

this is rats for sure back here. You want to take a look at this? Yeah, I don't know whether you can get your camera in here or not. But you see this hole in the corner goes all the way down between the floor choices. And uh. Oh, that's double the rats. I don't think there's any questions. You can see where they ate the waterway. Yeah, and also there appears to be a leak in this pipe dripping down their water stains. Water runs in the bad temple, hot and cold. Hi there. Your mommy home. Hello. We're from the daily news. We're making a housing survey. Did we look over your apartment? Not the corner. Pardon? No, no, no. It's English. You don't speak English? Yeah. Could we look at your apartment?

Examine, inspect. Look at the ceilings and the walls. See that everything is okay? No, sir. Is there anybody here who does speak English? Joe is not here. I see. How many live here? All right. Thank you very much. Obviously the lady doesn't understand our questions. She seems a little scared too. So we're moving further along to the rear of the building, out onto the back porch, where Bob Ciefer is actively engaged in jumping up and down, testing the condition of the flooring. Here's a shot for you, Bob. That garbage down there. On a landing a little further down the fire escape, our several pales of garbage, and a bushel basket of rubbish is tipped over on

its side. Boxes, bottles, scraps, and peelings are scattered all around, making the landing hazardous to negotiate in time of emergency. While photographer Bob Stewie is setting up his equipment, we are returning along the corridor to another apartment. This time the door is being opened by a very young and pretty Puerto Rican girl. I don't know. What is your name? Isabel. Isabel, what? Morale. You go to school, Isabel? How do you spend your last name? So, do you have another job? Ortiz. Ortiz. O -R -T -I -Z? Ortiz. Isabel Ortiz? Morales Ortiz. Morales Ortiz. Your mommy home? No, how about Dad? No? Yes, why can? Okay, well now

let's see. I just checked this wire, and that's the wire that's coming from that fixture down the front hall. Up the stairs. That's downstairs. Yeah. You know this, uh, ventilating window here. Okay. Could we look at the other rooms, Isabel? Yes, you can look at it. Yes, you can look at it from all sides. Television set. Record players. Table three chairs. Bob. Yeah. See this partition? Isabel, how many are in the, I do live in this apartment? 10. 10? Yeah. All the same family? All the same, same family? You're one, two, three, four, five. If you were the other five. Okay. You're the other four.

And, uh, is that three children and mommy and daddy? Is that it? Eight children and parents. This is where you all sleep, huh? There's one, two, three, four, five rooms in the apartment. Isabel, how much rent do you pay for this apartment? Do you know? $70 a month. After we'd thanked Isabel and her young charges, we inspected several more apartments in the building. Each time, the same signs told us that here was a slum in the making. Reporter Bob Sever decided to inspect the basement. To do this, we had to pass through an empty store on the first floor. It was here that by a lucky break, we met the owner of the building, tending a large cage of birds. We continue the story, as the landlord answers the reporter's questions. Well, the portrait of the people is at the front door, two people come to rent the place, and they

come in 24 -25. They don't collect around either. You have any idea how many families are on? Well, let's just something if honeyfair is there. It's one, there, two, three, four, five, eight, two, three, two. It's about 6th, it's 2nd, bro, it's 6th and 8th and you know, where else is it? They don't get it coming with it. They tell you they got 2 kids and they got 2 kids and they got 10. It's a 10 right in the front, you turn an half a room, I mean it's my fault. I mean I've been trying to tell you this, the Lord on parmeets you think like that. But what can you do? I think they got 10 kids here, the mother's daughter, they live on there. They got to know, they got to fire room at all these places. I felt this out for them, I felt fire room and they got to fire room. How long have you known this building for about 8 -9 years?

Do you have a business here? No, I use this place like in all of this. I work for the city. What do you do for the city? I'm a security guard, a security guard. Yes, I'm still providing for private. Thanks a lot. Thank you. You say then that there are about 6 families, but the number of people might be as much as 60 or 70? I put it close. It was 11, 4, 16, 16, 23. It's totally about 35 people right here. About 35. Well, it's 18 rooms up there. 18 rooms? I mean, it's supposed to be a four big flat and a different environment too. I made them together for again. The way the people come that we have fixed those places. They got everything up there. I want those

guys. I'm never going up there to check on my life or check on my guess. I don't care what they're doing. I don't think I want to get that lower rent. What kind of heat do you have in the building? I don't see any steam here. How many toilets in the building? Well, they got the floor upstairs. Are they all operating? Oh, yes. Two baths up and everything. Two baths? That's four toilets and two baths up. How do rents run up there? A little comberian people are very cheap and bad. They pay for 75 of a bedroom. A 60 of a three -room. And 40 dollar a month for two rooms. How do you make out with the building inspectors? Well, I don't have enough toilets here. I take the building and the thing in native, I don't even have no trouble at

all. I notice you got quite a bit of garbage on the back. Don't they give you any trouble about that? Well, I get this spot to be taken. I get this spot to be taken. I leave it because I don't want to go clean. Those people have to go dirty to go clean. They're supposed to be themselves. Where are they supposed to take the garbage? Well, I got the hard drive here. I got the 5, 6 cans right in the back. See what happened there? Father Maltz was taken. But they were working. Then they'll leave the kid to his birth. There is my father. Convinced that he is on the track of a good story, Bob Sever hurriedly checks his notes as we move down the stairs and out into the street. Meanwhile, our photographer is calling into the office on the two -way radio equipment in the car. 704 calling KSD 570. Stand by, 704. Oh, and

we went through three or four buildings over here in Milwaukee. And there are a lot of violations, but they won't make a picture. I got one picture here of the reporter interviewing a family. And that's it. I guess we're about through over here. What do you want us to do? Bob Sever is on the assignment here. I guess he wants to talk to the city desk. A very rushed lunch, and we're back on the job. Bob Sever has located a pay telephone and is about to check in with the city editor. We'll listen in on the conversation. The city desk plays. This is Bob Sever, Margaret. May I speak to Mr. Lane, please? Seconds. Hello. Mr. Lane, this is Bob Sever up on that Milwaukee Avenue stunt. What does you find up there? Are the charges true? Well, we found that the buildings are certainly in poor

condition. And the most interesting thing was at 699 Milwaukee, where it's a three -starry building with a lot of kids upstairs. The owner lives on the first floor, and it develops that he is a city worker, who apparently has been... He's a construction guard supervisor, which would be the Bureau of Public Works, I think. Is he civil service, or is this... That I don't know. He has a ward organization card for the 26th precinct to the 36th ward. Well, that probably isn't civil service. I should imagine a temporary job. In any case, he told me that he has what it was originally for apartments in the upper two floors of the building, which he converts and re -converts, depending upon the sizes of the families who live in them. We found that there was garbage piled high on the landings, the back porches, the porches themselves were in bad condition, and most of the usual indications of a building that is about to decay badly. Well, by those things, you better get on down to the city hall there and pick up Jay McMullen.

I'll call him meanwhile, so he'll be alerted as to what the building department record is on this particular spot. Yeah, then I think perhaps it would be well if we substantiated our findings by having inspectors go out there and take a look at the building. Yes, very definitely. Talk to Mr. Ramsey and get the inspectors and go on out there and make an official check. Fine, we'll head right down there now. After a hurried consultation, we're heading south on Canal Street, down to the city hall on Randolph Street, and our appointment with Jay McMullen, City Hall reporter for the Daily News. Bob Siever is explaining the recent developments to Jay. Jay, we had a complaint this morning on a couple of buildings. One of them is at 689 Milwaukee, and the other one is at 699 Milwaukee. Bob Stuie and I went up there to take a look at them and just from a cursory inspection and talking with some of the tenants, also with one of the owners, I would suggest that we might draw the attention of the building department to the

thing because if the buildings are not already blighted there on their way to being blighted down. No, I already have the files asked the building department to jerk out the files on these three buildings, so let's go up there and see what they got on them and we'll get some couple of inspectors and go out there and look the places over. Fine, fine, let's go on. We accompany Jay McMullen to a large office on the top floor of City Hall and listen to the discussion. All right, and here, Bob. Bob, watch me, Mr. Zimmerman, the chief of inspection for the building department of Bob Siever of our city staff. These two men are available as soon as you're ready to go on. I think that we'd like to also look at the files on the buildings first and then we can go out there the purpose of this being to have the buildings gone over. They do appear to be in decaying condition if not already slum condition. When you took the file out, did you notice whether there were many previous violations listed? No, sir, there were not. I have the files on my desk

and we don't have very much in the way of violations. The buildings are old, but from our files, there isn't any indication that there's too much wrong with them. Now, are these buildings all subject to an annual inspection? Not all buildings are subject to annual inspection, but these three buildings and questions are, they are annual inspected buildings. Should we see the files? Yes, they're on my desk. 6 .99 is a building, three -story building, which is erected in approximately 1 ,880. Same thing. That's 75. That's 75, 75 approximately. It has a store on the first floor and an apartment. And on the second and third floor, there are just two apartments. Do you have a floor plan for them? Not as complete a floor plan because the type of

building that it is didn't require. We just have a field inspector sketch. How many apartments do you see on each floor? Two. Two on the first floor? No, one on the first floor. There's a store and an apartment on the first floor. What about the violations there? Are there any... There are none from the standpoint of structural. You must remember that the annual inspection doesn't cover all phases of a building. It covers that pertaining to structural... How often might a building be inspected for electrical or plumbing or housing housekeeping? There is no set, the ordinance doesn't provide for such inspections. What about housing biolations or plumbing or... These would not be shown under the annual inspection? No, we have checked our files. We have checked all of our files on all of these buildings. And we just don't have any buildings. That's what we wanted to find out.

Those violations wouldn't be picked up as a result of annual inspections. They would come about as a result of surveys or complaints or so forth. The lack of a record is no indication that there isn't. Incidentally, there are records on electrical, which I don't have here, which are in electrical bureau. In other words, unless this building happened to fall within the area of one of your surveys, the only way you would know if there was a violation is if on a complaint basis. That's right. In other words, that serves with reference to housing, housing, biolation, plumbing or ventilation. Possible fire. But fire is not in this department. So in other words, that serves to point up the necessity for people making complaints when they see violations in their buildings. Otherwise, they remain undetected in many cases. That's right. If they observe conditions which they feel

are violations. Right. Well, Bob, you can go with inspectors out to see what the situation really is on the scene. See if the extent of compliance there is as great as the records seem to indicate. You must remember that buildings deteriorate now. The dates of some of these inspections are nine to ten months. Oh, sure. Have anything that happened within that period. All the windows might be knocked on something like that. Okay, if you have the inspectors ready, I suggest we take off this spot. Okay. Thanks, Mr. Zerner. Mr. Dahle, Mr. Kimey, will you accompany this gentleman on this inspection tour? Mr. Yvonne, big help. Thanks. If you want to find out what the electrical is, I don't have their records, but they've got records. City desk please.

City desk Lane. This is Seaver again, Mr. Lane. We're over at the City Hall and have gotten together with Jamie Mullen and Mr. Zernerman, who's the chief of inspections over here. They've pulled the files on this building and the others that we looked at up there and have nothing in the way of non -compliance, no record on them to speak of it all. Mr. Zernerman has a couple of men ready to go up and look at the building. We've discussed it with him. Yeah. Well, bounce along then. Okay. Yeah, all right. Right. With the two building inspectors, we're returning to the 600 block on North Milwaukee. The inspectors will make a thorough investigation of the apartments and will be on hand to hear the results. Meanwhile, let's listen to Bob Seaver as he questions the inspectors. Inspector John Connolly, you are a building inspector. I wonder if you just tell me for a moment what it is that you are going to be looking for as you look over number 699,

Milwaukee Avenue. Well, we'll check the building with respect to its general construction, its structural stability, and whether or not it meets the minimum standards of the building code, check the number and location of the exits to ascertain whether or not they are adequate. Now, you also are not primarily concerned with this, but you will be noting violations in the plumbing and electrical fields for referral to those bureaus of the building department also is not this true. Yes. Yes, it is true. So when you get finished, we'll have a good idea of what the situation is concerning the whole building. Yes, that's correct. Now, Inspector George Dom, you are the housing inspector in this team. What is your primary concern? Well, I'm primarily interested in general sanitary conditions. Such conditions are overcrowding in accuracy of plumbing, in adequate light and ventilation, rodent and vermin infestation, broken plaster, and all

complaints and violations of that nature. What about things like garbage disposal? Is this included in your concern? Yes, we are concerned with that, too. We followed the building inspectors into the building, and watched as they thoroughly checked the apartments within. Nothing was overlooked. With the aid of torches, every dim corner was inspected and noted. And when all the apartments had been checked, Bob Sever thanked the inspectors and armed with the knowledge that his findings had been verified officially, once again, called into the city desk. Bob Severgan, Margaret. All right. We've just gone through the building at 699 Milwaukee, Mr. Lane, with a couple of building inspectors. Yes, and they find that there are at least nine building violations that are worthy of notices to

comply, 23 housing violations, and they say that they are going to refer to the electrical and plumbing inspectors, a bad wiring, and a deficient ceiling fixture and so on. Are you cleaned up sufficiently to turn in the story? Yes, I think so. Now we have the story. True, it's not fully developed yet, but it's on the way. Next week, we'll pick up our report as Bob Sever checks in with rewrite. Then we'll follow through until the news is printed and on its way to the public.