Families said a rat infestation is plaguing their Jefferson Park neighborhood, and they want to know why the city isn't doing more to help. They've even resorted to trapping the rats themselves.
Typically, rats are an outdoor problem, but people who live in the 4500 block of North Mobile Avenue said they're coming from inside a home on the block.
CBS News Chicago spent days reaching every city office that could get them the answers they need.
"In two months, I have killed 19 rats," Bill Dillon said. "We have pictures. These are big rats."
Dillon bought a night vision camera just to get a better idea of the rat problem he's dealing with.
"I mean, this is not a problem, this is an infestation," he said.
Dillon and others in the Jefferson Park neighborhood said the rats are coming in and out of the house next door to him.
"I believe that this home here is an epicenter for the rat epidemic here in our neighborhood," he said.
Other neighbors have resorted to setting their own traps with the permission of the homeowner, installing a trap over a rat hole to keep rats from leaving the house and entering their properties.
"We have a tube going literally into the home," Dillon said.
Dillon said he has grandchildren who want to play in his back yard, but he's afraid to let them go back there because of the rat problem.
Dillon said he has been reaching out to Ald. Nicholas Sposato (38th) and various city offices for help for months, but the problem keeps getting worse.
"I feel their frustration. We're frustrated in my office," Sposato said. "We're responding and doing the best we can do. I mean, we can't go in there and bulldoze the house."
Sposato said the people living in the rat-infested home have been fined and ticketed, but
"we're trying to help the people in the house and the neighbors that are really suffering more than anybody."
The people living in the home wouldn't go on camera, but acknowledged the rat problem and said they know rats are living in their home.
So what has the city done?
Department of Streets and Sanitation workers have been to the home 13 times since June for sanitation and rat complaints, and its Rodent Control Bureau baited the alley behind the property four times between July and August.
A spokesperson said they are never permitted to enter a home.
Dillon also has heard from the Department of Buildings.
A spokesperson from that office said, "without permission from the property owner to enter the premises, our inspectors have been unable to complete comprehensive interior inspections and have cited only violations visible from the property perimeter."
"The Department of Buildings understands some of the challenges our residents face, and given the sensitivity of this situation, we remain committed to handling it with care and caution.
The Department has attempted multiple inspections at 4554 N Mobile Avenue. However, without permission from the property owner to enter the premises, our inspectors have been unable to complete comprehensive interior inspections and have cited only violations visible from the property perimeter.
Our most recent inspection on September 16, 2025, identified hazardous and dangerous conditions, prompting us to escalate enforcement to the Department of Law, which has filed a case in Circuit Court.
Safety remains our top priority, and we will continue to work collaboratively across city and county agencies to address the health and safety concerns at this property."
The city's Department of Law said it is "currently reviewing the matter for enforcement action."
"I just hope someone in the city is listening, that the departments can get together, and that we can pull resources together to help the neighborhood and help this family," Dillon said.
CBS News Chicago is waiting to hear back from the city's Department of Family and Support Services on their involvement in this issue and any help offered at the home, now cited in a legal case with the city.