CHICAGO (CBS) — A resident of Chicago’s Southwest Side recently reached out about a topic that CBS News Chicago covered in detail seven years ago.
Bad odors were coming from windows near both Chicago airports. The windows were installed by the city to soundproof homes, but were later deemed defective.
Thousands of homeowners were in the same boat with this problem. In 2017, the city pledged to replace the smelly windows after the CBS News Chicago Investigators exposed the problem.
But it turns out that all these years later, only a small part of the windows in question have been replaced.
A promise made by the Department of Aviation in 2017
Many residents living near O’Hare and Midway International Airports had the city install soundproof windows in their homes 20 years ago.
Back in 2017CBS 2 Investigator Pam Zekman extensively covered the problem with the soundproof windows. The frames for the windows were made of polyvinyl chloride, a known carcinogen.
“It looks like a burning smell,” Donica Bradford, who lives near Midway, told Zekman in July 2017. “It’s overwhelming at certain times of the day.”
More and more residents started to complain after initial reports from Zekman, including Donna Eilers.
“I saw the Channel 2 report and said, ‘That’s the smell we have. That’s what’s going on,'” Eilers said in 2017.
The city held hearings that year— including one in which a director of the city Department of Aviation promised to replace windows in every home where an order was confirmed by department staff.
Seven years later, the woman says ramen still makes her sick
Seven years later, in 2024, Shirley Bakalik-Lilley is still complaining of a foul odor coming from her windows.
Bakalik-Lilley lives so close to Midway International Airport that she can see the air traffic control tower from her window — and she had the soundproof windows installed, just like her neighbors did so many years ago.
“It’s kind of like the smell of turpentine, and it makes you a little nauseous,” Bakalik-Lilley said.
Bakalik-Lilley received written confirmation from the city in 2021 about the odor from her home. This year, she even completed her paper trail — with a signed form from her doctor describing the odor as an “extreme health and medical hardship.”
She said both she and her doctor are concerned that her ramen is making her sick.
“Does it cause cancer?” Bakalik-Lilley said. “Are they going to be honest with you and tell you that?”
The city claims the fetid odor is not toxic. In a statement, the city said: “Independent laboratory testing by an industrial hygiene company confirmed that the odor and windows do not pose a health risk.”
Still, the city has provided residents with a form to be filled out by a doctor to confirm whether medical conditions are aggravated by the odor.
Every quarter, the city Department of Aviation sends Bakalik-Lilley an update, claiming her home “has a confirmed unpleasant odor.”
Some were even signed by Aaron J. Frame, the same deputy commissioner of the Department of Aviation who pledged to replace residents’ windows seven years ago.
What the city hasn’t done is repair Bakalik-Lilley’s windows.
Thousands of homes are eligible for odor control, with fewer than 150 windows replaced
CBS News Chicago has reviewed Bakalik-Lilley’s meticulous documentation. Between O’Hare and Midway, 22,204 soundproof windows had been installed.
As of September, 1,030 homes near O’Hare and 1,259 homes near Midway were eligible for odor control — dramatically more than just a few years ago.
But even in September, only 148 windows had been replaced. Most of the windows that were replaced also had mechanical problems.
“They want everyone to forget about it,” Bakalik-Lilley said. ‘What do they do during these quarterly meetings? Order more donuts and more coffee for the next meeting.”
Bakalik-Lilley’s husband died in the battle, so the 70-year-old woman is now fighting it alone.
She keeps some shades closed all the time, while in other rooms a plastic sheet covers the windows – all in an attempt to keep the smell away.
“They don’t even have a plan for this. None at all,” Bakalik-Lilley said. “So, you know, I see no work being done on the homes where Pam Zekman originally found the odors. None of them have been worked on.”
The city actually has a plan, which is documented in a complex flow chart titled “Odor Mitigation Process.” But if you zoom in deeper, the flowchart shows that construction won’t be completed until 2026 – and that only applies to about 700 homes.
Again, there are thousands in the program with validated complaints.
“I want my new windows replaced before I die,” Bakalik-Lilley said. “You know, is it that bad to come in here and get this done?”
Financing and the COVID pandemic are the simple answers to the complex question of why it takes so long to replace windows.
Again, the city claims that the odor coming from the windows is not toxic and does not pose a health hazard.
Megan Hickey
