WBEX.org has a detailed article explaining Chicago’s red “X†program, which has sparked curiosity and concern among residents.
While walking through her Logan Square neighborhood, Chicago resident Poppy Coleman noticed two old buildings marked with large red “X†signs. She was curious about their meaning and started digging deeper. Since 2012, nearly 2,000 of these red “X†signs have appeared across the city, leading many to wonder if they indicate that a building is condemned, vacant, or for sale. The program was originally designed to protect firefighters and others by marking dangerous structures—but it has since run out of funding.
The initiative was born after a tragic incident in 2010. On December 22, firefighters were searching for squatters inside a burning, long-vacant laundromat on East 75th Street in the South Shore neighborhood. As they continued their search, a wall collapsed, followed by the roof, killing two firefighters, Edward Stringer and Corey Ankum, and injuring 19 others.
In response, 50th Ward Alderman Debra Silverstein introduced two city ordinances. The first, passed in 2011, required the fire department to catalog buildings with bowstring truss construction—structures known to be at high risk of collapse during fires. The second ordinance aimed to identify and mark all dangerous buildings in the city. For this, the city adopted the red “X†symbol, used by fire departments in New York City and other municipalities. This visual cue comes from a federal program meant to flag vacant and hazardous structures.
Not every vacant building gets a red “X.†Only those deemed structurally unsafe receive the sign, serving as a warning for firefighters to take extra precautions when responding to emergencies. Since the program launched in June 2012, the Chicago Fire Department has placed 1,804 red “X†signs. However, this number is far below the more than 5,000 vacant properties registered in the city—and even less than the estimated total of abandoned buildings.
According to CFD Spokesman Larry Langford, the department initially received a list of structurally unsound properties from the Department of Buildings, including around 300 buildings that were over 35% deteriorated. The city has largely left it up to aldermen to explain the purpose of the signs to the public.
There is a process for rehabilitating vacant buildings, but owners must get special permission before working on structures marked with a red “X.†Two years after the program began, only one building had been successfully repaired and its sign legally removed.
The program, intended to save lives, has faced financial challenges. The city received $675,000 from the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s Assistance to Firefighters grant program. Most of that money went to local contractors AGAE Contractors and M-K Signs. According to WBEZ, the city spent the entire grant within 13 months, starting in June 2012, and hasn’t added any new red “X†signs since July 2013.
Thanks, Dan.
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