Please Stop Blocking The Driveway @ 7362 N Ashland

First off you will save yourself from getting a ticket. You also avoid cutting the house off from the rest of the world. This driveway is almost a hundred years old. 7362 N Ashland doesn't have an alley. So any current or potential caretakers need this egress clear to gain access to the property.

Unfortunately Illinois is a judicial state in this case. Foreclosed properties stay in limbo for a long time before anything happens. In non judicial states properties change over much faster. Being a judicial state is good for the property owner in default because they can stay in their house longer.

Last edited 1/19/14 10:04 pm

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Not sure what is happening with this foreclosure. Whenever something lands into court judges and lawyers push things around for years. Which is a big reason why the real estate market turn around has been so slow in Chicago.

Overall it has been better since the case of the missing driveway was first reported on here on Chevanston in August. The no parking sign has helped. Would you park somewhere with a no parking sign?

Due to the transient nature of the neighborhood and how tough it can be to find parking there are times when people start obstructing the private drive again. 7474 N Rogers Gateway CTA Park and Ride Garage is nearby and provides ample parking for out of towners or visiting friends. It's much cheaper than a ticket. There will soon be a parking garage at Sheridan and Sherwin.

Illinois and the courts way to deal with these foreclosed properties is to stick a giant orange sign on it.  These obnoxious signs say to the world "hey no one lives here". A sign is not going to stop squatters from getting into a house. They will throw it away in the dead of night. The orange sign was disposed of sometime this past fall. That made a big difference in curtailing the perpetual car barriers.

Making a place look lived in and cared for deters vandalism and squatters. And part of making that happen is not tolerating people using their car as a barricade between this house and the rest of Rogers Park.