Carol Kopka put up with the junk house next door for 16 years before it finally got torn down last month.
And it turns out folks all over the city were living next to junk houses controlled by the same man — 80-year-old John Waters, who was charged with felony forgery last week for faking a property document.
Carol and her neighbors had no idea their complaints would turn up that news.
Share your stories about trouble in your hood here. What are you up against? And how does it affect the quality of your life.
Continue reading What we're up against — junk houses.
At his best, Mark Konkol is a White Sox fan. He lives on the South Side. He
enjoys cold beer. At one time or another over the last 10 years, he's covered Chicago and Cook County government, city schools, transportation and the ins-and-outs of neighborhood life. E-mail him at 