[US-Illinois] 4 years post house fire, still almost no progress on repairs

We have a house that caught fire from a tenant fire on 2021. My parents are on fixed income (stage 4 and disability) and the house was supposed to supplement their retirement income for medication.

Initially, there were delays due to the insurance company - the adjuster left and my parents went months without hearing anything. In Spring 2022, work was greenlit.

Progress has been so slow - the city sued my parents to prove they were making progress. long story, but they did not understand until it was in the judgement phase, so we settled with the prosecuter for a minimized fine and a condition of repairing the roof and siding by September 2023. The GC didnt finish until March 2024. We've asked for timelines but gotten nothing and the only time we get updates is when we ask for them. All our conversation have been through text messages.

It seems they have their set of subcontractors they use and if those subs are busy, they won't try to find alternatives - causing delays on our repair.

At this point, the demo/cleanout, the interior frame, roof, and siding have been completed. Trades still need to rough in but my parents are running out of time. The bank recently did their own inspection and stated the house is only 30% complete.
My parents have been paying both mortgages out of their limited income and savings but are now falling into foreclosure on the rental property. They were recently approved for a program to stop foreclosure and brought me into the loop of everything.

So - my questions are:

- Are there any options to get my parents additional insurance payouts to cover rent while they have ongoing repairs?

- Where can I read more about how the insurance payout works? They have a check for 90k but I think it should go into an escrow account.

- If my parents lose the house, can we sue the contractor for the loss?

- What kind of attorney can we consult with?

Posted Mar 12, 2025, 7:54 PM UTC

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