City of Chicago v. Kutil

This appeal involves a failure of the owner of a two-story building to enclose the stairwell leading to a second-floor apartment with fire-resistant material of the type prescribed by the City of Chicago Building Code and to protect the openings into the stairwell with doors prescribed by the Code. This action was initiated by a complaint filed by the City of Chicago seeking to require the defendant to put his building in compliance with the Municipal Code. The defendant contended: First, that the building did not violate the Code; second, if it did, the violation predated the municipal…