Chicago homeowner says alleged squatter pulled a gun and refused to leave amid confusion over new squatter law

ABC 7 Chicago reporter Samantha Chatman says a Chicago condo owner thought she had finally caught a break because Illinois’ new “squatter law” went into effect on January 1.

Instead, the homeowner says she walked straight into a nightmare: an alleged squatter refusing to leave, a claimed lease that doesn’t make sense to the owner, and police telling her the situation isn’t as simple as the new law made it sound.

Chatman reports this all centers on Mary Welch, who says she has owned a condo unit in a Chatham building for more than a decade and has been renovating it with plans to rent it out or sell it.

Then, last month, Welch says she discovered a stranger living inside her property.

And the first face-to-face meeting, according to Welch, wasn’t just tense – it was terrifying.

A Door Opens, And A Gun Changes Everything

Samantha Chatman reports that Welch says she knocked for a few minutes, expecting something ordinary like a contractor mix-up or a neighbor misunderstanding.

But Welch tells Chatman that the door suddenly opened and a woman appeared pointing a gun, screaming that she was going to shoot if Welch didn’t leave.

Welch’s quote, as Chatman relays it, is blunt and scary: Welch says the person told her she had “no authority” to be on the premises.

That line alone shows how upside down these situations can get, because the owner is standing there thinking, “This is my place,” while the person inside is acting like the owner is the intruder.

Even if you ignore every legal detail for a second, the gun part changes the whole temperature. This stops being just a paperwork argument and becomes a public safety issue in about one heartbeat.

The Claimed Lease, And The Moment Police Hit A Wall

Chatman says Welch told her the person inside claimed her mother signed a lease and that she had a right to be there.

Welch’s response, as Chatman reports it, was basically: that can’t be true, because Welch says she’s the owner.

Chatman reports Chicago police came out, but Welch didn’t have her deed with her at that moment, so she left to get it and called police again.

Welch says that after all that, officers ultimately informed her there was nothing they could do.

That’s the part that makes regular people feel like they’re losing their minds. In most people’s heads, “I have the deed” sounds like the end of the story.

But in real life, the moment someone claims “lease,” “permission,” or “tenant,” the situation can slam into procedure, policy, and fear of violating rights—even when the owner is standing right there.

And if you’re Welch, you’re not just frustrated. You’re thinking: how am I supposed to prove my own home is mine in a way that actually works today, right now?

The New Squatter Law, And Why Everyone Seems Confused

Samantha Chatman explains that Illinois’ new squatter law took effect January 1 and is meant to address squatting by allowing law enforcement to remove squatters as trespassers instead of treating them like tenants.

But Chatman also reports that Chicago police say the law is new and they’re “working out the kinks” to make sure they’re abiding by everyone’s legal rights.

That phrase – “working out the kinks” – sounds harmless until you realize it means real homeowners can get stuck in limbo while the system figures itself out.

It also means officers may be standing on a sidewalk trying to decide, in real time, whether they’re looking at a criminal trespass or a civil housing dispute.

And that’s a dangerous spot for everybody, because a wrong move can trigger lawsuits, discipline, or worse, while a slow move leaves an owner locked out.

Chatman reports Welch felt crushed by this reality, telling ABC 7: “I’m helpless now. I put all of my faith in the new law.”

That sentence carries the weight of someone who truly believed a switch flipped on January 1 – and then found out the switch isn’t connected to anything yet.

Police And Politicians Show Up, But The Door Stays Shut

Chatman reports that ABC 7 was at the property as police arrived along with State Rep. La Shawn Ford and Alderman Michelle Harris, who came trying to help.

That’s not a small detail. When an elected state representative and an alderperson show up, it signals this isn’t just a neighborhood spat – it’s a public example of how the law is working (or not working) in the first weeks.

Chatman says after hours of investigating and speaking with the person inside, police told ABC 7 they were not able to get the woman – and her dogs – out.

The reason, police said in Chatman’s report, is that the people inside had been living there before the new law went into effect.

So even though Welch is leaning on the new rule, police are treating the timeline like a hard boundary.

From a distance, it feels like a technicality. Up close, it feels like a trap: a new law gets announced, people celebrate, and then the fine print says it doesn’t help you if your nightmare started a few weeks too early.

Ford tells Chatman he’ll be addressing this in Springfield, saying there’s work to do to improve the law.

He also tells Chatman this situation shows they need to do more with law enforcement to educate them on the intent of the law.

That’s a polite way of saying: even the people who pushed the change may not have built a clean, simple path for cops to use it on day one.

CPD’s Line: No Evictions, But Trespass Enforcement Exists

Samantha Chatman reports CPD says it does not carry out evictions.

At the same time, Chatman reports CPD says it does enforce criminal trespass to property when officers can verify and establish whether an individual is illegally trespassing.

That may sound like a contradiction to homeowners, but it’s really a boundary: “We can act if it’s clearly a crime,” versus “We can’t act if it looks like a civil dispute.”

The problem is that squatters don’t always show up waving a flag that says “I’m trespassing.” They show up with a story.

And sometimes, as Chatman highlights here, they show up with a claimed lease – real or fake – knowing that even a flimsy claim can slow everything down.

Chatman reports Welch says she showed officers her deed that day and they still couldn’t get the people out.

That’s the moment the public tends to lose patience, because it feels like the law is built to protect the wrong person first.

Here’s where my own take comes in: laws that are supposed to protect owners are only as strong as the procedures behind them.

If the procedure still treats every claimed lease like a magic shield, then the law can become more of a press release than a solution.

The Alleged Squatter Denies It, Then Hangs Up

Chatman reports she spoke directly with the woman living inside.

According to Chatman, the woman insists she is not a squatter and says she has a lease.

Chatman says she asked the woman to send a copy of that lease, and the woman hung up the phone.

That doesn’t prove anything by itself, but it does match the exact kind of fog that keeps these cases spinning.

If you’re legitimate, you usually want to show proof quickly. If you’re not legitimate, you want the argument to stay blurry for as long as possible.

And either way, Welch is still stuck outside her own property, paying the price in stress, lost time, and probably lost money.

Chatman reports Welch says she is “angry beyond words” because she believes the new law still won’t remove the alleged squatters, and she expects a long process to get her property back.

That’s the kind of outcome that makes people feel like the system rewards whoever is bold enough to take something and dare the owner to fight for it.

What This Case Says About The Law Going Forward

Samantha Chatman’s report captures something bigger than one condo in Chatham.

It shows what happens when a new law meets old habits: police trained to avoid civil eviction fights, squatters who know how to use confusion as cover, and homeowners who think “new law” means “new power,” only to find out the law has limits.

It also shows a real danger nobody should ignore: when tensions are high and someone is armed, telling a homeowner “go handle it in court” isn’t just slow—it can be unsafe.

Because the owner still has to live in that reality, drive past that building, worry about the renovation work, worry about neighbors, and wonder what happens the next time she tries to check her own property.

If lawmakers want this new squatter law to mean anything, cases like this are the stress test. The public isn’t judging the law by the words on paper.

They’re judging it by whether someone like Mary Welch can walk back into her own condo without fear, without confusion, and without being told, “Sorry – wrong date.”

And if the state can’t make that clear, fast, and consistent, then all Illinois has really done is rename the problem – while homeowners keep paying for it.