A Chicago tenant alleges he was attacked by rats gnawing on his face while he slept, following months of complaints to his landlord about a persistent infestation. The incident, which occurred three weeks ago in a garden-level apartment in the Rogers Park complex, has intensified the ongoing dispute between tenants and building management over living conditions.
Heriverto Hernandez told Fox32 that he awoke around 3 a.m. feeling something scurrying on his face and discovered rats. "I felt them on my face and threw them off of my face," Hernandez said in a translated interview. Photos reportedly showed swelling and red cuts on his forehead and around his eye. He received medical treatment, including a rabies shot and antibiotics, though his eye remained irritated.
Hernandez is part of the Fuerzas Activas de la Damen tenant union, affiliated with the All-Chicago Tenant Alliance. The union claims that rats and cockroaches are prevalent in multiple units and that the building management has not adequately addressed maintenance issues.
ARK Management, the company overseeing Rogers Park Apartments, stated that it has invested over $1.5 million in improvements since March 2025, renovating more than 20 units. The management company also indicated that Hernandez is involved in eviction proceedings for eight months of unpaid rent and has previously declined offers to relocate to a renovated apartment. "Our objective has been to improve the building, address longstanding issues, and provide safe, quality housing for our residents," ARK Management said in a statement. "The greatest challenge we have faced in accomplishing that goal has been our inability to communicate and work directly with certain tenants." The company added that it takes all allegations regarding tenant health and safety "extremely seriously."
An attorney representing tenants, Jake Marshall-Braun, commented that a landlord's responsibility to maintain safe living conditions continues regardless of a tenant's rental payment status or ongoing eviction proceedings. "A landlord’s responsibility to maintain their building does not end when a tenant is behind on rent or is in eviction proceedings," Marshall-Braun stated.
This incident occurs against a backdrop of evolving pest challenges. A recent study indicated that rodents are adapting to human efforts to control them, with mice developing genetic immunity to pesticides and rats finding ways to evade traps. Scientists have warned that the continued widespread use of rodenticides could potentially harm non-target city wildlife.