DNAinfo/Ted Cox

DOWNTOWN — A "rotted" Old Town house allowed to decay by the owner was cleared for needed repairs Thursday in housing court at the Daley Center.

The Commission on Chicago Landmarks approved a new basement and foundation for the building at 1720 N. Sedgwick St. earlier this month, and city attorney Greg Janes said Thursday that he expected an emergency building permit to be approved before the end of the week.

The commission also called for oversight on the repairs, however, and Janes proposed that the designated receiver that stabilized the building, CJR Realty, would monitor the work.

Hugh Howard, attorney for building owner Joseph Younes, said he had no objections.

The city issued a stop-work order on the building this spring after it was discovered Younes and his contractor had exceeded the parameters of a building permit and removed the roof without permission, leaving the house in the Old Town Triangle Historic District exposed to the elements.

Although Ald. Michele Smith (43rd) charged that Younes did that deliberately so that he could demolish the house and build fresh, Younes has insisted the house "rotted itself" and that he intends to restore the building as it was, and the Landmarks Commission has accepted that.

Younes, however, still faces the threat of hefty fines that could top $150,000 for violating city building regulations and preservation measures in the Old Town Triangle.

There was no talk of fines in court Thursday, but the subject figures to come up again at the next hearing set for Aug. 31 before Associate Judge Patrice Ball-Reed.

Howard opened Thursday's hearing by saying, "I don't see any pitchforks or scythes, so I guess it's safe to step up."

"Get out the pitchforks," Janes jested.

Otherwise, Howard declined comment on the matter.

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DNAinfo/Heather Cherone

CITY HALL — Of the 804 new Chicago Police officers hired in 2017, 41 percent are white, according to data provided to aldermen Thursday. Some 35 percent are Hispanic, 17 percent are black and 7 percent are Asian.

That's evidence, says Ald. Anthony Beale (9th), that process the department is using to hire more than 1,000 new officers by the end of 2018 "systematically discriminates" against black and Latino Chicagoans.

"If we don't hurry up and change this process, we are going to have a problem," Beale said.

The Police Department's 2018 budget includes $65 million to fund the second and final phase of an effort to hire nearly 1,000 officers to stop a surge in violence that swept the South and West sides starting in 2016 — a goal Supt. Eddie Johnson said he would achieve.

Mayor Rahm Emanuel vowed to ensure that those new officers reflected the city's multicultural makeup, and his office repeatedly trumpeted the fact that 76 percent of the 14,200 people who applied to the police department earlier this month were black, Latino or Asian.

Commenting on the racial data revealed Thursday, "That does not make sense,"  adding, "The test discriminates systematically against minorities."

Many African Americans fail to make it through the hiring process because they have poor credit ratings, often times because they have failed to make a payment on a student loan, Beale said. That creates a vicious circle where people can't get a job, and fall behind on their bills — and then can't get a job because of the missed payments.

"This has been burning my ass for years," Beale said.

Overall, the department is 48 percent white, with black and Latino officers each making up 24 percent of the department, according to CPD data. Asian officers make up 4 percent, according to the data.

The overall city makeup in 2016 was 32.6 percent white, 29.7 percent Hispanic, 29.3 percent black and 6.3 percent Asian, according to the U.S. Census.

Ald. Tom Tunney (44th) urged the department to redouble its efforts to recruit Asian officers, especially those who belong to the Muslim faith in order to serve a growing community in his North Side ward.