Episode 418: Zeke McDonald-Lewis Reviews Cook County Eviction Process for Chicago Landlords

Dec 11, 2025

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Zeke McDonald-Lewis is an attorney at Erwin Law who specializes in real estate evictions and civil litigation!

Zeke starts by breaking down the first steps in handling a non-paying tenant including the appropriate steps for delivering a 5-day notice. He gets granular on the eviction process timeline and dos/don'ts to avoid delaying the process. Zeke shares top mistakes made in eviction cases and shares horror stories caused by those mistakes! He closes best practices to handle squatters and an outlook on potential changes to the eviction process.

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Guest: Zeke McDonald-Lewis, Erwin Law

Link: Zeke's LinkedIn

Link: SUCI Ep 330 - James Erwin

Link: Red Rising (Book Recommendation)

Guest Questions:

03:50 Housing Provider Tip - Plan tenant payment plans to clear balances quickly!

05:51 Intro to our guest, Zeke McDonald-Lewis!

12:25 First step in dealing with a non-paying tenant.

19:54 Next steps after serving a 5-day notice.

34:18 Timelines for the eviction process.

38:36 Top eviction mistakes.

44:43 Eviction horror stories!

47:25 Dealing with squatters.

51:01 Zeke's outlook on the eviction process!

55:02 What is your competitive advantage?

55:54 One piece of advice for new investors.

56:31 What do you do for fun?

56:59 Good book, podcast, or self development activity that you would recommend?

57:15 Local Network Recommendation?

58:00 How can the listeners learn more about you and provide value to you?

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Production House: Flint Stone Media