Galen also must pay a $10,000 fine and is barred from owning or managing any property in the city except his Northwest Side home.

The jailing comes in the same week the city council passed Mayor Richard M. Daley's ordinance calling for jail terms of two weeks to six months for owners and managers who knowingly allow controlled substances to be used, sold, manufactured or stored on their properties.

In addition to 30 building code violations, city officials say Galen allowed his six-flat building at 7619 N. Bosworth on the far North Side of the city to become a haven for gang members and drug users. Galen agreed in March 2000 to board up his property while it was being repaired, keep the building vacant during those repairs and attend police department CAPS meetings as well as the city's property owner training program, the city says. Two months later, Galen was found in criminal contempt when a circuit court judge ruled he had not emptied and secured the property, remedied the building code violations nor obtained the necessary permits for rehab work, according to the city.

Galen pled guilty in February. In addition to agreeing to spend a week in jail, Galen also was required to complete the repairs by Tuesday, when he began serving his sentence, according to the city.

"This jail sentence sends a strong message," Daley says. "Building owners will not be allowed to neglect their property and create a crime problem for the entire community." Galen also must sell the building he bought for $180,000 in September 1997 by the end of this month. The building has been converted into three condominiums; one of them selling for $149,900 earlier this month while the other two units remain on the market.

"With new owners, this building will an asset to the community rather than an eyesore," says corporation counsel Mara Georges.