Two men have been charged in the Valentine's Day fire in Cicero that left seven people dead.
The building owner, Lawrence Meyers, and a maintenance man, Marion Andre Comier, have each been charged with seven counts of first-degree murder and two counts of aggravated arson.
Both men were taken into custody Wednesday.
Seven people were killed, including a 3-day-old baby, when fire tore through the property at 3034 South 48th Ct. in the early morning hours of Feb. 14.
"I'm very angry about this," said Cicero Town President Larry Dominick in a written statement. "The lives of seven innocent people were taken so cruelly and with clear malice. This is a heinous crime."
As many as 30 people may have been living in three apartments in the building, authorities said.
The lack of 911 calls from the building, and the fire's rapid spread, led investigators to question whether the fire had been smoldering for hours or an intentionally set blaze.
The fire's origin remains unknown, but investigators said there were definitely fire code violations in the building because so many who died were allowed to live and sleep in the attic with only one way out.
