Legal Question in Landlord & Tenant Law in Illinois

Without seeing what kind of lease you had, it's really impossible to say. Assuming you had a "typical" standard lease of a home, however, it could be that you took it as-is, where-is, etc. and may have been liable for various repairs. And most of the form leases available limit the tenant's rights to suing the landlord and not withholding rent. Your community may have ordinances protecting you somewhat, however, and if you had an unwritten lease the local housing laws may by default make repairs on the landlord's nickel. So if you have a lease take it to an attorney. If you don't, or even if you do but are not sure how local laws may affect it, you can always try the local building department too. If all else fails, you may be stuck with a small claims case depending on how much you had to spend, and without a lease that talks about attorney fees or court costs, you may only get back court costs even if you do win...... If this was an apartment, or a condo, there may be other possibilities, but you are not specific so the answer could change ..... a lot.