The saga of Colton Lexus

Colton Lexus is going from a tiny home to the big house.

The 31-year-old, who became something of a cause celebre in challenging Springfield’s zoning laws by trying to live off the grid on a vacant lot within city limits, was found guilty last week of aggravated battery and discharge of a firearm by a Cook County judge.

The conviction stems from a Christmas Day 2024 incident in which Lexus was charged by Chicago police for shooting a man through a door of his Back of the Yards apartment. According to a police report at the time, Lexus shot a man who was kicking at his back door.

Lexus, whose legal name is Chase Hadez, has a court date set for Sept. 24 with Circuit Court Judge Tyria B. Walton, who pronounced guilt on Lexus after a bench trial. He could face at least 10 years in prison on the two convictions.

I got to know Lexus during his roughly five months in Springfield, and one thing I can say is, nothing surprises me anymore with him. To quote Winston Churchill, Lexus was “a riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma.”

Here was a man who came to town with his own “pod” on wheels, an 18-square-foot living space that Lexus proudly showed off to me as part of a story I wrote for Illinois Times in June. Lexus owned a lot at 1705 E. Carpenter St. and said it would be his mission to prove to the world a man could live totally off the grid. He would franchise his method of building such a home, for the good of a society in which homelessness and unaffordability for housing is pervasive.

Only one problem with that plan: the city said no. Lexus’ original pod, along with a second, slightly larger one he soon would build, violated Springfield zoning laws six ways to Sunday, city officials said. Lexus set out to fight back at city hall, filing numerous lawsuits, motions and freedom of information requests. He often live-streamed, on Tik-Tok, his interactions with city officials.

He represented himself pro se in front of Sangamon County Court Judge Robin Schmidt, exhaustively questioning zoning officials and – at times it seemed – making those city officials uneasy with the scope of his arguments for why he should be allowed to live like he was.

But, as valiant as his “man fights city hall” battle was, Schmidt ultimately ruled against him on two occasions. Lexus would either have to get his pods up to code, or the city would tear them down. He was banned from living in the pods in the meantime, and Lexus began to post videos of himself living on the street. He appealed for money with a GoFund Me page that raised more than $2,000.

Lexus has another hearing in that case Sept. 10, plus a $2,500 small-claims complaint pending against City Water, Light and Power.

Presumably, Lexus will now be unable to attend any further hearings in Sangamon County.

When I first met with Lexus at his pod, I brought up the charges from 18 months prior, which seemed like a very serious thing. Lexus, though, was completely dismissive, saying, “The charges are being dropped. I was trying to fend off an intruder. I was protecting myself.”

Like several things Lexus said, pinning down actual facts about what he described as a “nothingburger” was often difficult. Lexus talked about a painful divorce from his husband, and said he first became homeless in Chicago after the divorce and leaving the apartment he said they shared.

Was the victim of the shooting Lexus’ husband, after a marital spat? We still don’t know the identity of that victim, who at the time was listed in serious condition. Good luck trying to find out anything from the Cook County legal system about that case, or any other. Several times on Monday and Tuesday, I called published numbers for a couple of county offices for help, and they just rang and rang until the connection went dead.

What happens now to the pods, which at last check are still there on Carpenter Street? Every city official I phoned the last couple days didn’t return the calls. Ward 2 Ald. Shawn Gregory, whose ward is where the pods are, politely declined comment, citing ongoing legal proceedings.

Lexus, one check of the internet reveals, had some serious haters even before the convictions in Chicago. He was accused by at least a couple of dedicated social media sleuths as being a scammer, with accusations of everything from stolen valor to improper interactions with minors.

The haters are all spiking the football now. Cook County did release a sullen mug shot of Lexus, and he remains locked up in a jail.

The Colton Lexus I knew was polite and charming much of the time, and well-spoken. But did I ever know the real Colton Lexus? I don’t think so, and I’m not sure he knows who the real Colton Lexus, or Chase Hadez, is either.

Lexus isn’t homeless anymore, at least. But I’m sure it’s the last address he ever would have wanted.