*An Illinois homeowner literally paid a hefty price to get rid of two alleged squatters who resided in his Chicago South Side-based home.

The owner’s solution was to temporarily move in with the invaders, whom he identified as Shermaine C. Powell and Codarro T. Dorsey , in an effort to deter them from staying, Independent is reporting.

Needless to say, the couple’s refusal did not go over well with Velazquez who refused to vacate his own home.

“I said, ‘I’m not going to leave,’ the property owner told ABC 7 Chicago. “Called a couple friends, stayed overnight and I knew they were not going to like that.”

Though he was determined to stay, Velazquez realized the squatters were not going to be pressured to leave, soon after spending the night in the living room, watching the alleged squatters hide out in a bedroom.

As for a legal means, that was not an option, considering a court-ordered eviction could take months.

Ultimately, Velazquez reached a legal agreement to pay Dorsey and Powell $4,300 to leave the property by March 5.

Chicago police are working on the case, Velazquez said, adding that police told him Powell was the same person arrested earlier this month and accused of a similar Chicago-area squatting scheme featuring a mortgage document.

“We didn’t want to give them money, but we heard really bad stories about squatters taking over properties for six, eight, 10 months, even a year,” Velazquez told ABC7.

For her part, Powell told the station she is “innocent until proven guilty.”

Velazquez’s ordeal with Dorsey and Powell marks the latest squatter-related situation to come from the growing issue. Earlier this month, Illinois Senate Bill 1563, known as the Squatter Bill, advanced out of a state House of Representatives committee to head to the full chamber for approval, The Independent noted.

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