Professional guidance can be obtained from local personal experts experienced in your particular niche.  

Personally see these laws sweeping the nation.. 

IRS 590 also explains this.5) When you receive a distribution or otherwise get paid back, never take personal control of the money.

Given the details you provided, I personally might not want to settle this in mediation with this tenant however as I'd probably just want a judge to cut through the BS and tell them to pay up and get out at this point.

@Jared FisherRecommend exploring as many sources as possible to get referrals AND cross-reference them to get as much accurate information as possible.Check out NARPM.com, BP’s Property Manager Finder (BiggerPockets: The Real Estate Investing Social Network), etc.Also, encourage you to learn from the mistakes of others - by reading posts here on BiggerPockets about owners not having their expectations met by their current Property Management Company.

Any person over 18 should go through the tenant screening if they are living there...they don't necessarily need to be on the lease, but there is another area on the Chicago Association of Realtor's lease to add occupants.

@Laurens Van swol a few banks that we've worked with in the past allow you to close in your personal name.

Find a reliable Realtor, as they can refer you to other key team members.

Admittedly, they seem a bit sketchy,My question would be, for a person such as my self, how does one go about vetting these syndicates?  

@Tannia CastroRecommend exploring as many sources as possible to get referrals AND cross-reference them to get as much accurate information as possible.Check out NARPM.com, BP’s Property Manager Finder (BiggerPockets: The Real Estate Investing Social Network), etc.Also, encourage you to learn from the mistakes of others - by reading posts here on BiggerPockets about owners not having their expectations met by their current Property Management Company.