We have been in touch with a few investor realtors in the Knoxville area, which seems to be largely discovered now.

You might be able to afford a "better" property then.If you invest somewhere else in a vacation rental for example, you might also discover another place that you might like for retirement as well that might be more profitable.

Eminent domain does not work that easily or simply. 

Not sure you can discover a Concealed Eviction as this is the first I've heard of it.  

Simply invest in funds operated by people who are out there in the public, doing events, being interviewed.

I'm not sure why not - one of the great parts about real estate investing is that you can build a team around you for aspects you aren't as strong at or simply want to delegate to someone/expert and do the others yourself - look up "Core 4" for example - where you can have an agent, lender, manager, contractor all at once for your investments and can theoretically just let them do all the interactive work

Ha, hosts anywhere could apply this to their region simply by changing a few verbs and nouns.

@Michael Klinger  As others posted, SoFi and Discover personal loans are good options and I've used them in the past.  2-3 business days from application to funds in my checking account. 

Not simply building wealth in additional to whatever else they have going on to support them.

Based on your post, it's probably best for you to simply not invest in Cook County for your own peace of mind.Sure, any tenant could stop paying rent and that risk is never zero.