Less than 72 hours after residents of the decaying Autumn Ridge Apartments told the Park Forest Village Board in particular, and the world at large, how unhealthy housing conditions were, village officials announced air conditioning systems in all four buildings were back in operation.
Well, maybe.
Some residents claim three of the four buildings have problems. Cool air in some units comes and goes, starts and stops, or sometimes does not even start.
All this taking place in the midst of one of the hottest summers.
It remains to be seen if, in the days to come, village officials can finally erase “no air” from a long list of items needed to restore decent living conditions to besieged residents of the apartment complex in the Will County section of the village.
Village Trustee Randall White, who helped install some 40 air-conditioning units which he says were loaned by the Crete-Monee school district and churches in the area, said in many instances aging refrigerant lines and duct work connections may be at fault.
Then again, almost all systems in the 384-unit site on Sycamore Drive are defective, worn or broken. That was why, at a Village Board meeting held last week, some 20 residents, frustrated by the lack of elemental services in the complex, told village trustees how bad things are.
It was a cry for help from people who, depending on the number of bedrooms, must pay, along with their utility bills, between $1,200 to $1,900 a month for less than minimum services.
In firm tones, the residents spoke of humiliating conditions; of feces in the water pooled up in halls after rain and of mushrooms left to grow in damp carpets; of black water coming out of faucets; of the lingering stench of a dead man left unattended in an apartment for five days; of apartment doors that could not close; of mail theft; of elevators not working; of roaches in a replacement refrigerator; of mold on walls; of holes in the walls; of no heat in winter and no hot water any season.
This list of grievances is a dismal story of insult and humiliation to the human spirit.
That’s the rub. These affronts to residents are not new and should never have happened. Now, however, the situation is almost like a catch-22 in which everyone loses. You can’t condemn the property and throw residents out on the street, but renovations and basic improvements will be expensive and take time.
More Top Picks Best Space Heaters With Remote
About 50% of the nearly 400 housing units are occupied, and it seems obvious the village does not have the resources to find housing for displaced families.
Among the items to be settled is a nearly $600,000 water bill which Red Oak Management, the owners, owes the village. You can’t turn off the tap when management, which collects monthly water bills from residents, seems to pocket the money.
Before the residents spoke, Mayor Joe Woods, who has seen the shoddy conditions at Autumn Ridge, told the audience that Park Forest “will use every means at our disposal” to fix the problems, especially “those for which we have repeatedly been issuing building code citations.”
Village inspectors may have gotten writer’s cramp from issuing disregarded citations, so in early July the village turned to the courts for help, filing a motion in Will County to appoint a receiver with authority to take control of the property, collect rent money, pay all debts and make all needed repairs.
In asking for receivership, the village argued Autumn Ridge management doesn’t pay its bills and doesn’t seem to bother with the health and safety of tenants.
When the owners, Red Oak Management, were notified, almost as quickly as anyone can catch a flight to Chicago one of the property owners flew in from the East, promising to line up new owners from both coasts.
In less than two weeks, village officials had conversations with potential owners and property managers.
The deadline for a group to take control may be Oct. 20 when the village goes back to court. Hopefully, the long-suffering tenants of Autumn Ridge will see results long before then.
Jerry Shnay is a freelance columnist for the Daily Southtown.