Sober House That Hinsdale Tried To Shut Down Moves

HINSDALE, IL — A sober living house that Hinsdale unsuccessfully tried to shut down has closed on its own. It has moved to Bensenville. The news comes a week after the federal government sued the village over the house, which opened in July 2019.

In August, Trinity Sober Living sold the house at 111 N. Grant St. to a developer, according to the group. Trinity rented the house for a few more weeks and moved out in early November.

Trinity recently opened a sober living house in Bensenville and plans to set up another one near Hinsdale in the coming months, said its executive director, Michael Owens. Trinity, he said, still has its sights set on Hinsdale.

"We didn't get a whole lot of support from the village of Hinsdale or the neighbors," said Owens, a recovering alcoholic. "We really outgrew the Hinsdale house."

The Bensenville house is about 50 percent larger.

"It's a lot more comfortable," Owens said.

Last week, the U.S. Department of Justice sued the village for trying to shut down Trinity, a home for men recovering from addictions.

The village said the home violated its code because more than three unrelated people lived there and it was a commercial operation in a residential neighborhood.

However, the federal government contended the village broke the Fair Housing Act in its effort against Trinity.

Owens said he and his lawyer did not tip off the U.S. Justice Department.

"They came to us," he said.

Owens said Trinity still wanted to rent a place in Hinsdale because 90 percent of the group's residents come from a 15-mile radius of Hinsdale, including Clarendon Hills, Western Springs, La Grange and Elmhurst.

"Hinsdale is a nice town. It has nice amenities and stores and being next to the train is really good," Owens said.

Trinity has already tried to find a new place to rent in Hinsdale. But Owens said the group has had no luck because landlords have heard about the dispute with the village. "We have been very transparent," he said.

Hinsdale and Trinity have sued each other. Over the summer, a DuPage County judge eliminated the limit on people in the Trinity Sober Living House in Hinsdale, citing the federal investigation, which Patch had written about.

Village officials are not commenting on the situation with Trinity.