Code Issues In Downtown La Grange Building: Village

LA GRANGE, IL — For more than a year and a half, La Grange has been asking the owners of a downtown La Grange building to correct alleged violations of the property maintenance code.

Three times, the village has raised the possibility of taking the matter to Cook County Circuit Court, but it has not done so. This is according to more than 100 pages of documents that Patch obtained last week through a public records request.

The building in question is at 715 W. Hillgrove Ave., owned by La Grange residents Cecilia and Michael Heiges. On the first floor is the Vision Fitness optometrist office. This is where Cecilia Heiges, an optometrist, worked before recently retiring.

According to village records, the code issues do not involve the first-floor optometrist office. Rather, the problems are in the basement and one of the two apartments on the second floor, according to the village. A tenant in one of the apartments complained.

The village's latest letter to the Heigeses was on Sept. 27.

Among the alleged violations are a damaged window well, peeling paint, cracks in the walls, an unsealed shower enclosure, windows without screens and splintered wood in the hallway.

In the basement, the village's Sept. 27 report says, "Moldy surfaces noted on walls throughout. This was noted to have been cleaned at the laundry facilities. Some additional minor work remains at the interior stairwell. Owner noted that the damaged wall material would be removed and the wall painted with a mold-resistant paint at last inspection."

Also in the basement, ceiling surfaces in the rear stairwell have deteriorated, the report said.

"The Village of La Grange is constantly striving to upgrade its appearance and general maintenance standards and seeks the cooperation of every resident, business and property owner," Curt Trusner, the village's environmental officer, said in the September letter to the owners.

In previous notices to the owners going back to May 2020, the village has indicated mold on surfaces in the apartment, including behind the shower enclosure.

The village recommended the Heigeses hire a professional to evaluate the apartment and basement for mold.

On April 6, 2020, attorney John Kenney wrote the owners, saying his office represented the village on municipal code enforcement issues. He said if the building issues were not corrected by May 1, 2020, La Grange would take "additional steps towards Code Compliance, including possible action with the Circuit Court."

In June 2021, Cecilia Heiges went point by point to explain how she took care of the issues that the village indicated.

A couple of weeks later, a mold expert informed Trusner that his company found no mold in the building.

According to the Sept. 27 letter, a re-inspection of the property was planned for a month later. But it was unclear how that turned out. Trusner did not return messages for comment.

In a text message, Cecilia Heiges said, "An ongoing dispute with the tenant does not allow me to comment." She referred questions to her attorney, Bernard Martin, whose office is in downtown La Grange.

In an interview, Martin acknowledged the dispute.

"My client is addressing each and every issue to the best of her ability, given she is restricted in her access to the unit," Martin said. "This has been pending a long time. This needs to be resolved between the parties."