La Grange Threatens To Take Building Owners To Court

LA GRANGE, IL — La Grange has threatened to take the owners of a downtown building to court, unless the owners take care of code issues.

The building is at 715 W. Hillgrove Ave., which houses an optometrist's office on the first floor and two apartments on the second. The issues have been in the basement and one of the upstairs apartments. The village has been dealing with the situation for more than a year and a half.

On Nov. 18, the village notified owners Cecilia and Michael Heiges that it would go to Cook County Circuit Court with citations if the owners fail to correct the problems by Friday.

According to the village, the issues include:

• Moldy surfaces behind shower enclosure wall.
• Splintered wood on hallway flooring.
• An unsecured metal plate in the pavement near the east exit.
• A damaged window well.
• Moisture in an interior basement wall.
• Peeling paint on a radiator.
• Cracks in walls in corners.
• Windows that fail to close property.

The violations are under the village's property maintenance code. Earlier this month, a village official declined to give Patch an idea about how often La Grange takes property maintenance matters to court. So Patch submitted a public records request for documents showing the last time the village filed such litigation.

In September, a village report said about the Hillgrove property: "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."

Earlier this month, Bernard Martin, attorney for the Heigeses, said his clients have addressed all the issues to the best of their ability. But he said they have been restricted in their access to the apartment.

"This has been pending a long time. This needs to be resolved between the parties," Martin said.

Patch's first story about the building was published Nov. 16.