Neighbor News
Do the leaders of Bridgeview truly care about the rights of renters?
The trustees have been compelled to defend the rights of Bridgeview's renters, but they seem to have done little to nothing thus far.
On Wednesday, September 7, 2022, I went to Bridgeview Trustee Meeting to discuss the importance of creating an ordinance in the town charter to protect the rights of the renters of Bridgeview, IL. I shared with them what happens when negligent property owners do not manage their properties decently and ignore the safety concerns of the tenants. I insisted that the mayor and trustees add two ordinances to the town charter. The first is to require owners/managers of apartment buildings to remove snow and ice in a timely fashion. The second is to require property owners to make timely repairs to safety/health hazards.
After the meeting, I discussed the matter with Claudette Struzik, the trustee that is the expert in such matters. I also spoke with her husband, Rich Struzik, who is the director of the Building Department. While they did not entertain any possibility of creating my proposed ordinances, they reminded me of my rights and the responsibilities of the property owners, as well as they fines they can pay for not keeping their property up to code. They gave me the number to the Building Department hotline and suggested I call to address my latest issues, which I did. A few weeks later, I reached out for updates regarding any contact with my landlord, but I never received a response. As of now, the problems I mentioned, safety hazards, still exist.
While the wheel of justice often turns slowly, it seems as if this proverbial wheel is not turning at all. Practically one-third of Bridgeviewers are renters, but they don't seem to matter to the trustees or officials. Why can we not have these ordinances? Chicago, even with all its problems, have such an ordinance, and so do other local towns and villages. Why is it asking too much for Bridgeview to support and vindicate its renters by doing the same? At least two of the trustees, including Mayor Landek, have admitted to being property owners themselves at least for a period. Is there a conflict of interest afoot? If so, as elected officials, they must rise above these and be objective. What if someone has a heart attack shoveling snow out of parking lots to get to work? What if someone breaks a leg, again, slipping on ice? What if a person is injured because their balconies caved in or their patio railings collapsed? What if someone gets sick from mold because a landlord refuses to hire a plumber to repair an old pipe? Not only would the slumlords be accountable, but the entire board of trustees because they were warned and had the power to prevent these travesties but chose to do nothing.
