300 beg officials for help at park

Sterling Estates residents want grievances fixed

Wednesday, July 3, 2002

By Michelle Mullins
Staff writer

In an often raucous meeting Tuesday, more than 300 people crammed in the Justice Village Hall demanding that elected officials hear their pleas.

Officials with Justice, Lyons Township and the Mobile Home Owners Association of Illinois said they would try to help the 1,200 residents who live in Sterling Estates, and said they would get mailing lists together and give homeowners questionnaires to get a complete list of their grievances.

"Whether you have sewer backed up in your tub, whether it's human feces or toilet paper coming out into your yards, whether it's flooding in your yard ... we have to unite and put all of it out there," Sterling Estates resident Tod Matlock said. "We have to get the health department on our side. Plain and simple. They have to know everything."

Residents chimed in with their own litany of complaints as Matlock spoke during the meeting, which was monitored for security by Justice police and firefighters.

"There's a picnic table with shards of metal sticking out," Melissa Desmarais said.

"Whenever there are heavy rains, I get flooded — knee-deep," Nancy Newberg said.

Other residents compared the community to a roach motel and complained of rotting trees and lack of security.

"This shows how united the community is. Enough is enough," Matlock said. "I didn't know of all these problems (before).

"This is step one. We are still going uphill. Once we (climb) uphill, we can slide down."

Last month residents of the 806-unit, 80-acre park circulated a petition asking that management fix problems with flooding and sewage backups, add more security and remove abandoned trailers that have become a haven for drugs and parties.

About 50 residents signed a petition to get more stop signs to deter speeders and nearly 300 signed a petition for management, Capital First Realty, to address health and safety violations at the park, which is just north of 79th Street near LaGrange Road and Interstate-294.

Representatives of Capital First Realty did not attend the meeting Tuesday.

The Cook County Department of Public Health has been trying to get the problems fixed, and is threatening to sue the park's owners.

Inspectors from the Illinois and Cook County departments of public health concluded homes in Sterling Estates were spaced too close together and too close to the streets, electrical conductors were exposed, sewer risers were not capped and garbage was not being properly disposed of.

In November, the county health department refused to renew the Sterling Estates management's license to operate the park, meaning the management cannot sell mobile homes until the violations are addressed, officials said.

An official with the Illinois Department of Public Health in a letter dated June 11 said, "It is my understanding that they (the owners) have been told to correct a number of conditions but little progress has been made."

The state health department said it would rather sue to correct violations than allow a park to operate without a license.

This month, the county will inspect the park again with officials from the Cook County state's attorney's office to determine if it will file a lawsuit against Capital First Realty.

Justice Mayor Melvin VanAllen said he wants to renew annexation talks with the owners of Sterling Estates. Annexation talks failed in 1999.

VanAllen said he believes that if the park were annexed into the village, the village would have greater leverage in solving the health and safety problems.

VanAllen said that after residents fill out questionnaires about their complaints with Sterling Estates, the village will mail copies to state representatives, senators, county officials and health departments.

Michelle Mullins may be reached at mmullins@dailysouthtown.com or (708) 633-5991.