The so-called trash lady of Highland Park, Martha Douglas, faces eviction and condemnation of her property after missing a deadline to trade her home for one in Waukegan.
Once again, city officials say, the 75-year-old widow is trying their patience.
If she fails to live up to the land-swap deal she agreed to, the city plans to condemn her property at 1054 Half Day Rd. to make way for a $30 million water works expansion.
“She has her own way of doing things,” said exasperated Mayor Raymond Geraci, who has been clashing with Douglas for years.
One thing is certain: No more Mr. Nice Guy.
Douglas had agreed several weeks ago to close last Wednesday the sale of her Highland Park home and lot in exchange for a nine-room, Cape Cod-style home at 749 S. Green Bay Rd., Waukegan, Geraci said last week.
“There was no threat, just a nice meeting,” Geraci said. “It was very friendly. She had agreed to move by Sept. 2 or Sept. 3. I said to her, `Martha, do you want to cancel the deal? We can cancel the deal and acquire your property (by condemnation).’ “
Douglas did not show up to sign the necessary documents on Wednesday. Efforts to reach her for comment failed last week. And the city has not heard from her, Geraci said.
The Highland Park property at issue is a yellow frame building that is filled from top to bottom with belongings its owner considers valuable–and which others label junk.
In the front yard are a rusting yellow Toyota and a blue Chevrolet Blazer, both filled with various articles. Surrounding the vehicles are nine shopping carts and plastic-covered piles of items, including empty milk jugs and bags of aluminum cans.
Douglas has lived there for 47 years, and has been clashing with city officials over her pack-rat lifestyle since 1969. The city moved in with bulldozers in 1985 and 1987 to remove trash, including eight cars.
Douglas was held in contempt of court in 1979 and sentenced in 1989 to 60 days in jail and one year’s probation for failing to obey orders to clean her property. Douglas has said she spent only one day in jail, and has complained she is being harassed.
In the past, Douglas has insisted the material in her home and yard is not junk, but items that she recycles or gives to charity. These include lawn mowers, furniture and toys.
Hostilities appeared to cease on May 2, when Douglas signed an agreement to swap her house, valued at $124,000, for the Cape Cod in Waukegan, worth $124,900.
Geraci said Douglas has seen the Waukegan house several times and insists she loves the place.
“I’ve known her for 50 years and would not hurt the woman,” Geraci said. “We wanted to do what is right for her. We wanted to give her another house.”
The incident, however, has been viewed by some as an example of a suburb exporting a problem resident to another suburb.
Geraci insists that’s not the case, explaining that the Douglas property is one of three adjoining lots the city is negotiating to acquire for water works expansion.
On one side of Douglas’ house is a home, and on the other side is a vacant lot.
“We have to move forward with condemnation on all three of the properties if the owners do not want to move,” Geraci said.
Thus far, city officials have focused their attention on Douglas and have yet to negotiate a deal with the other two property owners.
“But Martha is the centerpiece of the property,” Geraci said.
The three properties are east of a Highland Park fire station and a Highland Park public works facility.
Jim Johnson, Highland Park public works director and city engineer, said the city wants to build a 3-million-gallon underground reservoir on the site as part of a plan to expand the city’s water distribution capacity from 21 million gallons a day to 35 million gallons a day.
“It’s part of an overall upgrade to increase the capacity of our system,” said Johnson, pointing out that Highland Park provides water to neighboring suburbs, including Deerfield, Lincolnshire and Bannockburn. “We supply a lot of water to outside users.”
