The Tinley Park Village Board voted Tuesday to take legal action against residents who officials allege are violating several codes, living in an unsafe condition and not responding to village communication.
The board asked attorneys to seek a court order authorizing the repair of the alleged “dangerous” building on the east side of the village. Officials said police body camera footage revealed 19 dogs, a dead turtle, feces and rodents in the property.
But resident Jeanette LaRue, who has lived with her parents and nephew at the property for about 15 years, said she would like to see the footage because she said the claims are untrue. She said she has been out of the house since January for Parkinson’s and breast cancer treatment.
“I don’t understand what they want cleaned up in the interior of the house,” LaRue said.
She said the maximum number of dogs they have had on the property was four, including her service dog, and three puppies who were given to shelters.
She also said the only rodent is their pet guinea pig, that the turtle was not dead but hibernating and that they clean up after the dogs.
She called the village claims, which she said had been ongoing since 2023, “harassment” and said she has sent officials, including the mayor, emails inviting them to visit the property and disprove these claims.
But Community Development Director Michael Coleman said he has not had success working with the residents, and said they have not remediated two code violations, even though he gave them 60 days to do so, have not shown up in court and have had physical confrontations with code enforcement officers.
Coleman said the village’s intention is for the building to be repaired and cleaned for the elderly residents who live there and have “debilitating” health concerns.
Coleman said when he visited the property, fleas were flying around his head even as he stood six feet from the door.
“You’re breathing that in, it’s all very, it’s bad,” he said. “I felt bad for them because it’s like you got, they’re grandparents, they can’t move around.”
One code violation prohibits residents from having more than three animals and two additional animals up to three months of age in one household.
While he said two animals were retrieved out of the house with the help of a Cook County animal control officer along with the Public Works Department and code enforcement inspectors, the rest of the dogs remain.
LaRue said she gave one puppy to the animal control officers, not two dogs.
Olivia DeVivo, one of the neighbors living next to the property under fire from the village, said Wednesday the residents have threatened, harassed and sworn at her and her husband multiple times.
She also said the residents’ dogs often leave their property and charge her on her own property while she is on the front porch or even taking out the recycling.
“It’s scary, it’s scary to even think about taking my garbage out when its dark out because I don’t know if they’re outside,” she said.
As a first-time homeowner, DeVivo said it’s is frustrating to pay $9,000 in property taxes every year and for these alleged issues to continue for so long.
She said she would like village officials to penalize the residents and hold them accountable, even evict them if necessary. She said it is not fair if the residents are continuously given fines that they do not pay.
Coleman said village officials recently issued several fines against the residents, but he said if the property is remediated, the fines will be removed.
“I have no intentions of hurting them this way, I just want to get the house cleaned for the elderly residents living in there,” he said.
Coleman said the residents agreed to remediate the property when the issues first came up, but that was months ago, he said, and the property has not been improved.
Trustee Ken Shaw said he would like village officials to take the issue as far as needed to make sure the property is fully remediated. He also requested clarity on what the village is legally authorized to do.
“While it’s important for us to respect the rights of the residents here in town, I want to make sure we’re not missing something because we’re tiptoeing,” he said.
Trustee Michael Mueller said he was concerned about keeping the property maintained, even if it is remediated.
“I’m all for cleaning it up and helping out, but I don’t know what other recourses we have, but we should be looking at something else because it’s not going to stay clean,” Mueller said.
LaRue said that she, along with her parents, are considering selling the house and moving due to the accusations.
“My mom has money invested in it,” she said. “They don’t feel welcome there right now.”
awright@chicagotribune.com
