COUNTRY CLUB HILLS, Ill. (CBS) – A suburban homeowner stepped out of bed into a giant puddle after a city water main broke nearly five months ago.
But as CBS 2 discovered, her bad luck isn’t over yet.
“I don’t even have a bed to sleep in,” Rochelle Jones said. “I have no clothes to wear.”
The sign keeping Jones out of her Country Club Homes townhome was installed in January. A broken water main destroyed several units in the 4100 block of 192nd Place with mud and then mold everywhere.
“The water was pouring up through the vents,” said Demona Harris, whose mother lived in one of the flooded apartments.
Homeowners have filed insurance claims for the damage, but they haven’t gotten that money back into their homes.
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“I had to use the only savings I had left,” Jones said through tears.
Jones said she is on the brink of homelessness. Her family has already used up the $37,000 insurance payment.
More than $11,000 went to cleaning costs. They spent the rest on hotel rooms and other living expenses, something they blame on months of broken promises from the homeowners’ association.
“Oh, it’s going to be resolved, and we’re going to do this, and we’re going to do that,” Jones said, recalling what the association told her. “So that took all the hotel money waiting for them to do something.”
Jones’ son believes structurally damaged areas, which make up the bulk of the $166,000 repair cost, should be paid for by the homeowners association’s insurance company.
“They’re responsible for fixing up the outside of everything, and they still haven’t done anything,” said Steven Williams, Jones’ son.
“Fix it”
The owner’s association manager declined to comment. An attorney for the HOA said: “The matter is being investigated by the HOA to determine its legal rights regarding repairs to the common elements. Insurance claims have been filed.”
But the mayor of Country Club Hills said he felt the city did what it had to do when the water main broke. Mayor James Ford has been criticized and accused of not doing enough to help residents.
“Fix it,” Harris said. “They know it’s their problem.”
Harris said she thinks the city should come up with money for repairs since it involved a city pipe that was broken in the first place.
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News reporter: “The city acknowledges that the water main is broken.”
Mayor Ford: “Mmhmm.”
News reporter: “You paid to fix it.”
Mayor Ford: “Yes.”
Ford provided CBS 2 with invoices for the work done to stop the leak. He said his staff has been working to find temporary housing for Jones and noted that a $500 check was recently sent to her to help with costs.
That relief came five months after the flood and just a few days after CBS 2 informed the city it was reporting this story.
“I want to do what I can,” Ford said.
But when asked what he would say to residents who have waited months for help, he said, “Well, I don’t think taking full responsibility is what the city should do.”
The mayor said the costly mess should be resolved with insurance. It also remains to be seen what the homeowners association management company has done since January and whether Jones can return to her home or a shelter.
“We didn’t cause that water,” Jones said through tears. “So I don’t know what to do.”
