PARK FOREST, Ill. (WGN) — The latest heat wave has left Autumn Ridge Apartments in south suburban Park Forest without A/C for weeks, prompting village officials to take legal action as hundreds of residents try to stay cool in the blistering summer heat.
“I just want them to get the matter resolved,” said Nicole Scott-Johnson, an Autumn Ridge resident. “We have to stay here. It’s our place of living. We want to enjoy it, come home, be happy and not be miserable.”
Last week, residents told WGN TV News the air conditioning was supposed to be turned on for Autumn Ridge by June 1. A total of four buildings make up the apartment complex, with 200 units in each. As of Tuesday afternoon, air conditioning was restored in one building.
Scott-Johnson said she has lived in Autumn Ridge for the past five years, and the A/C issue is nothing new, but she and other residents would still like to see it resolved.
“It’s part of our utility. If it wasn’t part of our utility, then okay,” Scott-Johnson said. “But at the same time, we paying for it.”
It’s an ongoing issue Park Forest Mayor Joseph Woods said they are well aware of at village hall, and is part of pending litigation between the village and the apartment complex.
Woods didn’t offer specifics on their pending litigation against Autumn Ridge, but the Park Forest mayor did say the apartment complex is being cited for existing violations.
“To answer shortly and briefly. Yes, we’ve had problems with them in the past,” Woods said. “And, yes, we are going to be citing them as more developments continue. We have cited them in the past.”
Derin Curtis is another resident who calls Autumn Ridge home. He said having no A/C is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to issues around the apartment complex—something Woods also confirmed.
“[There are] reports of there even being mold,” Woods said. “There’s a list of things, perhaps even too many to go through right now.”
Village officials said they’ve been told by property management that the goal is to have air conditioning back up and running for all four buildings by the end of the week.
Meanwhile, residents are encouraged to spend time at two cooling centers made available to the public.
“It’s something that happens every Summer,” Curtis said. “This summer is just the worst.”
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by PostX News and is published from a syndicated feed.)
