Clerk Mendoza: Get My Staff Out Of Roach-Infested Office
CHICAGO (CBS) -- Chicago City Clerk Susana Mendoza wants her staff removed from the basement of City Hall, due to a persistent problem with cockroaches.
Mendoza tweeted Monday that it was "time to clean up, move out of the city Clerk's City Hall basement, and ask the Orkin Man for help."
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A photo she shared on Facebook showed two large cockroaches lying on their backs of the floor of the office. A broader shot showed at least seven cockroaches scattered on the floor, around the cables for the computer system in the office.
Mendoza and about 30 others work on the first floor, but most of her staff is in a basement that, to compound problems, is already poorly ventilated.
Mendoza didn't mince words during in an interview with CBS 2's Roseanne Tellez later Monday.
She said the insects her staff members have encountered are "Jurassic Park-size roaches." She has called on Mayor Emmanuel for help moving all of her employees upstairs.
"I wouldn't want to work like that. I'm sure none of your viewers would want to work like that," Mendoza said. "(The mayor) has given me his commitment that he will work with me to make sure we can get our employees out of there as soon as possible."
The roaches are not a new problem in Mendoza's office. The Chicago Tribune reported back on May 16 – the day she was inaugurated along with Mayor Rahm Emanuel and other elected city officials – that the office had a roach problem and that she wanted to get her employees out of the basement.
"We have live roaches and usually in the morning there are a lot of dead roaches laying on the floor," says city clerk employee Monica Carranza, who has worked in the basement for four years. "It's disgusting."
She is thrilled at the prospect of moving.
"Everybody really appreciates the fact that we might have some sunshine and less roaches," she said.
