Chicago area residents' homes still uninhabitable months after water main break
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 found, her bad luck hasn't ended.
"I don't even have a bed to sleep in," said Rochelle Jones. "I don't have no clothes to wear."
The sign that's kept Jones out of her Country Club Homes townhome went up in January. A busted water main destroyed multiple units in the 4100 block of 192nd Place with mud, then mold everywhere.
"The water came flowing up through the vents," said Demona Harris, whose mother used to live in one of the flooded condos.
Homeowners filed insurance claims for the damage, but that money hasn't gotten them back inside.
"I had to wind up using the only little savings that I had left," said Jones, tearing up.
Jones said she's on the brink of homelessness. Her family already used up their $37,000 insurance payout.
More than $11,000 went to clean-up costs. They spent the rest on hotel rooms and other living expenses, something they blame on months of broken promises from their homeowner's association.
"'Oh, it's going to get fixed, and we're gonna do this, and we're gonna do that,'" Jones said, recalling what the association told her. "So that took up all of the hotel money, waiting for them to do something."
Jones' son believes structurally damaged spots that make up the bulk of the $166,000 repair estimate should be paid for by the insurance company for the homeowner's association.
"They are responsible to fix the outside of everything up, and they still haven't done nothing yet," said Steven Williams, Jones' son.
"Fix it"
The manager for the homeowner's association declined to comment. An attorney for the HOA said, "The matter is being investigated by the HOA to determine its legal rights relative to repairs to the common elements. Insurance claims have been submitted."
But the mayor of Country Club Hills said he felt the city did what it was supposed to do when the water main broke. Mayor James Ford has been taking heat and has been 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 cough up money for repairs since it was a city pipe that broke in the first place.
Reporter: "The city acknowledges its water main broke."
Mayor Ford: "Mmhmm."
Reporter: "You paid to fix it."
Mayor Ford: "Yes."
Ford provided CBS 2 with invoices for work done to stop the leak. He said his staff has been working to find Jones temporary housing and noted a $500 check sent to her recently to help with expenses.
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 whatever I can possible," Ford said.
But when asked what he would say to the residents who have waited months for help, he said, "Well, I think for me to take total responsibility is not what the city should do."
The mayor said the costly mess needs to be resolved with insurance. It also remains to be seen what the homeowner's association's management company has been doing since January and if Jones will be able to return to her home or to a shelter.
"We didn't cause that water to do that," Jones said through tears. "So I don't know what to do."
