The Heather Hill Civic Association meeting on Jan. 15 at Flossmoor Public Library gave residents a place to voice concerns to people making decisions for the community.
Attendees asked about rental homes in Flossmoor, how renters manage tenants and how they are held accountable. They pointed to the issues raised after a shooting on the 3100 block of Polly Lane.
At the meeting, Flossmoor Mayor Michelle Nelson also gave the community more insight on the shooting on Christmas Eve. Police reported no one was injured, but they did find 10 shell casings and observed holes in windows and a garage door.
In discussing the Polly Lane shooting, Nelson said the property involved is a rental property owned by Invitation Homes since 2017. The first renters at the home didn’t raise any concerns, she said. They left in 2021.
Nelson said issues started when new renters arrived in July 2022. Shortly after, Invitation Homes started eviction proceedings because the renters weren’t paying rent.
“That process took all the way until September of 2024,” Nelson said. “The state is very tenant friendly, and tenants have rights, so that’s one of the things we are dealing with when we’re dealing with homes that are having issues.”
Cook County oversaw the eviction, putting the tenants belongings on the front lawn of the property and giving notice to Invitation Homes to clean the property in several days, Nelson said.
Once the tenants were out of the property squatters came in at some point, with Invitation Homes unsure how they got there. Nelson said Invitation Homes believes a counterfeit website for rental properties took control of the property on Polly Lane and was trying to sell it.
She said police responded Nov. 4 to a domestic issue at the home. Invitation Homes was notified, and by Nov. 6 the firm “had … the complaint in their hand and it was by (Nov. 14) they sent it to their attorneys to handle it.”
Nelson said Nov. 30 is when the occupants were given notice to leave. If not, a court date was set for Jan. 16 when a decision would be made to forcibly remove the squatters.
The shooting on Christmas Eve made the squatters uneasy about their accommodations, Nelson said.
“Whoever was looking for them, because we do believe that this was targeted, had found them and they (squatters) actually ended up vacating the property, so the Jan. 16 court date was canceled,” Nelson said.
A notice was given to the landlord to put a vacancy sticker on the property, Nelson said. By law, the sticker must stay intact for five days before the landlord can change the locks and regain full control of the property.
A car was left behind on the property, and the squatters were given multiple time periods to pick it up which they missed, Nelson said. Their last notice was given for (Jan. 16) and if that missed Invitation homes will tow the car.
Flossmoor Police Department confirmed the car was removed by a tow company sent by Invitation Homes and requested it be towed on Jan. 16.