Well today I went before code, HUDthe county zoning board and presented the need for a building inspector in Canton, IL It has been awhile since I have written but in a nutshell we were evicted in Dec. 2008 and are still fighting the Fulton County Housing Authority in a 3 count complaint with the Illinois Dept. of Human Rights. They handle claims on behalf of HUD in Illinois. well in Dec we found a place to go 3 days before being homeless. We were so grateful and happy a 4 bedroom house, jacuzzi tub, full basement huge fenced in backyard. Our excitement quickly went to terror when our landlord turned out to be slumlord ghetto style. She not only refused to fix serious safety concerns with electrical, plumbing, and structural defects. Lisa actually fell through a basement stair and got a nice big ugly bruise. we had to fix the stair the landlord refused to. We charged the landlord $100 for replacing the 2 stairs and the landing which were so rotted i do not know how they did not fall sooner. We by this time had notice many safety concerns and fire hazards which the landlord refused to fix. and threatened to evict us for making the repairs. Luckily I had contacted the fire dept. and they did a walk through, the police dept. also had seen the unsafe conditions. Being the way i am I refused to just sit and wait any longer. Out of fear of something bad happening to y family I made many desperately needed repairs to the property The landlord will be getting a bill for the repairs as In Illinois thier is a right to repair act which covers this situation.
Anyhow today I went to the county board because in the course of this situation I discovered the lack of a residential building code. No building inspector to call. The city of Canton has a police officer who handles code enforcement. The poor guy would quickly be overwhelmed had all the code violations occurring actually been reported. Despite retaliatory eviction laws landlords usually successfully evict tenants who complain about unsafe conditions. This evening I went in sat in on the city council meeting and it was very informational. I challenge everyone who reads this to go to your next city council meeting it is not as boring as people would have you believe. I typed a letter to the city council and provided pictures of some of the violations of the gash and bruise to my leg when i feel through a rotten spot in the floor of the kitchen. Thank God the council was presently hearing a motion on establishing a building code and inspections. I have been granted access to speak next Tuesday at the next board meeting. So wish me luck. I am pleased that the city is working on fixing this flaw and look forward to working with them in developing a policy. I love this city. All of you out there living in unsafe conditions stand up and talk to your local government they do wish to help you as it is the reason they are elected. To all you landlords out there Keep your property up to code and safe at the very least. It is inhumane to put people in a position of danger and charge them for it.
Until next time
Brad Smith
