More than a dozen displaced tenants and their families are struggling after their Rolling Meadows condo building was destroyed by a fire.
The fire department said a 78-year-old man who was killed in the blaze was smoking while on oxygen on the 11th floor of Rolling Meadows, located in the 300 block of South Damen on March 4.
Most of their insurance is paying for one year of rent elsewhere, but it won’t last forever. Displaced resident on disability Frank Bruno said he will not have a place to go in March. “I'll be in my car,” he said.
“We're looking for help,” resident Teresa Dmochoski said. “If this is even legal to wait 8 months for approval. Someone is messing the job.”
“Someone is lying. Someone making money,” Dmochoski added.
Although the "Fountains on Carriageway" condos are inhabitable, residents say they all still pay their mortgages and association assessments.
“They have $500 almost for almost every family,” displaced resident Argie Karafotias said. “Where is this money? That's big money. Where is that money going? They're not doing anything.”
Both the Fountains of Carriageway and Associa Chicagoland emailed statements about the issue this week.
“The board members are equally as frustrated as the residents about the repairs being put on hold because of the delay in receiving claim funds from the insurance company,” Fountains of Carriageway Board President Pamela Urso said. “Thankfully, we learned that the claim has been processed and repairs should begin next week. The association has retained legal council to assure a fair and adequate dollar amount for the claim. Three of the five board members are without a home as well and all are working alongside the community management company to see that repairs are done as soon as possible.”
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“The community management company, the restoration company and the association board have been advocating for the residents and ready to move forward for several months,” Associa Chicagoland Vice President Annette Byrd said in a statement Wednesday. “Only today has the insurance company approved funds to begin demolition as early as next week. We realize that this situation has been extremely frustrating and a major inconvenience for the families and all others involved. Unfortunately, the insurance company’s approval was needed before this process could move forward.”
