Housing

Uncertain TIMES: State cuts jeopardize program for homeless men

Submitted by Dan Petrella on Mon, 2011-10-24 14:23

By Dan Petrella/CU-CitizenAccess -- On an average night last year, nearly 60 homeless men didn't have to sleep on the streets of Champaign-Urbana thanks to the TIMES Center.

But like so many other service providers in Illinois, the transitional housing program for homeless men, located near downtown Champaign, faces an uncertain future as a result of the state’s ongoing fiscal morass. In the state budget that took effect July 1, the TIMES Center, 70 E. Washington St., saw grant funding from the Illinois Department of Human Services and the Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity slashed by a combined $95,000, officials said.

Dan Petrella/CU-CitizenAccess -- The TIMES Center, a Champaign transitional shelter for homeless men, faces an uncertain future due to the state's on going monetary woes.

Public housing residents begin to move

Submitted by pdempsey on Mon, 2011-09-12 12:30

CHAMPAIGN --- For Daphne Dalton, her move from Joann Dorsey Homes to a three-bedroom rental near Kirby Street and Mattis Avenue was a good one.

But it would not have happened unless the Housing Authority of Champaign County had reconsidered and raised the amount that its vouchers would pay for rent, residents said.

“This house we’ve got now, that’s the nicest house we’ve ever lived in, it’s the nicest neighborhood we ever lived in . I’m happy they raised the vouchers,” said the 20-year single mom.

Pam G. Dempsey/CU-CitizenAccess/A U-Haul truck sits outside a building at Joann Dorsey Homes apartment complex Sept. 1, 2011. Dozens of residents have moved from the property following an increase in rental vouchers.

Public housing residents have hard time finding new places to live

Submitted by pdempsey on Wed, 2011-07-27 16:49

By Pam G. Dempsey, CU-CitizenAccess.org and Sean Powers, Illinois Public Media/ CHAMPAIGN --- About a dozen residents from Joann Dorsey Homes and Dunbar Court protested outside of the Champaign County Housing Authority Wednesday to bring to light the troubles they have had finding a new place to live. (Read their letter here)

Their protest had the intended effect - a meeting with housing authority officials within the next week or so and increased help to find a place to live.

Pam G. Dempsey/CU-CitizenAccess/Public housing residents protest outside of the Champaign County Housing Authority offices next to the Virginia Theatre Wednesday, July 27, 2011.

Temporary restraining order extended for building at Cherry Orchard

Submitted by pdempsey on Fri, 2011-07-15 17:59

Housing

By Pam G. Dempsey/CU-CitizenAccess.org - A Champaign County judge extended a temporary restraining order Friday that gives public health officials the power to keep one building at an unsafe apartment complex north of Thomasboro closed.

Judge John Kennedy granted a 10-day restraining order late last week after several witnesses testified that at least one building on the Cherry Orchard Village apartment complex is still being rented.

Shadow Wood: Storm shelters scarce for local neighborhood

Submitted by CU Citizen Access on Fri, 2011-07-08 18:21

By Jose Diaz/For CU-CitizenAccess/CHAMPAIGN – Every time the National Weather Service issues a storm warning, Heidi Zavaleta has to decide where to seek shelter. She can stay at home, go to the mall or drive to the nearest hospital.

Most of the time she simply stays at home.

Zavaleta lives in Shadow Wood Mobile Home Park, a trailer home community in northern Champaign. She knows that mobile homes are not safe during storms but staying at home is safer than what most of her neighbors do.

“Most of them just go underneath the interstate’s bridge,” she said.

By Jose Diaz/For CU-CitizenAccess/Residents of mobile homes, like this one at Shadow Wood Mobile Home Park in Champaign, account for 43 percent of tornado-related deaths, according to the National Weather Service. The nearest public building that can provide shelter for Shadow Wood residents during a tornado 24 hours a day is Carle Foundation Hospital, located 2 miles away.

County health officials begin eviction process at Cherry Orchard

Submitted by CU Citizen Access on Fri, 2011-07-08 17:43

By Dave Hinton/Rantoul Press/Champaign-Urbana Public Health District officials, accompanied by sheriff’s deputies, went door to door at a rural apartment complex Friday afternoon to inform tenants that they had until Saturday morning to vacate the premises.

Julie Pryde, public health administrator, said many tenants at Cherry Orchard Village apartment complex were not at home, and some did not open their doors.

File photo/ A building at Cherry Orchard apartment complex. A Champaign County judge ordered the complex closed in April, but its managers, Bernard and Eduardo Ramos, continue to rent out units on the property. Champaign County health officials received a temporary injunction Thursday that allows them to evict tenants from the property to stop the use of a broken sewage system that left raw sewage on the ground and in neighboring areas.

Cherry Orchard tenants to be evicted; managers ordered jailed

Submitted by pdempsey on Thu, 2011-07-07 10:35

Pam G. Dempsey/CU-CitizenAccess/A Champaign County judge granted a temporary restraining order Thursday that gives public health officials the power to evict tenants living at an unsafe apartment complex north of Thomasboro. The judge also ordered the managers jailed until the complex’s problems are repaired.

The action follows a previous court hearing in April in which Bernard and Eduardo Ramos, managers of the Cherry Orchard Village apartment complex, were ordered in April to close down the property. In addition, they were fined more than $54,000 following the conclusion of a civil case filed by the Champaign-Urbana Public Health District.

Court file/This diagram shows the flow of sewage from six of the eight buildings that make up the Cherry Orchard apartment complex.

Cars, tenants still observed at Cherry Orchard

Submitted by CU Citizen Access on Wed, 2011-06-29 06:43

By Pam G. Dempsey/CU-CitizenAccess / It’s been six weeks since a Champaign County judge ordered the closure of an apartment complex between Rantoul and Thomasboro.

But public health officials say people continue to live there. Indeed, as of Thursday, there were several cars parked in front of a far east building, which had a new dumpster nearby and kids playing in the yard.

The first collection buildings in the complex, known as Cherry Orchard, looks empty from the main highway – County Road 1500 East. There appears to be no cars and no people.

A.H. Gorton

Taxpayers pick up the tab for many neglectful property owners

Submitted by pdempsey on Tue, 2011-06-28 18:43

Housing

By Pam G. Dempsey, CU-CitizenAccess.org and Daniel Mueller/For CU-CitizenAccess.org/ Neglectful property owners in Champaign and Urbana have left their fellow citizens with more than un-mowed lawns, deteriorating houses and yard trash.

They also have left a hefty cleanup bill.

Pam G. Dempsey/ Loose litter is seen in the parking lot and tall grass and weeds grow around the former Niro's Gyros restaurant on the corner of Third and Green streets on June 22, 2011. A Champaign city inspector noticed the problems while driving by and attempted to contact the owner. The owner failed to respond to city notices and the property was cleaned up by a contractor over the weekend.

Urbana tenants struggle to find new homes

Submitted by CU Citizen Access on Fri, 2011-05-13 14:57

By Jose Diaz/For CU-CitizenAccess/URBANA – Ashlee Bituin lives with her 4-year-old son and is eight months pregnant with her second child. Her doctor has told her she cannot work.

On Dec. 15, 2010, she signed a one-year lease at Urbana Townhomes, located in the 1000 block of South Lierman Avenue in Urbana. Just three months later, she received a letter from the city of Urbana notifying her that the apartment building where she was living had been condemned. She had one month to vacate the apartment.

Jose Diaz/Clemmie Pettigrew, her two children and Ashlee Bituin stand outside Pettigrew’s apartment. Pettigrew has 3 children and is unemployed. She had to move to Memphis to live with her family. Bituin is 8 months pregnant and cannot work. She had to move in with friends and will start looking for a place of her own after she has her baby and can go back to work.

Arrest warrant issued for father-son landlord team

Submitted by pdempsey on Thu, 2011-05-05 17:05

Housing

By Pam G. Dempsey/CU-CitizenAccess/A Champaign County judge issued two warrants Thursday for a father-son landlord team who have failed to comply with court orders to empty out an apartment complex in Champaign County.

Judge John Kennedy issued a civil contempt warrant and a criminal contempt warrant for both Bernard Ramos and his father, Eduardo. The arrest warrants each include a $10,000 bond. If arrested, the judge requires that the Ramoses post the full amount - a total of $20,000 each - rather than the typical 10 percent before they can be released.

Courtesy photo/A building at Cherry Orchard Apartment

Cherry Orchard landlords fined; ordered to vacate problem property

Submitted by pdempsey on Mon, 2011-04-18 13:49

Housing

By Pam G. Dempsey, CU-CitizenAccess, and Sean Powers, Illinois Public Media -- A Champaign County judge fined a father-son landlord team more than $54,000 Monday in a three-and-a-half-year-old public health department case at an apartment complex in Champaign County. (Read order here)

Bernard Ramos and his father, Eduardo, have six months to pay the fines as well as court costs and were also ordered to vacate the Cherry Orchard apartment complex immediately.

Following the ruling, Bernard Ramos submitted a notice of appeal to the assistant state’s attorney.

File photo/Arial view of Cherry Orchard.

Cherry Orchard still open for business despite health and safety problems

Submitted by pdempsey on Sat, 2011-04-09 16:36

By Pam G. Dempsey, CU-CitizenAccess.org, and Sean Powers, Illinois Public Media - An apartment complex south of Rantoul continues to be open for business despite numerous health and safety issues, a pending public health case and county nuisance violations.

Though occupancy at the property, known as Cherry Orchard, is unknown, public health officials estimated at least eight single men continue to live there and have noted several cars parked outside apartment buildings.

Acton Gorton/The entrance to Cherry Orchard apartment complex. The landlords of the property are scheduled to stand a bench trial today in a three-and-a-half year old civil case filed by the Champaign-Urbana Public Health Department. The landlords are accused of failing to repair an illegal septic system on the property.

Witnesses tell of ongoing sewage problems at Cherry Orchard

Submitted by The News-Gazette on Sat, 2011-04-09 06:31

By Dave Hinton/Rantoul Press editor — An official with an Urbana wastewater treatment company said he saw raw sewage on top of the ground and children running through it at an apartment building complex.

Steve Johnson, president of J&S Wastewater Systems Inc., testified this week in the trial of Eduardo and Bernard Ramos, managers of Cherry Orchard apartments, located between Rantoul and Thomasboro.

The bench trial before Judge John Kennedy is expected to wrap up Monday at Champaign County Courthouse. The Ramoses, who are representing themselves, will present defense testimony.

Acton Gorton/ Gutters hang off an apartment building at Cherry Orchard complex.

Problems persist at Rantoul-area complex

Submitted by CU Citizen Access on Thu, 2011-02-17 15:42

By Dave Hinton/ Rantoul Press
Inspectors for the Office of the Illinois State Fire Marshal were scheduled to examine a dilapidated apartment complex south of Rantoul Tuesday.

But there was one problem: The caretakers who were scheduled to open the Cherry Orchard apartment units for inspection apparently left the scene just minutes before the scheduled inspection.

Julie Pryde, director of the Champaign County Public Health District, said a county sheriff’s deputy stationed near the entrance saw who was believed to be Bernard and Eduardo Ramos leave about 10 minutes prior to the scheduled inspection.

Andrew Richards/Rantoul Press/ John Hall, Champaign County’s director of planning and zoning, aims his camera at a rail located in an apartment stairwell at the Cherry Orchard complex in rural Rantoul Feb. 15. The rickety rail was a code violation. Hall, along with Illinois fire marshal inspectors and the county’s health department, scanned for code violations at the complex’s eight buildings located in rural Rantoul.

Audio: Volunteers count local homeless population

Submitted by Dan Petrella on Fri, 2011-01-28 16:33

Every two years during the last week of January, communities across the country try to answer a difficult question: How many people are living without permanent shelter?

This point in time survey is the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development’s effort to determine the number of homeless people nationwide and understand more about their characteristics.

CU-CitizenAccess reporter Dan Petrella went along Thursday night on this year’s count in Champaign-Urbana.

This story was produced in cooperation with Illinois Public Media.

Acton Gorton/CU-CitizenAccess/Restoration Urban Ministries is one Champaign-Urbana's homeless shelters. It doesn't receive funding from the Department of Housing and Urban Development.

Trial delayed in Rantoul-area apartment sewer case

Submitted by pdempsey on Mon, 2011-01-24 15:02

By Pam G. Dempsey/CHAMPAIGN – The trial of a Champaign father-son landlord team scheduled for Monday has been continued to Feb. 28.

The pair, Bernard Ramos and his father, Eduardo, have yet to comply with an agreement they made with the Champaign County Public Health Department in December to vacate five of the eight buildings at Cherry Orchard Apartments, a complex south of Rantoul.

Rantoul Press/ A sign at Cherry Orchard apartments, south of Rantoul.

Cherry Orchard resident finds relief in move

Submitted by CU Citizen Access on Fri, 2011-01-21 00:40

By Dave Hinton/Rantoul Press — Hermalinda Cruz moved out of her apartment Thursday afternoon.

That’s not a newsworthy event under most circumstances. But for Cruz, it took a bit of courage and came with a sense of relief as she exited unsafe and unsanitary surroundings.

Cruz and three of her children were among the residents living at Cherry Orchard apartment complex in rural Rantoul, in conditions that Julie Pryde, administrator of the Champaign-Urbana Public Health District, called “appalling.”

CU-CitizenAccess/file photo. Cherry Orchard apartments.

No place to sleep: From eviction to shelter

Submitted by CU Citizen Access on Tue, 2011-01-18 12:55

Alissa Groeninger/CU-CitizenAccess — Valentino Plaza was born in Champaign but left when he was eight years old. His father was in the military and stationed in the county, but was soon out of his life.

Plaza and his mother moved back to Champaign a few years ago and were staying with her 96-year-old mother.

“My old neighborhood looks smaller,” Plaza said.

Unfortunately, Plaza’s grandma didn’t pay her taxes. After she died, Plaza and his mother were evicted.

While he has family here, he doesn’t see them.

“They’re right here and look where we are. They’re not offering to help us,” he said.

Darrell Hoemann/The News-Gazette/Valentino Plaza. Plaza has found temporary housing at Restoration Urbana Ministries, where he lives with his mother after they were evicted from their home.

No place to sleep: Woman struggles to find permanent home

Submitted by CU Citizen Access on Tue, 2011-01-18 12:47

Alissa Groeninger/CU-CitizenAccess — When Tina Lee’s home burned down last year, she and her children saw not only the house but their lives turn to ash.

“We lost everything,” Lee said.

She spent the night trying to find a place to sleep but couldn’t stay at a shelter because her teenage sons were with her.

There is no emergency shelter in Champaign County where a single mother with sons over 14 can stay. Also, her family is too big for a shelter – she lives with six of her children.

Lee and her family’s first option after the fire was to spend a few nights with her sister.

Darrell Hoemann/The News-Gazette/Tina Lee and her son, Pierre James. Lee and her family of six had a hard time finding emergency housing after a fire forced the family into homelessness.