The Tinley Park Village Board voted Tuesday to take legal action against several residents who officials allege are violating several codes, living with 19 dogs, a dead turtle, feces and rodents in an unsafe condition.

The board asked attorneys to seek a court order authorizing the repair of the alleged “dangerous” building on the east side of the village.

Michael Coleman, community development director, said the village’s intention is not for the building to be demolished but repaired and cleaned for the elderly residents who live there and have “debilitating” health concerns.

He said the residents’ daughter and grandson live in the house and that he has tried to work with them. But he said they have not remediated two code violations, even though he gave them 60 days to do so, have not shown up in court and have had physical confrontations with code enforcement officers.

Coleman said when he visited the property, fleas were flying around his head even as he stood six feet from the door.

“You’re breathing that in, it’s all very, it’s bad,” he said. “I felt bad for them because it’s like you got, they’re grandparents, they can’t move around.”

Coleman said there is no structural problem with the home, but the issues is the condition of its floors, its walls and the animals.

He said body camera footage from officers responding to a non-emergency call in the home revealed the depth of the issues inside the property. He said neither he, nor any code enforcement officers, can enter the home under local law.

One code violation prohibits residents from having more than three animals and two additional animals up to three months of age in one household.

While he said two animals were retrieved out of the house with the help of a Cook County animal control officer along with the Public Works Department and code enforcement inspectors, the rest of the dogs remain.

He said the residents recently had a new litter of puppies, which will soon grow out of that three-month exception.

Coleman also said the 25-foot accessibility ramp at the house is over the right of way and blocks a public works water main. He said his staff is being more lenient on this issue, as its the only way for the grandmother to access the house.

He said he asked the residents to reconfigure the ramp when the weather gets better and place it on their property, instead of the right of way.

Olivia DeVivo, one of the neighbors living next to the property under fire from the village, said Wednesday the residents have threatened, harassed and sworn at her and her husband multiple times.

She said the residents backed into the side of her house, which she said the residents fixed after a few months.

She also said the residents’ dogs often leave their property and charge her on her own property while she is on the front porch or even taking out the recycling.

“It’s scary, it’s scary to even think about taking my garbage out when its dark out because I don’t know if they’re outside,” she said.

As a first time homeowner, she said it’s is frustrating to pay $9,000 in property taxes every year and for these alleged issues to continue for so long, ever since they moved onto the property in July 2023.

She said she would like village officials to penalize the residents and hold them accountable, even evict them if necessary. She said it is not fair if the residents are continuously given fines that they do not pay.

Coleman said village officials recently issued several fines against the residents, but he said if the property is remediated, the fines will be removed.

“I have no intentions of hurting them this way, I just want to get the house cleaned for the elderly residents living in there,” he said.

Coleman said the residents agreed to remediate the property when the issues first came up, but that was months ago, he said, and the property has not been improved.

Trustee Ken Shaw said he would like village officials to take the issue as far as needed to make sure the property is fully remediated. He also requested clarity on what the village is legally authorized to do about the situation.

“While it’s important for us to respect the rights of the residents here in town, I want to make sure we’re not missing something because we’re tiptoeing,” he said.

Trustee Michael Mueller said he was concerned about keeping the property maintained, even if it is remediated.

“Is this throwing good money at a bad situation,” he said. “I’m all for cleaning it up and helping out, but I don’t know what other recourses we have, but we should be looking at something else because it’s not going to stay clean.”

Shaw also said that dealing with the situation is not only about the safety of residents in the situation, but also to help establish protocols for the village to better respond to similar situations.

“Fortunately we’re not having these every day of the week, but I fear that they may increase,” he said.

awright@chicagotribune.com

https://www.chicagotribune.com/2026/02/18/tinley-park-court-action-against-residents/