James Grabowski
Acting Village Manager
The Village of Wheeling, Illinois
255 West Dundee Rd.
Wheeling, IL 60090
Dear Mr. Grabowski,
I am a tenant of Village Green Apartments, and recently received a letter from their Assistant Property Manager regarding a scheduled inspection by the Village of Wheeling on April 9, 2002. The letter requests that I sign a "Consent to Rental Residential Inspection" which allows the Village of Wheeling to obtain entry to my residence, in order to conduct an inspection regarding unspecified "deficiencies" noted by the Village of Wheeling.
I would like to thank the Village of Wheeling for their concern about these alleged deficiencies. However, I expressly forbid any employee or agent of the Village of Wheeling to enter and inspect my residence in matters related to Chapter 4.84 of the Wheeling Municipal Code. I would like for you to review the following text from the 4th Amendment from the Bill of Rights, contained in the U.S. Constitution:
The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.
I am certainly willing to allow an employee of Village Green Apartments to jointly inspect with me any "deficiencies" on a mutually agreeable date, provided that you submit a written request itemizing the "deficiencies" which need to be corrected. If any employee or agent of the Village of Wheeling attempts to enter my residence in matters related to Chapter 4.84 of the Wheeling Municipal Code, you should expect that I may take legal action against anyone who authorizes, executes, or assists in this "inspection".
Sincerely,
Brent Hanson
cc: Nancy Hopkins, Village Green Apartments
Misty Fisher, Village Green Apartments
Village of Wheeling
Department of Community Development
111111 S. Northgate Parkway
Wheeling, IL 60090
May 1, 2002
RE: Rental residential licensing inspection
Dear Mr. Hanson:
Your letter of March 27, 2002 was forwarded to me because I oversee the rental residential licensing activities of the Village of Wheeling. I hope that your concerns can be abated and the inspection processes concluded.
The rental residential licensing program has been in place for over three years in Wheeling. This program is intended to protect public health and safety by insuring rental units comply with minimum housing standards of the Village of Wheeling. The inspection consists of an interior inspection of a percentage of the dwelling units located at a rental property, as well checking the exterior property areas of a rental property, and common use areas as applicable. Although it is not a comprehensive list of the items checked, I have enclosed a copy of our property maintenance guide [no he didn't] for you to look over to gain insight into the scope of items that we review. When problems are found, they are reported to the property owners, or in this case property managers, with direction to correct the problem(s), a date by which the work must be completed and a reinspection performed.
Our records indicate the presence of code violations at your unit from an inspection conducted on January 17, 20022. They consists of open/uncovered electrical outlets and a blow down pipe for the pressure relief valve on the water heater that is smaller than the diameter of the pressure relief valve opening. Because these code violations were found, the property management company should not have allowed the unit to be occupied prior to it being rechecked for compliance. Since they did, we would simply like to verify the correction of these items and complete licensing process. I would apprecia6te being able to allow our inspector to conduct a reinspection by or before May 16, 20022 to conclude the licensing process for this facility. We are required to conduct the inspections and view the corrections ourselves.
If you have any questions regarding this matter, I would appreciate it if you would contact me so I can answer any concerns that you have on this matter. You can reach me at (847) 459-2621.
Sincerely,
Michael G. Boyle LEHP/CCEO
Village Health Officer
C: Misty Fisher, Village Green Management Co.
Well we have plenty of time left.