It has finally come to this. Park Forest officials have imposed an “or else” deadline of this Friday to the management company of Autumn Ridge Apartments by calling for the sale of the problem-filled property to another entity. If not, says Village Manager Jon Kindseth, the village will demand a receiver be appointed by the Will County courts to collect rents and administer the complex. The move is about time, especially in the light of the village’s condemnation of one of the large apartment house units whose residents were forced to endure a recent spate of brutal cold weather without heat. As of this writing, the 17 tenants of the 80-unit building were moved to motels in both Oak Forest and Matteson, with the struggling management company covering all costs. In a recent news release, the village said a broken boiler in the apartment building became a “public safety issue that can’t be ignored,” and that “the village cares and is concerned about its residents.” Other buildings, it was noted, “have continued to experience problems recently” that led to the village taking “additional action.” The condemnation of an entire building is the latest insult heaped upon residents of the beleaguered 388 apartment and townhouse units which village officials claim to be about one-third occupied. During the past summer, residents were forced to swelter in 100-degree weather without the benefit of working air conditioners. At the time there was talk of new ownership taking control of the complex, but now, a metaphorical bandage has been applied to a large bullet wound that has been festering in the community for more than a decade. Village officials who inherited the problem took up a cry for a solution at any cost. Park Forest Mayor Joe Woods said “residents at Autumn Ridge Apartments are furious and fed  up— and they have every right to be. So am I. That is why I am working hand in hand with village staff to hold the property owners fully accountable.” Woods said the condemnation of one building, requiring the owners to provide temporary housing for displaced residents and pursuing legal action to force a sale of this property, is just a start. “No one in Park Forest should be forced to live without dignity or basic respect,” he said. “I will continue to closely monitor this situation and will not stop demanding accountability and justice for our residents.” Trustee Randall White said what is happening is unacceptable, inhumane and deeply troubling. “This is not neglect — this is a failure of responsibility,” he said, pointing a finger at the property owners. “You have a moral and legal obligation to provide safe and livable housing, and instead, families have been ignored, displaced, and left to suffer.” It was less than one month ago that we again wrote about unheated apartments in winter, broken air conditioning units in the summer, stolen mail, elevators that do not move, doors that do not close and leaky roofs. The once-attractive swimming pool has been closed since the COVID-19 pandemic. In one of our essays, we included a photo taken by Woods of mushrooms growing in a soggy hall carpet. Residents pay their water bills to management, but somehow Park Forest is still owed $900,000 in water bills. For legally mandated health and safety reasons, however, the village cannot turn off the spigots. Chicago television stations recently reported on these ongoing and seemingly unending dismal tales of woe, and most recently included the tale of an unnamed resident who claims his service dog that helps him cope with medical issues froze to death in his unheated apartment. After all these woes to the human psyche are detailed and noted, told and retold, we are reminded of  the movie “Network” and of its central character, a mad news broadcaster who urged his listeners to express their outrage of a fractured society by opening a window and yelling “I’m mad as hell and I’m not going to take this anymore.” Finally. We heard. Jerry Shnay is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown. ...read more read less