BELLEVILLE, Ill. – People who live at a senior living facility in St. Clair County lost their water after the landlord did not pay the bill.
College student Jaylen Neal starts most of his days at The Cottages at Cathedral Square in Belleville.
“I came in this morning to get my grandmother ready for her daily activities. She goes to a day center for most days,” he said.
The Cottages is an affordable residential community with about 32 apartments for the elderly; some of whom pay using Section 8 vouchers.
“It’s frustrating. These are elderly people. A lot of them don’t have much means in terms of getting themselves taken care of on their own,” Neal said.
Illinois American Water told FOX 2 that it shut off the water because the management company did not pay the bill. While the company cannot discuss individual customer accounts, we asked Illinois American Water about its shutoff policy.
“Normally, there is a full week’s notice between final notice and shutoff. For example, a disconnect notice is mailed July 30; we call the customer on August 6 to advise of a pending shutoff,” spokesperson Terry Mackin said.
“Before a final notice is issued, a customer receives communications from us about the account being past due and not being paid. Shutoff is an absolute last resort. We have programs in place to help our customers, including payment plans. Both residential and commercial customers can enroll in a payment plan. We can work together to avoid shutoffs.”
The property is managed by a company called RMS Chicago. The local property manager directed FOX 2 to a regional manager. FOX 2 could not get ahold of a regional manager, so we called the corporate office in Chicago. We were told no comment. So, Neal took matters into his own hands.
“I went out and got probably about six cases for the residents inside of the apartments just so they have some drinking water,” he said.
As of 3 p.m. Monday, water was flowing again.
“This has a daily effect. This is their dishes, their cooking, their showers, their bathing, laundry even. It’s sad that they have to deal with this,” Neal said.
The St. Clair County Housing Authority tells FOX 2 that it is following up to make sure problems are resolved.
