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Village Free Press | June 13, 2018
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Broadview daycare in jeopardy as village moves to sell Precious Heart Daycare’s owner said has to be out of property by June 30
By IGOR STUDENKOV Contributing Reporter
For the last 13 years, Gloria Lynch has been operating Precious Heart Daycare out of a village-owned building at 2301 W. Roosevelt Road in Broadview. But now, the village is looking to sell the building and it wants Lynch out by June 30. In the meantime, Lynch said in an
BROADVIEW PUBLIC WORKS Issues resolved? from page 1 At the time, the I-Team reported that one public works employee had been suspended. In addition, the Cook County Inspector General and Broadview’s attorney both launched investigations into “whether a private auto repair business was run out of Broadview Public Works. The attorney was also “reviewing the conduct of Public Works Director Matt Ames after learning what the I-Team uncovered.” The ABC 7 investigation was televised less than two months after Thompson was elected to succeed former Broadview mayor and current trustee Sherman Jones. During a regular board meeting on Dec. 16 — when trustees were debating whether or not to authorize the “temporary and probationary” hiring of a part-time and fulltime laborer in the public works department — Thompson said that dealing with the scandal had consumed most of her attention when she first got into office. She said the two hires, in addition to a cashier, would be the first since she was elected last April. “We had two [public works] employees
interview last month, she’s been trying to secure a loan so that she can purchase the building herself. If that doesn’t happen, the livelihoods of nearly 100 people — from kids to employees — could be upended. Matt Ingersoll, Broadview’s special counsel, said that the village is trying to get out of the landlord business. “The village’s primary role is to provide services like picking up trash,” he said in a phone interview last month. “The role of a landlord – it’s a bit burdensome. It would be better if private citizens owned the property.” There has been some disagreement between village officials and Lynch about the leasing
terminated — one full-time and another part-time and we haven’t replaced them,” Thompson said. “They are needed in those departments. The department is shortstaffed.” At the time, a motion required for the authorization of Thompson’s three recommended hires failed for lack of a second. Since then, the board has approved the hiring of a full-time public works employee. At a March 19 regular meeting, the board voted unanimously to hire Jay Green as a new full-time employee in the department. But the status of other issues related to the public works scandal — such as the inquiry into the conduct of Ames, who still works for the village, and whether or not taxpayer funds were used for private repairs — is still murky, since village officials won’t release any details despite conceding that an internal investigation has closed. After a request for more information last month, Thompson confirmed that the investigation is closed but she didn’t provide any additional details into the matter. Matt Ingersoll, Broadview’s village attorney, also wrote in an email that he was also unable to speak about the investigation. And the public works department did not respond to calls seeking comment. In late May, Village Free Press filed a FOIA request with the village clerk’s office, asking for “any reports related to the conclusion of the internal investigation regarding the
arrangement Broadview had with Precious Heart. Ingersoll said that, to the best of his knowledge, the business had an annual lease with the village until Dec. 31, 2012. After that, the lease became month-to-month. Lynch, on the other hand, said that while there was an agreement about how much rent she would pay, the village never set anything down on paper. Both sides agree that her ability to pay rent wasn’t an issue. Lynch said that the village moved to evict her in December 2017. After she met with village staff members in February and May, the deadline was pushed back – first to the end of May and then to end of June. But deadlines can only be pushed back for so long, so Lynch has been trying to buy the property herself. She said that she tried to get a personal loan, but that didn’t work. Now, she’s trying to get a business loan. As of late last month, she did not know whether she had secured the loan or not. Ingersoll said that Broadview has no issue with Lynch buying the property, but it also
wanted to give other potential buyers an opportunity to purchase it. Lynch said that she hoped she’ll be the one who buys the property — for the sake of her employees and the families who rely on the daycare. She said she’s been operating Precious Heart in Broadview for 13 years, but has had the business for 20 years. She said that she’s put around $100,000 of her own money into making the space usable. Currently, Lynch said, the business employs 15 people and takes care of around 60 kids from Broadview, Maywood, Bellwood and other nearby suburbs. “With [the village] trying to rush it, it’s hard, because I’m trying not to lose my business,” she said. “And that’s a lot for [families] to deal with all of the sudden.” Multiple attempts to contact Lynch about the status of her business loan application and any alternative plans she may have for her business if she can’t remain at her current location were unsuccessful. CONTACT: thevillagefreepress@gmail.com
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CASE CLOSED?: After an ABC 7 I-Team report showed footage that appeared to be Broadview public works employees conducting private auto repairs, the village vowed to do its own investigation. The results, though, are still unknown..
MATT AMES
alleged misconduct of now-former employees of Broadview Public Works as documented by ABC 7 News in the spring of 2017.” In response to the records request, Clerk Kevin McGrier replied in an email on June 6 that the village “did not generate any reports related to the aforementioned
investigation.” Attempts to reach out to officials with the Cook County Inspector General on the status of that investigation into the Broadview Public Works department were unsuccessful. More as this story develops. CONTACT: thevillagefreepress@gmail.com