'Everybody is passing the buck': Electrical problems at suburban trailer park leave residents hot and bothered
CHICAGO (CBS) -- Their air conditioners are on full blast, but residents of a south suburban mobile home community are still sweating.
They worried this would happen.
They say they've been complaining about a problem with their power supply for months. Morning Insider Lauren Victory digs into who is to blame for the toasty trailers.
It's doggone hot and dachshund Lucy Lu has ice in her water bowl. Her mom, Carol Dills, has been cooling off with frozen paper towels.
Mother Nature isn't the only cause of extreme heat at the River Point Mobile Home Community in Burnham. An electrical issue has been affecting power since April.
"Lights started flickering. I was like, 'What the heck?' I thought it was the lightbulbs. So of course, I unscrewed the light bulb and replaced it with a new one and it was still doing it," said Dills.
She demonstrated what happens when she turns the hair dryer on. The lights in her bathroom immediately turned off, then slowly faded back on but not at full power.
Her air conditioner is set to cool and high but it was blowing out room temperature air.
"These two trailers had the flickering lights. They both moved out. They couldn't take it anymore," said Dills walking the ground with CBS 2.
She pointed out an AC unit that belongs to disabled veteran who tossed it and spent $400 on a new one. He tells CBS 2 that he still has a power problem.
"It's unbearable. And it's seniors. Do they not understand that people can die in this heat?" said Dills.
We reached landlord Bill Jansma by phone who told us to call Champion Technology Services. Jansma paid that company a deposit to fix the issue in April, but no one has. He said the electrician doesn't call him back or give him a date to come to the site.
On the flipside, David Walton, the owner of Champion Technology Services, tells CBS 2 that he's sent his availability to Jansma multiple times over email. He also told us that the zaps Dills and others are experiencing require a repair that's too complicated for Champion Technology to repair.
Walton said a simpler fix requested by the landlord would only be a Band-Aid and it would require multiple days of dry weather to do.
Whatever the reason for the delay, Champion Technology is now walking away from the job - in a dispute with the landlord over our story.
"Everybody's passing the buck and I'm not getting anything solved," said Dills who planned to bring a panting Lucy Lu to a friend's home with better-working AC.
The mobile home park's power comes from an alternative supplier called AEP Energy.
That utility provider tells CBS 2 it is not responsible for maintenance of the power lines.
