The basement at 5304 S. New England has been transformed into a pinball and video arcade by the house’s new owner. --A photo posted by the owner to airbnb.com
‘Mario’s Pad’ stays, for now
Neighbors vow vigilance over short-term rental
By Tim Hadac
The short-term rental of the single-family home at 5304 S. New England (listed as “Mario’s Pad” on airbnb.com) will continue for the weeks and months ahead, despite the objections of some of its neighbors.
The property’s owner, 30-year-old David Anthony Williams, accepted an invitation last week to meet privately with 23rd Ward Ald. Silvana Tabares, herself an opponent of short-term rentals of single-family homes and other residential properties.
“The meeting went well,” Tabares told the Clear-Ridge Reporter & NewsHound late last week. “It was good to meet him and share with him the views I’ve heard from many people who live on that block and in the immediate area.”
Those views include fears that 5304 will essentially become a party house and possible a menace to the well-being of the neighborhood.
“How will any of us know who [Williams] is renting to, and when?” asked one neighbor who requested that his name not be disclosed. “The renters may be just a group of nice people; but on the other hand, it could be a bunch of gangbangers having an all-night party. Nobody knows.
“We work hard to live in a nice neighborhood, a quiet neighborhood, a stable neighborhood,” he continued. “Now we have to put up with this? No. This is unacceptable.”
Williams purchased the property in May, applied for and obtained a short-term rental license from the Chicago Department of Business Affairs and Consumer Protection and then registered with airbnb.com.
He has said he is a responsible property owner dedicated to being a good neighbor, and that he has done everything legally and above board.
Tabares said she is proceeding with a petition drive to ban short-term rentals in the precinct that includes 5304. She planned to submit petitions to BACP this week, which will start a 30-day review process. Assuming the petitions pass muster, the proposal to ban short-term rentals in the precinct will be introduced into City Council. At the earliest, short-term rentals will be banned in the precinct sometime in October—although it would not be retroactive.
Regarding 5304, Tabares urged neighbors to remain vigilant. Anyone who spots illegal activity or suspects it is advised to call 911 (not 311) to report it, and then call Tabares’ office at (773) 582-4444 to alert her staff.
If enough legitimate complaints are made, Tabares said, Williams could be summoned to an administrative hearing with BACP in City Hall, possibly resulting in the revocation of his license.
To date, she said, there has been just one 911 call made in recent weeks, regarding 5304—according to what police have said.
Mario’s Pad is listed on airbnb.com at a rate of $899 a night, with a two-night minimum. After fees are added, the rate jumps to near $1,100 a night. The listing has a clearly stated prohibition on parties, events and indoor smoking.
“I think the price itself is an indication that you won’t see lowlife gangbangers renting it,” said another neighbor, who also asked that his identity not be disclosed. “Why don’t these neighbors raising such a fuss mind their own business? [Williams] is doing everything legally.”
Tabares said she is “very upset” with the process by which property owners obtain BACP licenses to rent houses. She said that so many other things homeowners want to do that require city permits—everything from putting an addition on a home to building a driveway to even having a block party—take longer than getting a BACP short-term rental license.
Sitting in on the meeting at Tabares’ office was Garfield Ridge Neighborhood Watch President Al Cacciottolo.
“The alderman ran the meeting well,” he said. “She was very authoritative and made it clear what the community expects [of Williams]. Garfield Ridge is a place where people watch out for each other. We protect each other and each other’s property. That was made very clear. I don’t expect any problems going forward.”
5 Comments
Local News
If you’re young, grab the baton
Spread the loveBy Joan Hadac Your correspondent in Clearing and Garfield Ridge (708) 496-0265 • joan.hadac@gmail.com If you’re a young adult in Clearing or Garfield Ridge—or even a middle-aged man or woman—it’s easy to look at the senior citizens leading our local civic leagues or neighborhood watches and assume it’s always been that way. But you’d…
Campaign 2022: Garfield Ridge man to run for state senate
Spread the loveMcGill to focus on law enforcement issues By Bob Bong As it turns out, Democratic state Senate candidate Mike Porfirio looks like he will face a Republican challenger in November’s general election. Porfirio, a Lyons Township trustee, had filed to run for the 11th Illinois Senate seat on the same day incumbent Sen. Steve…
Hale and hearty
Spread the loveCommunity garden grows at Clearing school By Dermot Connolly The community garden at Hale School that was expanded through a partnership with United Business Association of Midway and other local non-profit organizations is growing in more ways than one this summer. Besides all the vegetables and herbs planted this year that are now…
Villanueva to host back to school resource fair on Friday
Spread the loveThe new school year is right around the corner and to prepare students as they head back to the classroom, state Senator Celina Villanueva is giving away free school supplies at a back to school resource fair on Friday, Aug. 12. The back to school resource fair will take place from 4-7 p.m.…
‘Coach Q’ era begins at Brother Rice
Spread the loveBy Jeff Vorva Staff Writer You might say the man they call “Coach Q” was as cool as a Q-cumber on the first day of high school football practice for the 2022 season. As an assistant coach, Casey Quedenfeld helped Episcopal High School in Texas win a private school state championship in 2019.…
Neighbors rally against ‘Mario’s Pad’
Spread the loveLaunch petition drive against home rentals By Tim Hadac At first glance, the single-family home at 5304 S. New England appears to fit in perfectly in Garfield Ridge: nicely appointed and neatly manicured. But after it was sold a few months ago and then listed (as “Mario’s Pad”) for rent on airbnb.com for…
Area Sports Roundup: Saint Xavier football tabbed 11th in preseason rankings
Spread the loveBy Jeff Vorva Staff Writer Saint Xavier’s football team has something to feel lucky about. The Cougars are ranked No. 11 in the preseason NAIA Football FirstDown PlayBook Top 25 Preseason Coaches’ Poll. That’s a number to which people around the school have taken a liking. “Hopefully 11 is our lucky number and…
Pro Soccer Report: Milazzo’s first goal at SeatGeek helps Red Stars snap skid
Spread the loveBy Jeff Vorva Staff Writer At one time in early July, the Chicago Red Stars were tied with San Diego for the most points in the NWSL. For most of the month they hung around second place, but after ending July with a two-game losing streak, they entered Sunday’s home game against Gotham…
Yet another artistic triumph for the Boitsov School
Spread the loveBy Joan Hadac Your correspondent in Clearing and Garfield Ridge (708) 496-0265 • joan.hadac@gmail.com Have you ever been excited about seeing a great film, concert, stage performance or sporting event—so much so that you marked it in red ink on your calendar, months in advance—only to miss it? That’s what happened to me recently,…
Neighbors
Capitol Briefs: Senate advances elections bill, measure targeting ‘predatory’ lending
By PETER HANCOCK & HANNAH MEISEL Capitol News Illinois news@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – A bill that would put more controls on certain kinds of high-cost loans to small businesses cleared the Illinois Senate Thursday. Senate Bill 2234, known as the Small Business Financial Transparency Act, targets a relatively new kind of nontraditional lender in the credit…
Law enforcement community honors fallen officers at Illinois Capitol
By COLE LONGCOR Capitol News Illinois clongcor@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – Six fallen police officers were honored at an annual memorial service outside the State Capitol Thursday. The Illinois Police Officers Memorial occurs annually on the first Thursday of May to honor officers who died in the line of duty and to support their families. “No one…
Democrats muscle through changes to ballot access, advisory questions
By JERRY NOWICKI HANNAH MEISEL & PETER HANCOCK Capitol News Illinois news@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – Supermajority Democrats in the Illinois House moved quickly Wednesday to push through a change to state election laws that partially limits ballot access and adds three nonbinding referendums to the 2024 general election ballot. It’s a move that caused minority party…
After 3 years, state poised to enforce law aiming to end lending discrimination
By PETER HANCOCK Capitol News Illinois phancock@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – In 1977, then-President Jimmy Carter signed into law the Community Reinvestment Act, a federal law that sought to wipe away the last vestiges of racial discrimination and redlining in America’s home mortgage industry. The idea was simple. By requiring lenders – primarily banks – to make…
Capitol News Illinois partners with ‘Illinois Lawmakers’ program to bring it back to air
Capitol News Illinois announced today it will produce the long-running “Illinois Lawmakers” program this spring, in partnership with longtime host and producer Jak Tichenor. “This new partnership is absolutely critical to providing Illinois residents with reliable, independent, in-depth, up to date coverage from the Illinois Capitol after many newspapers and broadcasters shuttered their Statehouse bureaus over…
Election officials to weigh whether Darren Bailey and GOP operative Dan Proft illegally coordinated
By ANDREW ADAMS & HANNAH MEISEL Capitol News Illinois news@capitolnewsillinois.com CHICAGO – A year and a half after Republican Darren Bailey lost his campaign to challenge Gov. JB Pritzker, state election officials are weighing whether he illegally colluded with conservative radio show host and political operative Dan Proft in the 2022 campaign. The State Board…
Immigrant advocates tout new report showing benefits of state-funded health plans
By PETER HANCOCK and JERRY NOWICKI Capitol News Illinois news@capitolnewsillinois.com SPRINGFIELD – Immigrant rights advocates on Friday continued to push for one of their top budget priorities: full funding for state-run health care programs that benefit noncitizens, regardless of their immigration status. Those programs offer health coverage for low-income individuals who would otherwise qualify for…
As state continues to inventory lead pipes, full replacement deadlines are decades away
By COLE LONGCOR Capitol News Illinois Clongcor@capitolnewsillinois.com Lead pipes in public water systems and drinking fixtures have been banned in new construction since 1986, when Congress amended the Safe Drinking Water Act, but they are still in use across the U.S. and in Illinois. The presence of lead pipes has persisted due in part to…
Capitol Briefs: State unveils report on racial disparities among homeless populations
By ANDREW ADAMS Capitol News Illinois aadams@capitolnewsillinois.com Tackling homelessness requires addressing racial injustice, according to a new report commissioned by the state’s Office to Prevent and End Homelessness. The report found that Black people are eight times more likely to experience homelessness than white people. Remedying this disparity, according to the report, would require “long-term…
Flooding is Illinois’ Most Threatening Natural Disaster. Are We Prepared?
by Meredith Newman, Illinois Answers Project April 16, 2024 This story was originally published by the Illinois Answers Project. The electricity in Mary Buchanan’s home in West Garfield Park was not working – again. The outage lasted four days, starting just after a crew dug up her front lawn to install a check valve in…
“Lowlife gangbangers” can afford a lot of things due to their illegal drug sales income and fraudulent credit card scams.
If I had the funds I would rent this place. I love pinball. I think with the amount of pressure placed on the owner all will be well. There are plenty of other people causing trouble in the district to worry about. I wish him well.
I agree with the other neighbor. Mind your own business. 899 a night is not going to bring in lowlifes. The host can also can approve who stays in an Airbnb by reviewing their account history. Neighborhood has other issues that are more important.
The Neighborhood has other issues that are more important. The nightly rate definitely will not bring in lowlifes.
Sure Shelia and I’m sure the first place they are looking for is an Airbnb with pinball and arcade games in a neighborhood filled with police. Certainly they have an Airbnb account with stellar reviews too to be approved. Be realistic and stop drinking the koolaid.