The passage of a new state law empowering law enforcement to remove individuals who live illegally in residences has been enforced recently in Oak Lawn.
Trustee Alex Olejniczak (2nd) mentioned during the Oak Lawn Village Board meeting Tuesday night that the new law allows police to remove “squatters” who are criminally trespassing.
Olejniczak said with the passage of the new law, individuals were removed from a home they were residing in illegally recently. The Stop Squatters Act was signed into law by Gov. JB Pritzker last July and became law on Jan. 1.
Previously, squatters could continue to live at a residence they were living in illegally until a court order was made for their removal, which could take as long as six to eight months.
However, with the new law, Olejniczak said these squatters can be removed quickly without a lot of bureaucratic red tape.
“In our first attempt after the new squatter law we were able to get the squatters out right away,” Olejniczak said. “I want to thank everyone involved, like property maintenance and public works. The police were then able to swoop in and get them out.”
Mayor Terry Vorderer wanted to add that overall squatters have not been a major issue in Oak Lawn. But the mayor is delighted that the new law was passed that allows police to evict squatters quickly.
“It was good to see how the law works,” Vorderer said. “And if they give us false paperwork, they could be evicted right away.”
Olejniczak has a warning for anyone thinking about squatting in Oak Lawn.
“If you want to be a squatter in Oak Lawn, you will be evicted right away,” Olejniczak said.
Firefighter promotions
Oak Lawn Fire Chief David Wheeler announced that two firefighters, Andy Walsh and Brendan Byrnes, are now lieutenants. The two new lieutenants were sworn in by Village Clerk Claire Henning.
“It’s great to have two new young lieutenants on our staff,” Wheeler said.