RIVERSIDE-BROOKFIELD $1.00
Vol. 40, No. 16
Special Section
April 23, 2025
Page B1
Hometown hero: Brookfield teen Riverside OKs saves grandfather from house fire $75K settlement with downtown building owners
Jordan Marquez, 14, pulled Hector Marquez, 64, from their burning home, April 14
By TRENT BROWN Staff Reporter
By TRENT BROWN Staff Reporter
When the school bus dropped Jordan Marquez, 14, off in front of his family’s home on the 3500 block of Madison Avenue Monday, April 14, he wasn’t expecting to open the front door to a cloud of smoke. “It was weird. I wasn’t expecting it at all. I couldn’t smell anything. It was contained in the house somehow,” he told the Landmark Monday. The eighth grader said he leapt into action right away. “I was like, ‘Wait, everybody’s inside. I got to get everybody out,’ so I ran in,” he said. “I was really shocked [and] surprised, then adrenaline kicked in. I couldn’t think.” Jordan said he let the family’s two dogs — bull terrier Stosh and Chihuahua mix Mushu — into the backyard See HERO on page 11
ERICA BENSON
Jordan Marquez sits with his dogs (left), Mushu and Stosh, that are currently staying at the neighbors after his home in Brookfield caught fire this week. Jordan got his grandfather and the two dogs out of the home during the fire. His grandmother was at work when this occurred.
After four years, Riverside is settling a legal complaint against the land trust that owns the Tower Apartments, 22-40 East Ave. and 25-39 Forest Ave., for a payout of $75,000 to the village. Village trustees on April 3 approved a settlement agreement with the Chicago Title Land Trust Company, ending litigation Riverside had brought against the trust and Property Rental, Inc., the agency managing the property. The village first filed a complaint with the Cook County courts on Feb. 10, 2021, to force the company to replace the boiler in the Tower Building after it failed on Feb. 7, 2021. A new boiler was installed on Feb. 12, 2021, and, after going out overnight and failing intermittently for several days, began working properly on Feb. 15, 2021. The event prompted residents of the building to protest publicly that week. Village Manager Jessica Frances confirmed the settlement would end the same legal action that began with the 2021 complaint. Frances told the Landmark Monday that RivSee SETTLEMENT on page 9
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