June 3, 2026 Vol. 46, No. 48
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W E D N E S D A Y
Day in Our Village
of Oak Park and River Forest
Special Section
JOURNAL @oakpark
Special Advertising Section
2026
Page 17
Heritage House residents complain, West Sub hospital CEO manager defends remains in charge
Resident leaders adamant about problems, manager says it’s personal
Judge did not grant receivership for new owner and scheduled hearing this month to discuss disputed leases
By GREGG VOSS Contributing Reporter
As president of the Heritage House Apartments residents’ council, Irma Baker has to consider the safety and livelihood of not only herself, but of all the elderly tenants in the 200-unit building at 201 Lake St. in Oak Park. And she’s concerned. Or more accurately, she’s been concerned. “I want a change for the building, for the residents and for Oak Park,” said Baker, a retired phlebotomist. “For the building, I want to see a change for the cleanliness. And the safety.” As far as Baker is concerned, there’s plenty of work to do. Allegations of everything from lax security to bedbugs and rodents to drug use and squatters have dogged the property for years and has led to allegedly hundreds of village residential code violations. It’s time for a change, said Baker, who has lived there for 20 years. See HERITAGE HOUSE on page 10
By BRENDAN HEFFERNAN and JESSICA MORDACQ Staff Reporters
TODD BANNOR
Heritage House atrium viewed from third floor on June 1.
West Suburban Medical Center will not be getting a new owner at this time. The judge presiding over a bid for a courtordered receivership said there was not enough evidence to support new management being brought in to attempt to reopen the hospital after West Suburban closed March 27 due to a year-long failure in the hospital’s electronic medical record billing system. After closing arguments on Friday from representation for Rathnaker Reddy Patlola, the landlord for West Suburban, and ResilSee WEST SUB on page 14