Motel Battles with Oak Lawn
Claim They Are Victims of Village Plot to Take Their License
A local business is fighting with the village of Oak Lawn to try to stay open.
The owners of the D-Lux Motel, 4811 Columbus Drive, say they are the victims of a plot by the village of Oak Lawn to take away their business license.
Their current license expired in April, and they were given an un-limited business license until the matter can be settled.
On April 4, a letter was written to the motel by the village informing D- Lux that its application to have its business license renewed would be denied.
James Dahl, one of the brothers who owns the motel, said that his family had a good relationship with the village for 33 years until the Unity Party came into power.
“We never had a problem before. If the village told us to do something, we did it. For (Trustee Alex) Olejniczak (2nd) to accuse us of the things he is accusing us of is ridiculous,” said Dahl.
Olejniczak has said at village board meetings that there is a history of drugs, prostitution and crime at the motel. Olejniczak called for an investigation in November of 2006.
At recent board meetings, Olejniczak has stated that the motel has more calls for police service than any other hotel or motel in Oak Lawn. Dahl said that claim is untrue.
“The village once said that we drain the police because of calls for service, then they said we under-report calls compared to the Miami Motel,” said Dahl.
Dahl claims that up until a month ago, usually a police car was sitting near the lot and running plates. He also said that an employee who started working at the motel three months ago has been stopped by police four times but has yet to be ticketed.
“A few weeks ago, (the employee’s husband) dropped her off and was stopped, the car was searched, their baby had to be undressed and had to have the diaper removed,” said Dahl.
Dahl also said that the motel keeps track of the calls made to police and that no matter what he or his brother say, “the village will make it their way.”
One of the complaints against the motel is that there are a number of tenants who have been living at the facility for anywhere from one to 30 years. Dahl said that is true — 12 people on the property have lived at the motel longer than one year.
“(But) there is no village law that says you can’t do that. They are making up the rules as they go,” said Dahl.
The motel rents by the week, and Dahl said there is no need to get rid of people who have lived there for more than a year.
A sexual assault occurred at the motel last year, and, according to police, there were eight people in the room when police arrived.
Dahl said on that date one person rented a room around 3:30 to 4 a.m., and at 5 a.m. during a security check the door was wide open and a female was told to keep the noise down. After that, Dahl said there were no complaints of noise by anyone in surrounding rooms.
“Police were saying there was a sexual assault and there were eight people. We only saw three,” said Dahl.
The minor who was at the open door was the alleged victim of the sexual assault. Dahl said the motel did not know the female was a minor.
According to Dahl, the village said having this many people in one room is against fire codes, but Dahl said there is no official fire code that says three or more people in one room is a violation.
“Two people per room is a rule we set up for ourselves. It is not a fire code violation,” said Dahl.
The motel has also been accused of having prostitutes at the motel, which Dahl also denies. Dahl said once a Cook County Sheriff rented a room for a sting operation in which a prostitute was called and arrested.
When asked how frequently security checks are conducted, Dahl said that depends on the night, saying that on Friday and Saturday nights they are frequently doing rounds.
During the week, he said, it depends on how busy they are that night.
Dahl claims that the village is soliciting neighbors to complain about the motel.
“A few nights ago I was at a gas station, and one of my neighbors came up to tell me he was contacted by the village to sign complaints against the motel. He told me he has never looked out of the front window and seen a problem at the motel,” said Dahl.
Dahl believes the village, for some unknown reasons, is out to get him and his business.
“This is just full of lies and distortions,” said Dahl.