Close Menu
  • Home
  • News
    • Local
  • Opinion
  • Business
  • Health
  • Education
  • Sports
  • Podcast

Subscribe to Updates

Get the latest creative news from FooBar about art, design and business.

What's Hot

The Shutdown Standoff

Obama Fills the Void in a Fading Democratic Party

Sean “Diddy” Combs Sentenced to 50 Months as Court Weighs Acquitted Charges

Facebook X (Twitter) Instagram
  • Lifestyle
  • Podcast
  • Contact Us
Facebook X (Twitter) Instagram Pinterest Vimeo
The Windy City Word
  • Home
  • News
    1. Local
    2. View All

    Youth curfew vote stalled in Chicago City Council’s public safety committee

    Organizers, CBA Coalition pushback on proposed luxury hotel near Obama Presidential Center

    New petition calls for state oversight and new leadership at Roseland Community Hospital

    UFC Gym to replace shuttered Esporta in Morgan Park

    HBCU Football Week 5 Roundup: Jackson State keeps the Good Times Rolling

    Unbreakable: Black Women and Mental Health

    A Question of a Government Shutdown?

    Jackson State Dominates Southern on the Road, Wins Boombox Classic

  • Opinion

    Capitalize on Slower Car Dealership Sales in 2025

    The High Cost Of Wealth Worship

    What Every Black Child Needs in the World

    Changing the Game: Westside Mom Shares Bally’s Job Experience with Son

    The Subtle Signs of Emotional Abuse: 10 Common Patterns

  • Business

    Illinois Department of Innovation & Technology supplier diversity office to host procurement webinar for vendors

    Crusader Publisher host Ukrainian Tech Businessmen eyeing Gary investment

    Sims applauds $220,000 in local Back to Business grants

    New Hire360 partnership to support diversity in local trades

    Taking your small business to the next level

  • Health

    Unbreakable: Black Women and Mental Health

    A Question of a Government Shutdown?

    Democrats Dig In: Healthcare at the Center of Looming Shutdown Fight

    Democrats Dig In: Healthcare at the Center of Looming Shutdown Fight

    COMMENTARY: Health Care is a Civil Rights Issue

  • Education

    Alabama’s CHOOSE Act: A Promise and a Responsibility

    After Plunge, Black Students Enroll in Harvard

    What Is Montessori Education?

    Nation’s Report Card Shows Drop in Reading, Math, and Science Scores

    The Lasting Impact of Bedtime Stories

  • Sports

    HBCU Football Week 5 Roundup: Jackson State keeps the Good Times Rolling

    Jackson State Dominates Southern on the Road, Wins Boombox Classic

    Conference Commissioners Discuss Name, Image, and Likeness in Washington

    Week 4 HBCU Football Recap: DeSean Jackson’s Delaware State Wins Big

    Turning the Tide: Unity, History, and the Future of College Football in Mississippi

  • Podcast
The Windy City Word
Local

Rogers Park senior home sued for wrongful death after 3 found dead from heat

staffBy staffUpdated:No Comments4 Mins Read
Facebook Twitter Pinterest Telegram LinkedIn Tumblr Email Reddit
Share
Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Pinterest WhatsApp Email

The last time Veldarin Jackson saw his mom was on Mother’s Day, where he and his family showered her with balloons, a card, and a meal at a restaurant. He said it was a “typical visit, sitting there, talking, laughing,” that she was always happy to see them.

But days later, on May 14, his mom, Janice Reed, and two other women were found dead in their apartments in a senior housing facility in Rogers Park. The building had received several complaints from residents about the units being too hot during a week of record-breaking highs. Now the Jackson family is suing building ownership and management for Reed’s death.

Advertisement

The wrongful death lawsuit was filed in Cook County Monday on the basis of premises negligence against Gateway Apartments Limited, the company that owns the apartment building, and Hispanic Housing Development Corporation, the company that managed the building.

Reed, 68, was found unresponsive in her apartment at the James Sneider Apartments, 7450 N. Rogers Ave. after a friend had called for a well-being check after Reed had not shown up for lunch with the friend that day.

Advertisement

A television displays an image of Veldarin Jackson, Sr., and his mother Janice Reed, who was one of the three seniors who died in a Rogers Park building where residents complained of heat. (Jose M. Osorio / Chicago Tribune)

Delores McNeely, 76, and Gwendolyn Osborne, 72, were also found dead in their apartments. Several temperature readings registered Reed’s unit at around 102 and 103 degrees at the time she was found, said attorney Larry Rogers Jr., who is representing the Reed-Jackson family, at a news conference Tuesday.

Rogers Jr. said no one could survive the “deplorable conditions” the building maintained despite complaints from residents and elected officials, such as Ald. Maria Hadden, 49th. Hadden spoke with building managers after residents reached out to her and was given the same erroneous response given to the building residents: that a Chicago heat ordinance required the building to keep heat on until June 1.

The ordinance sets a daytime temperature requirement of at least 68 degrees from Sept. 15 to June 1, but has no requirement that the heat has to stay on if temperatures will naturally exceed that threshold.

“We are deeply saddened by the deaths of three women who made our James Sneider Apartments their home. We mourn the loss of Janice Reed, Gwendolyn Osborne and Delores McNeely and send our deepest sympathies to their families and friends,” said Hipolito “Paul” Roldan, president and chief executive officer of the Hispanic Housing Development Corporation in an email to the Tribune. “Hispanic Housing Development Corporation has long been devoted to providing affordable homes and services that allow seniors to remain independent. The safety and security of all our residents have always been our highest priority. We are working with the city of Chicago and conducting our own investigation into last week’s circumstances.”

The James Sneider Apartments in Rogers Park on May 16, 2022. (Brian Cassella / Chicago Tribune)

Rogers Jr. said the building ownership and management “refused to address the concerns of our most sensitive and tender citizens, our seniors.”

“When you ignore people’s complaints like this, people who have no ability to control the environment in their own properties, you have tragedies like this,” he said. “This is much more than just a negligent maintenance issue. This is a specific financial decision this owner and manager made to not operate air conditioning for months, not protect these citizens based upon the financial cost of operating the air conditioning.”

Veldarin Jackson, 50, was at the press conference with his wife, Adjoa Jackson, and he said his hope for the future is for something like this to not “happen to no one else.”

Jackson, who is an only child, said Reed has five grandchildren and four great-grandchildren. He said his mother was a “lovely lady,” always in good spirits and was very independent. When her unit started feeling too hot, she took matters into her own hands, Jackson said, by talking to management herself. She didn’t tell her son about her complaints, which he only found out about after the fact from a friend of his mother’s in the building.

Advertisement

Veldarin Jackson, Sr. talks about his deceased mother, Janice Reed on May 24, 2022. (Jose M. Osorio / Chicago Tribune)

Jackson said his mother had lived in the building going on 11 years and never involved her family with concerns, if any, she had with the building. He said he and his family would regularly visit her at her apartment and felt comfortable with her being there.

“My mom was my father, my mother, my best friend, just everything,” he said. ”She meant the world to me.”

sahmad@chicagotribune.com

Share. Facebook Twitter Pinterest LinkedIn Reddit WhatsApp Telegram Email
Previous ArticleIn their second incarnation, Racetraitor find a progressive movement ready for their politics
Next Article Illegal boarding house landlord ordered to comply with Naperville code after pleading guilty to contempt
staff

Related Posts

Youth curfew vote stalled in Chicago City Council’s public safety committee

Organizers, CBA Coalition pushback on proposed luxury hotel near Obama Presidential Center

New petition calls for state oversight and new leadership at Roseland Community Hospital

Leave A Reply Cancel Reply

Video of the Week
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AxFXtgzTu4U
Advertisement
Video of the Week
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OjfvYnUXHuI
ABOUT US

 

The Windy City Word is a weekly newspaper that projects a positive image of the community it serves. It reflects life on the Greater West Side as seen by the people who live and work here.

OUR PICKS

Don’t feel like cooking? Let these 10 Chicago restaurants handle your holiday meals this year

Is the @Kia K4 Worth the Extra Cost?

Black Music Month Kicks Off with Highly Anticipated Local Events

MOST POPULAR

Unbreakable: Black Women and Mental Health

A Question of a Government Shutdown?

Democrats Dig In: Healthcare at the Center of Looming Shutdown Fight

© 2025 The Windy City Word. Site Designed by No Regret Medai.
  • Home
  • Lifestyle
  • Podcast
  • Contact Us

Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.