McIlvaine seeks payment for damaged items

Cliff McIlvaine asked a Kane County judge Friday to make the city of St. Charles pay for property damaged due to its roofing contractor failing to secure a tarp properly on his then-unfinished garage roof.

That let water into the garage and the solarium during Monday morning’s heavy downpour.

It was one of three motions McIlvaine submitted to Circuit Judge David Akemann during a hearing about the status of work on his house. In May, Akemann gave the city permission to take over the 37-year project, get it finished and charge McIlvaine for the work.

“They’ve caused so many problems on the site,” McIlvaine told Akemann.

The city’s attorney has until Aug. 6 to respond officially to McIlvaine’s motions.

Outside of court, city attorney Phil Luetkehans confirmed the leak had happened, and said the contractor was on-site within 30 minutes after the city found out, bringing large dehumidifiers to remove the moisture in the garage. He also said McIlvaine can file a claim with the contractor’s insurance company.

McIlvaine said he hasn’t been able to assess what might have been damaged. One thing he is worried about is the machine he uses to make foam insulation.

Before the judge, Luetkehans detailed the progress the city has made completing the job, including putting up a shingle roof, burying an electrical line and installing an exterior staircase for the garage.

McIlvaine is still protesting the shingle roof. One motion seeks to have the city “justify their actions” to install a shingle roof instead of the foam-insulated steel roof for which he originally received a permit.

The third motion asks the city to remove the staircase. McIlvaine contends it was installed illegally, saying city officials haven’t shown him anything in the city’s building code that requires a second, outside stairway from a garage attic.

City officials say the room has to have two ways to get in and out, and that the garage attic only had one way.

The next court date is 10:30 a.m. Aug. 28.