New home of the brave: Suburban veteran's family receives mortgage-free house

Retired Army Sgt. Ron Tarasiewicz and his wife, Crystal, were understandably overcome with emotion as they walked through their new Round Lake Beach home for the first time Wednesday morning.

The couple had never before owned a house. Now they do, thanks to a military assistance group called Operation Homefront and JPMorgan Chase.

The Tarasiewiczes, who have two young sons, received the home mortgage-free through the “Homes on the Homefront” program. Chase will even cover the property taxes for the first two years.

“It's a dream come true,” Ron Tarasiewicz said. “We never thought it was possible.”

Operation Homefront and JPMorgan Chase have given more than 500 homes to veterans and their families through the program, including houses in Volo, Wonder Lake and McHenry. The homes are owned by Chase and renovated before being given to families.

This particular house was acquired through foreclosure, according to available records.

The Tarasiewiczes have been living in a rented two-bedroom townhouse in Hanover Park. Their sons, 5-year-old Jayden and 3-year-old Jacob, share a bedroom.

In the new house, each boy will have his own room. Jacob ran upstairs and claimed his soon after arriving at the house, running in circles around the room until everyone knew it was his.

“He's so excited to get his own space,” Ron Tarasiewicz said.

Tarasiewicz, who served with an infantry unit in Afghanistan, works for Amtrak. He learned about the home program while listening to the radio on his way to work this summer, and submitted an online application that night.

“He likes to do spontaneous things,” said Crystal Tarasiewicz, a receptionist at a Schaumburg medical office. “We thought eventually our time would come. And it did.”

The Tarasiewiczes' two-story, 1,591-square-foot house is in Round Lake Beach's Country Walk subdivision. Built in 1993, it has three bedrooms, two-and-a-half bathrooms, hardwood floors, a spacious kitchen and a finished basement.

Natural light pours into the house through an ample supply of windows.

Ron Tarasiewicz said the house will allow the family to “build a fresh life.”

“We can start our lives with our children here,” he said.

Operation Homefront housing caseworker Maurjon Alston was there Wednesday to give the Tarasiewicz their keys, as was a Chase representative. Alston said she loves meeting the families who benefit from the program and hearing their stories.

“I get excited just like the families do,” Alston said.