Elgin Car Wash fined $20,735 for bad connection

A month after having its water turned off, the east side Elgin Car Wash remains closed and its owner is facing fines over $20,000 for discharging suds and sewage into the Fox River for years.

Elgin Corporation Counsel William Cogley said a judge fined wash owner Judith Colletti $20,735 in late December after she failed to uphold her end of a deal to fix the problem.

City officials first cited Colletti in June 2006 for an improper underground pipe connection that was discharging wash chemicals and sewage into the storm sewer network and eventually the river.

After nothing was done to stop the discharge, the city sued Colletti in February 2008. In November, Colletti, through her attorney, agreed to pay a $2,500 fine and fix the problem by Dec 22.

She applied for and was granted a building permit on Dec. 2 - the same day the city shut off her water - but no work has been performed yet at the wash, which as been a fixture at 313 Dundee Ave. for more than four decades.

"She did not have it corrected. She did not start the work," Cogley said. "The business will remain closed unless or until it is fixed."

Colletti, who in December said the city was being "vindictive" by turning off her water, declined to comment when reached by phone this week.

Messages left with her attorney, Patrick Shifley, were not returned.

Advanced Geothermal Plumbing and Heating, the Elgin-based contractor listed on the building permit, also did not return phone messages seeking comment.

Cogley said Colletti has until Jan. 22 to appeal the fine.

"I think we've prosecuted this case appropriately," he said.