Welcome to Oak Lawn: Mess With an Ordinance and You'll Meet the Hearing Officer

Imagine your neighbor was fined for a building code violation by the Village of Oak Lawn – you know, for something unsightly, like gutters hanging from the roof or boarded-up windows.

On top of their fine, they've been summoned for an adjudication hearing, where they'll stand in front of two village hearing officers and either dispute or own-up to their offense.

Sounds like something on par with a root canal, right?

In reality, dozens of people who reside or pass through Oak Lawn attend adjudication hearings every month. And believe it or not, for those people lining the village hall stairway every first and third Tuesday, it's the least painful way of dealing with their violations.

“This is much more convenient,” said hearing officer Joseph Pecko, who's judged violations, from expired vehicle stickers to improper fencing, for over five years. “Instead of having to take time out of their day, people come in at night, right after work.”

Nearly 15 years ago, Pecko noted, Springfield passed a law that allows municipalities throughout Illinois to issue tickets for ordinance violations within their municipalities. In the village of Oak Lawn, these brief court hearings are held for people who've received fines for expired or suspended license plates, building code violations and property violations, among other offenses.

Hearings are also held for shoplifters and people charged with marijuana possession, though not as often as the former.

Before the Law

Earlier this month, over 15 people showed up to their first adjudication hearing, many of whom had their fines reduced, while others were warned to comply with village ordinances at the risk of facing additional fines.

One resident – who claimed the village mixed up his hearing date then increased his fines to $1,000 after not showing up – was soon given the benefit of the doubt.

“I have a lot of cases,” Pecko said to the man. “I don't remember who was [at the hearing]. We're starting new.”

After Pecko showed the man photographic evidence of debris, garbage and vehicles covered with tarps on the side of the man's house, Pecko told him it had to be cleaned up by the next hearing or he'd face more fines.

“It's not fair to have people look at that,” Pecko said, as the man nodded his head. “Anything [laying around] has to be put in the shed.”

In some cases, judgment is pretty clear cut.

An older gentleman, who received a $75 fine for driving without his driver's license, said he simply forgot to grab it on his way out.

“I love honesty,” Pecko said to the man. “Dismissed.”

In many cases, though, people are clearly in the wrong.

“We have one, two, three, four, five tickets,” Pecko said to a woman, accused of failing to maintain the structure of her home, prevent rodents from entering her property and properly place fencing around her pool. “If all this is cleaned up by the June 21, we'll take that [$1,000] ticket away.”

“It's starting to look nice,” she claimed, having worked on the property for less than a month.

“Good for you,” Pecko said.

It's not often the village makes a mistake in these matters, Pecko contended, but when they do, tickets are usually dismissed. He also added that people need to take responsibility for their property, and that a person's socioeconomic background is no excuse for disregard, disrepair or just plain stupidity.

“These are typical cases,” he said of the hearing that evening. “It's not fair to people in the neighborhood [when ordinances are ignored]. I think it's because people don't think about it.”