Bedbugs Feeding On Joliet Housing Authority Residents: Report

JOLIET, IL — Bedbugs are on the attack, Joliet Housing Authority residents say. They claim the insects have nibbled on a 98-year-old woman who can't see or feel them and a 71-year-old woman while she was on her couch, and scurried across the floor of the very room where folks have tried to address the issue. A housing authority staffer acknowledged she has received complaints about bedbugs since she began employment six years ago at the 139-unit John C. Murphy building.

Melody Woods, caretaker of 98-year-old Paulette Robinson, told the Herald-News that when she brought the problem to Joliet Housing Authority Commissioner Robert Hernandez, she was told, "It’s government housing; they shouldn’t complain."

“I said, 'It’s government-subsidized housing,'” Hernandez told the Herald-News. “If you want to complain after you go to the site manager, then you go to the board. We’re trying to do everything we can do humanly possible," he added, saying he's going to the building to speak with residents and recognizes the issue needs to be addressed. (For more local news, subscribe to free email news alerts and a daily newsletter for Joliet Patch.)

Another resident, 71-year-old Rosemary Brown told the paper she spends a minimum of $80 per week of her own money on laundry to try to eradicate the bugs, but they still feed on her.

Property Manager Veronica Rosas said the housing authority has paid for thermal treatments at a cost of $1,000 per unit, adding, “I recommend tenants to educate themselves and be mindful. Bedbugs are hitchhikers.”

photo credit Carolyn Kaster/Associated Press