Joliet Bulldozes Man's House In College Park: 'I Lost Everything'

JOLIET, IL — Two years and four months after the city of Joliet declared Carl E. Johnson's property in the College Park subdivision near Houbolt Road a public nuisance, a demolition crane arrived at 906 Menlo Court and flattened Johnson's house Tuesday.

Johnson told Joliet Patch that he has been involved in several years of litigation with the city of Joliet concerning his property. With little advanced notice, Johnson said he rented a U-Haul on Monday night to save some of his possessions.

Joliet hired Gregg W. Dobczyk Excavating and Demolition to tear down Johnson's property. During the noon hour, the demolition contractor called for Joliet police to arrive at the scene after Johnson began swearing and screaming at the contractor who was discarding a large pile of automobile parts into the trash bin.

Johnson was livid, insisting he wanted to save many of the automobile parts because they came from various classic cars. The Joliet police officer who arrived at the scene during the lunch hour was able to calm Johnson down.

The 62-year-old Johnson told Patch he had lived at 906 Menlo Court since the mid-1980s. He disagreed with Joliet's determination that his house was a public nuisance, insisting that it only needed a new roof and that he had received a check from his insurance to replace the roof.

Two of Johnson's sisters were on hand Tuesday as the city-hired demolition contractor bulldozed their brother's house.

"He's owned it for 30 years," one of his sisters said. "He spent (last) night trying to get stuff out of his house. I don't understand, here in America, how they can do this to a person?"

In recent years, after Joliet made the house off-limits, Johnson said he has been living inside a Winnebago recreational vehicle and staying at a campground in Marseilles.

"My sister bought it for me because I was distressed," he said.

After his property became a public nuisance and Johnson stopped staying there, several feral cats and other wild animals began taking refuge in the dwelling, particularly in the garage, according to his sisters.

During the noon hour, Johnson spoke with Joliet Patch's editor in his driveway, where he parked his U-Haul.

He kept his two small dogs inside the U-Haul with the air conditioning running.

"I lost everything, everything that I owned from my children's pictures to Christmas pictures, just like a tornado came along, just like a tornado came along," Johnson repeated. "Why didn't they give me time, knowing I'm disabled? They should have allowed me to repair my roof."

Johnson showed Patch's editor a few small cuts on his arms and neck. He said the demolition contractor began knocking down his roof on Tuesday morning, not realizing that Johnson was still inside the house trying to retrieve some of his possessions.

Johnson told Patch he may need to head to the AMITA Health Saint Joseph Medical Center's emergency room to get checked out.

"I don't feel well," he added.