Joliet Sues Plainfield Road Commercial Property Owner Over Fines

JOLIET, IL — A business property owner along Plainfield Road is being sued by the city of Joliet for not paying four separate $750 fines issued against him last November by a hearing officer, according to a civil lawsuit filed Monday at the Will County Courthouse.

Joliet Corporation Counsel Sabrina Spano filed the nuisance abatement lawsuit against Nelson Robles, owner of 1403 Plainfield Road. The lawsuit contends that Robles was found in violation of several city codes Nov. 10 and has not paid his fines over the past five months.

According to court records, Joliet's property maintenance coordinator Gabe Friend cited the Robles' property at 1403 Plainfield Road on Oct. 19, 2020, for four separate code violations:

• Defective fence or accessory structures
• Failure to provide screening from residential
• Permitting a nuisance condition, junk
• Storage of inoperable vehicle

On Nov. 10, Nelson Robles received four $750 fines from a hearing officer, and court records indicate he had until Dec. 8 to be in compliance with Joliet's Neighborhood Services Division. Failing to rectify the four city code violations shall result in additional fines of $100 per day, court records show.

Joliet Patch went to the property on Monday afternoon and interviewed Ignacio Robles, the brother of Nelson Robles.

"This is harassment. If they sue, we have to fight the suit," Ignacio Robles told Joliet Patch. "If we have to fight it, we have to fight it."

The Robles family also owns the nearby Boost Mobile store at 1399 Plainfield Road, as well as commercial strip malls along Collins Street.

Ignacio Robles told Patch the family will fight the city of Joliet in court.

"It's really unfair right now," he said. "We don't do nothing bad."

During Monday's interview, Ignacio Robles insisted that the sections of broken fence are not part of his property.

He said fixing sections of the broken fence is up to the respective neighborhood homeowners whose backyards abut his family's business property. "That's not our fence," he said.

The Robles' property includes the KJI Auto Repair, which is a large auto mechanics shop on the back of his lot.

Ignacio Robles told Patch that city employees regularly enter his commercial property to inspect the cars, trucks and motorboats waiting to be serviced at the KJI Auto Repair in hopes of finding violations for improper license plates and improper vehicle registration stickers.

He said it's his belief there are a small of neighbors who don't like having the KJI Auto Repair yard, overlooking their yard, and they keep complaining to the city's neighborhood services.

On Monday afternoon, he showed Patch a new section of fence that some other homeowners closer to Plainfield Road recently erected themselves. He maintained that's proof that the issues with the dilapidated fence in other areas along the lot of line are not his family's problem.