City Hall's Other Vermin Problem

By Chuck Sudo in News on Aug 17, 2011 3:00PM

Both Windy City Times and NBC Chicago have stories on the conditions of City Clerk Susana Mendoza's staff offices, which they share with a colony of roaches.

Per WCT's Chuck Kramer:

There is a weekly Friday spraying by an exterminator. When the staff reports for work on Mondays, they find themselves crunching across the bodies of these dead insects that Mendoza characterizes as "Acapulco" cockroaches. "It's almost inexcusable to expect people to work in conditions like this, surrounded by vermin and breathing air tainted with the insecticide toxins," she said recently. "It's an old building ( built in 1911 ) but there's no excuse for this."

the City Clerk's basement offices also have a water seepage problem, which doesn't help in maintaining their records. Mendoza is working to secure some offices on the first floor, while Illinois Secretary of State Jesse White's office has arranged for the Illinois State Archives to help Mendoza's office digitize the Clerk's records.