Kendall County Times

At its Jan. 9 village board meeting, the Montgomery trustees heard from Jeff Galeas, a representative from Montgomery Place Apartments. 

The Montgomery Place Apartments have been an issue for the village for several months now. In September, a resident was found shot and killed inside his apartment, and there have been strings of break-ins, thefts, and incidents of vandalism. Residents have previously come out to village board meetings to speak about this. They asked the village to be more proactive in these issues and to hold the owners accountable when they promised things like increased security and cameras. They also asked the police to publish the amount of calls they received from the area.

Galeas said that management was taking big steps in addressing some of the issues. He assured the board that he and his company takes all of their investments, properties, and tenants seriously. He said that he was working at the site for several days that week and that he had hired additional security for the building. 

“We've done things since then, really out of an overabundance of caution, you know, speaking with the chief, he had made it clear to me that he did not feel like we had a crime problem,” Galeas told the board. “But we still went through and we hired some security. We're having vehicle registrations and doing different things to ensure that our residents feel comfortable and safe. Again, I really came here today to address anything. There were some rumors that maybe we had dropped our standards to allow people into our community. That has never happened. We have the highest standards at Montgomery Place and our entire company, everybody’s rent is run through a credit, criminal, and a rental history.”

Board Member Theresa Sperling was absent from the meeting.