AN ALDERMAN, THE MOB AND LOW-INCOME HOUSING
Ald. George Cardenas (12th) says he was only trying to help the homeless when he introduced an ordinance to exempt SROs— singleroom occupancy buildings — from the city’s residential landlord-tenant ordinance.
How strange then that all the city’s low-income housing advocates are arrayed against him, while his main support is from an SRO operated by a mob-connected businessman.
The SRO in question— a nondescript facility at 723 W. Grand sometimes known as the Acacia Hotel— is seeking relief from a legal dispute with current and former tenants.
In a pair of class-action lawsuits, those tenants say they were subjected to illegal lockouts, bug infestations and improper late fees.
Cardenas says he proposed his ordinance because such litigation is threatening the city’s dwindling supply of SRO housing by making it too costly to maintain the cheap rents that allow these facilities to serve as a crucial source of shelter for the poor.
But the groups that have led the fight to preserve SROs say there is no evidence of a wider problem and that the alderman’s proposal would take away important legal rights they often rely on to protect SRO residents.
Adding to the intrigue is the involvement of former Ald. DickMell, who says Cardenas was so intent on passing his ordinance that he recruited Mell to lobby for it. Mell, who now works as a registered lobbyist, said Cardenas went so far as to help arrange for him to be hired by a lawyer for the building’s owner, SRO Operating Company LLC.
Also showing a keen interest in the affairs of SRO Operating Company LLC is Robert “Bobby” Dominic, whose name can be found on the Chicago Crime Commission charts of the Outfit’s hierarchy.
Dominic, 61, has long been identified by law enforcement as a “mob associate” for his involvement in enterprises involving organized crime such as dirty bookstores and peep shows. Though arrested 15 times in his younger days, Dominic has only two minor misdemeanor convictions on his record.
The Chicago Tribune ran an interesting story about Dominic in 2000, explaining how police officers who raided Dominic’s businesses encountered other Chicago cops on the premises provid- ing security for him, the point being that Dominic has a lot of influential friends.
Despite that notoriety, both Cardenas and Mell told me they don’t know Dominic and were not aware of his involvement with the SRO.
The nature and extent of Dominic’s interest in the venture has been a point of contention in Cook County Circuit Court, where he is among several defendants in the aforementioned class-action suits brought by tenant rights lawyer Berton Ring.
The building that houses the Acacia Hotel fronts on both Grand and Milwaukee and is probably most recognizable to Chicagoans as the site of the popular La Scarola Restaurant, a favorite of mine.
La Scarola occupies part of the first floor alongside the notably more downscale Richard’s Bar.
Occupying the second and third floors is the Acacia, previously called the Arcadia, a 45-unit SRO where residents rent rooms for $100 a week and share a bathroom.
In their lawsuit, former tenants Peter Gabiola and Jerry-Weikle say Dominic identified himself as the SRO’s owner and manager while personally renting out rooms and handling maintenance requests.
In a court affidavit filed in response, Dominic said Richard’s Bar is owned by his sister, Susan Dominic, while SRO Operating Company, her landlord, is managed by Thomas Harris, his close friend since childhood. Because of those relationships, Dominic said he has “from time to time” assisted in both operations but doesn’t own either.
That could explain why it