MATTESON, Illinois — Village officials nearly shut down a Matteson hotel after firefighters discovered numerous code violations.
According to the Matteson Fire Department, the Travelodge by Wyndham was deemed unsafe for residents to live in. As a result, guests initially thought they had to leave, but the suburban hotel has passed all fire inspections in recent hours, according to a village spokesman.
WGN News has learned that the Matteson fire chief personally inspected the hotel Wednesday afternoon and found that management had corrected any safety violations.
“Oh my god, I feel so relieved. I’m so happy. I have tears of joy,” said hotel manager Latricia Washington, who says many of her guests are long-term guests.
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Firefighters placed the hotel on a 24-hour emergency after saying management had failed to fix security breaches in 10 months. The fire department says more than 20 rooms have no working smoke detectors. If the hotel hadn’t made the corrections by 5 p.m. Wednesday, officials would have forced everyone to leave the hotel.
Meanwhile, the police department was working with nearby hotels to find accommodation for some residents. However, some families did not want to leave.
“If I can’t pay every day, they allow me to extend until I can pay for it, and I’ve never experienced that at other hotels,” said hotel guest Stephanie McWilliams.
For now, you don’t have to worry.
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“I told them we had this. We’ll get through this. Trust the process,” Washington said. “I told them not to go outside. Your children would not be out in the cold. Everything would be fine.”
Washington blames the pandemic for the delays. However, the village says building code violations here have yet to be addressed, likely next week.
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