Chicago Ald. Martin Oberman (43d), seeking the Democratic nomination for Illinois attorney general, criticized incumbent Neil Hartigan for failing to join a lawsuit filed under the state`s Consumer Fraud Act in connection with a 1982 murder during a home invasion.
Oberman said at a press conference in Chicago Monday that Hartigan`s failure to join the lawsuit, filed in December, 1984, by the parents of Marybeth Duncavage, was an example of the incumbent`s failure to do enough to protect apartment tenants and to regulate tenant-landlord relations.
Duncavage, 27, a medical student, was raped, tortured and slain on Aug. 4, 1982, by an assailant who climbed in the window of her apartment at 714 W. Buckingham Pl., on Chicago`s North Side. Tommy Lee Jackson, 23, a former Navy sailor, was convicted of the murder last Oct. 8.
According to Oberman, Jackson used a ladder that was left by the building`s landlord on the ground outside Duncavage`s window. The same ladder had been used previously by a burglar who broke in the apartment before she moved in.
”Her grieving family was outraged that the landlord had never told their daughter about the ladder or the burglary, or how unsafe that apartment was. So they sued, claiming a violation of the consumer fraud laws of Illinois,”
Oberman said.
But when the parents asked Hartigan`s office to join in the lawsuit, Oberman said, they were notified in a letter from Illinois Solicitor Gen. Roma J. Stewart that ” `while this is an interesting case, it is the policy of this office not to involve our limited staff of attorneys in cases involving a single plaintiff.` ”
The Duncavage lawsuit was dismissed last June by Cook County Circuit Judge Alan Morrill. The case is now pending before the Illinois Appellate Court.
Oberman said Stewart`s letter indicates that Hartigan, who is also running in the Democratic primary on March 18, ”won`t lift a finger to change the way landlords ignore the security of their tenants. His unique powers go unused and citizens go unprotected.”
Oberman said, ”Doesn`t Hartigan understand that a victory for the Duncavages in this case would set a precedent that would protect thousands in the future?”
According to Oberman, the attorney general has the power, under the Consumer Fraud Act, to issue regulations to assure the security of tenants in rental buildings.
Hartigan`s refusal to join the case has been ”one of the reasons the case hasn`t been faring well,” Oberman said.
”You can be sure if you had the attorney general in this case, you would have the attention of the court. You would certanly have the attention of the Appellate Court. Mr. Hartigan doesn`t think this case is important, and I do,” Oberman said.
A landlord-tenant regulation proposed by Oberman Monday would require landlords to notify prospective tenants of any building code violations before signing a lease. In addition, Oberman proposed an amendment to Chicago`s building code to require landlords to have dead-bolt locks on all apartment doors.
