Heating issues force Near North Side senior living residents to use ovens, portable heaters

CHICAGO (WLS) -- As frigid air moves into the Chicago area, some senior residents at Evergreen Tower say they have had to use portable heaters and their own ovens to stay warm since, they say, many of the units have heating issues.

"The more we complain, the more we get, 'We're working on it.' And that's the honest to God truth," said Evergreen Tower resident Patricia Jordan.

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The humming noise of Jordan's small portable heater remains constant and necessary.

"In here in the morning, it feels like we're outside, so a lot of the tenants are getting tired of it," Jordan said. "My hands in here, right now, you can feel my hands. Ice cold."

Jordan continued, "If I turn my oven off, you can almost see the frost in this room."

Jordan says she has been forced to use those methods to stay warm in her unit since November while a majority of the other senior living homes at Evergreen Tower have low heat or none at all.

"There is a wall unit along the wall here," Jordan said. "It cuts on. It cuts off, and that's the end of it."

That frustration comes as the National Weather Service has issued a Winter Weather Advisory through 8 a.m. Wednesday.

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So, with bitterly cold temperatures in the forecast, many portable heaters will still be blaring inside until, residents say, the issue is fixed.

"He said, 'This is beyond what I can do.' And that was just a regular person who repairs things in the building," said Evergreen Tower resident Elnora Danchimah. "They say, 'Well, we'll get to you.' That was three months ago, but yet, I'm paying rent."

Some residents say they are seeing their light bills soar, too, because they are using portable heaters and their ovens to stay warm.

"Here I am, 79 years old, and it's no reason for me to have to live this way," Jordan said.

ABC7's own messages left for the property manager were not immediately returned.