DOLTON, Ill. — Well-known community activist Andrew Holmes is drawing attention to some of Dolton’s crumbling infrastructure he hopes to help improve in a bid for mayor.
Just beyond the city limits of Chicago, the Village of Dolton is home to celebrities like Jane Lynch and Donovan McNabb. But today, it’s also home to what some say is neglect and decay.
Among them is Andrew Holmes, known by many as a community activist and victim’s advocate.
“Dolton is great place, but it’s bad when you don’t know the inside,” Holmes said. “You say, ‘welcome to Dolton, what are you really welcoming them into Dolton for? Let’s take a look inside Dolton and see what’s really going on.”
Just below a billboard littered with smiling village leaders, located right of I-94, sits a parcel of wasteland.
Pearl Green’s called Dolton home for 45 years and sees the problems.
“Things need to be fixed, you know?” Green said.
One of the most glaring problems are fire hydrants. One resident said the lack of an adequate number of fire hydrants dates back to the better part of a decade.
“If these houses call a fire, where you getting the water from?” Holmes said. “If it’s on this end over here, you have to cross the street to the Chicago side to get their water. It shouldn’t have to be like that.”
Green agreed that fire hydrants are one the the key issues Dolton needs to address in 2021.
Current Dolton Mayor Riley Rogers responded in a video Monday night. He said as a village trustee, Holmes has the ability to bring the problems to light. Rogers said the claims are politically motivated.
Source: https://wgntv.com/news/andrew-holmes-hopes-to-improve-doltons-infrastructure-in-mayoral-bid/