'Zombie Village': Duckworth Highlights Uninhabitable Housing At Naval Station Great Lakes

GREAT LAKES, IL — The secretary of the Navy committed to working with Illinois' senators to improve a dilapidated housing development at Naval Station Great Lakes.

At a U.S. Senate Armed Services Committee hearing last week, Sen. Tammy Duckworth said it is unacceptable for the Navy to rent housing units to military families and Illinois residents in Halsey Village.

"No one should be living in Halsey Village and the Navy should not be creating an incentive for sailors to live there either," Duckworth told Sec. Carlos Del Toro.

Duckworth said 249 of the 353 units in the development are "uninhabitable," with at least 40 of them in such bad shape that they have to be cordoned off behind a chain link fence.

Currently, 22 units in the development are rented out to military families, while another 88 are rented out to Illinois residents at market rates.

Halsey Village is operated by Hunt Military Communities under a 50-year lease, and the El Paso-based property management firm is responsible for its day-to-day operations, according to the senator.

Lake County Board Chair Sandy Hart and North Chicago Mayor Leon Rockingham wrote to Hunt last October, according to the senator.

"In their letter they wrote, 'There is not a neighborhood in all of Lake County that is in worse condition than Halsey Village. The neighborhood has taken off the moniker of zombie village given the great numbers of homes in various states of neglect,'" Duckworth said.

The Illinois junior senator said the Navy was offering prorated rent to sailors to live in the deteriorated development, effectively giving junior enlisted sailors a financial incentive to live in substandard conditions.

Navy officials are currently considering options to redevelop the site, and Duckworth asked its chief executive for a commitment to keeping local elected officials in the loop with any plans for it.

"The Navy must ensure that no corners are cut, using a commercially compatible developer to avoid environmental remediation costs, and such a solution would not be acceptable to the Lake County community and local elected leaders," Duckworth said. "For example, to avoid remediation, you can't just pour concrete over it and say, 'OK, it's now commercial property, that way we don't have to deal with remediation.'"

In response to questioning from Duckworth, Sec. Del Toro committed to working with the senator and her staff to make sure that the redevelopment of Halsey Village remains a priority and has adequate funding.

Del Toro also agreed to provide Duckworth's staff with a copy of the Navy's remediation and redevelopment plans and timelines once it finalizes them.

A spokesperson for Hunt Military Communities has not responded to written questions about the condition of Halsey Village.