Angela Palivos

My name is Angela Palivos, and my family has lived in Candlewood Estates in Mahomet, IL, since 2005. We loved it here. As a family with a modest income – my husband and I are both singer-songwriters and he builds guitar amps – it allowed us to have a nice home and a yard. There were lots of kids around, we all watched each other’s kids. 

Crown (now Ignite) bought Candlewood late in 2022, and it was an absolute mess. Garbage wasn’t collected for weeks, and people went without water for extended periods that winter. They tried to force people to sign new leases before the old ones expired. In the summer of 2023 we had four abandoned homes burn down. We’d never had a house fire like that since I’d been here. 

Twice power surges took out my appliances, and I am not the only one. The state found extensive electrical issues. Despite management trying to make us pay for it, the state was clear that the park has to fix the issue. But they still haven’t.

While they were busy failing at all of their responsibilities, they raised our rent $135! That wasn’t great for us, but I really worry about the older folks spending more than half of their Social Security on lot rent.

To make matters worse, Candlewood has refused to make reasonable accommodations for my autistic son. They are trying to evict us for not removing the trampoline and swing set he needs. They won’t even do their jobs but they have time to try to take an autistic child’s home?!?

We need real protections.