DOLTON, Ill. There is a lot of interest in Pope Leo XIV’s childhood home in Dolton, Illinois, and the village is contemplating steps to acquire it.
“A lot of people have been coming [to the house]. A lot of smiles; I’m meeting new people,” Donna Sagne Davis, who lives next door, said. “It’s been a beautiful thing to experience this. I feel like it’s a miracle.”
Sagne Davis thinks the home should belong to the people who live in the area.
“Let it become the landmark that it is,” she said.
At a board meeting Monday, village officials moved to rename a portion of a local street in the pope’s honor.
But the village would also like to acquire the home.
“We want to work with the archdiocese to make sure the home is preserved in a very cautious and reasonable manner, so it doesn’t become a place where you sell trinkets,” Burt Odelson, the attorney for the Village of Dolton, said.
The owner of the house, Pawel Radzik, bought the property last year for $66,000 and rehabbed it.
He put the home up for sale in January for $219,000, then lowered the price to $199,000. Radzik then pulled the listing after he found out about the history.
Paramount Auction House is holding a sealed bid auction.
Odelson would not disclose how much Radzik wants for the home or how much the village is willing to pay. He said officials have a backup plan to use eminent domain to attain it.
“We have a legal right to take the property for a public use. That’s the key word public use. A historic site is public use,” he said.
On the heels of former Mayor Tiffany Henyard’s financial mismanagement, some question whether taking this step would be a bad look for new Mayor Jason House.
“It’s a great look for the village to use resources to preserve this site, not only for the village residents, but for the world,” Odelson said. “Certainly beats using hundreds of thousands of dollars to go to Vegas and party, which Henyard did.”
affiliate WGN reached out to the owner of the house but did not get a response. The auction closes on June 18, but Radzik could accept a private offer at any time.
