‘Heartbreaking’: Daycare owner fights to save her mother’s dream amid legal battle and building neglect

CHICAGO — An Uptown daycare is set to shut its doors on Wednesday but not because the owner wants to.

Parents of the children who attend the daycare are trying to make a miracle happen. They say the court system has failed in this case.

About a decade ago, Tanneh “TJ” Parker took over her mother’s dream of owning a daycare and made it her own. But now, it’s a nightmare.

“It’s sad to look at this space. You don’t see all the joy. This was a happy place for children,” Parker said.

Little books and toy trucks are among the items collecting dust and damage. They’re small reminders of the happy place it once was.

“Everything is just ravished. It’s heartbreaking,” Parker said.

A Step Ahead Learning Center came to life two decades ago and was started by Parker’s mother, Regina.

“Back in 1989, my mother opened our first facility. We started as a nursery with 10 children,” Parker said. “I was here with her. I watched her lay tiles, paint walls, bring her dream to life.”

And for a long time, the daycare thrived.

“I was working with her,” Parker said. “It expanded to five centers, and we had 71 children.”

When Regina passed away, Parker took over. She says she found a leak while remodeling in 2015.

“I reached out to the landlord. I wanted to have someone come out to see where the water was coming from,” Parker said.

But she says those plumbing problems were never truly fixed.

“In 2016, there was a repair done that I thought fixed the problem but there was a planter in the ceiling to catch the water,” Parker said. “Yes, like a garden planter.”

She says the issues have continued for the last 10 years, prompting her to stop paying part of the rent in 2019, explaining she couldn’t use most of the space.

“The amount of children we could have was reduced because of this. It wasn’t safe to operate on that side,” Parker said.

In 2021, she got an eviction notice. Both she and the landlord ended up in court.

Parker says the judge relied on the landlord’s claim that she hadn’t paid any rent since 2015 and issued an initial $550K judgement against her.

Parker says she was not allowed to tell her side of the story, show proof of rent payment or highlight any of the numerous texts between herself and the landlord pleading for help.

“I did ask for help. I didn’t get help. I felt like I was exhausting my resources,” Parker said.

The judgement was later reduced to $405K but rather than continuing to fight in court, she agreed to leave by April 30.

“April 30 is a big day for so many reasons. Not just closing a business, it’s closing a legacy, closing a dream my mother had that I wanted so dearly to carry on,” she said.

A city inspector was there on Tuesday. He stated none of the damage is acceptable and his team will be investigating further.

On top of that, parents of the remaining six students are rallying around Parker.

“My heart is so heavy for TJ,” Jacki Adkins said.

Adkins says her little girl, Madeleine, has loved learning here for the last three years.

“I’m going to walk here for the last time and ring that doorbell? That’s hard for me too,” Adkins said.

Adkins says she had no idea just how bad the damage was until just last week.

“It’s actually two or three rooms, water that’s currently leaking that you can hear in the background,” Adkins said. “It’s everywhere.”

They’ve started a GoFundMe to help Parker financially but with less than 24 hours until she must be out, the clock is ticking.

“I put so much into our center, into our children. It’s heartbreaking to say the least,” Parker said. “I’m hoping there is someone who can help, who has options for me. Maybe there is still the option to restart.”

The Department of Building’s online records show Tuesday’s inspection was a failure with seven violations found, including eroding, collapsing walls, mold and rotted floor joists.

WGN reached out to the landlord but have yet to hear back.