[il] Condo Security Guard Was Caught On Camera Hiding My Packages And Stealing Items. Hoa Kept Him And Refuses To Release Security Logs

​Location: Chicago, illinois

I own a unit in a large Chicago condo building managed by a massive, big-name property management company. Recently, a guard from our massive third-party security vendor—which has its contract with that big management company—was caught on the building cameras taking my deliveries from the lobby, locking them in the security break room, ripping them open, and stealing stuff from inside. We have some gaps in camera coverage which the thief takes advantage of but he got lazy this time. ​​​

This is the third time he has messed with my packages and many of my neighbors have also had similar experiences when I asked​​​. I've actually confronted him twice before and he returned months worth of missing packages from the locked break room claiming I broke some arbitrary rule so he had to punish me without informing me of the rule in the first place or the hiding. ​​​​​​​​​​Some were opened and tampered with to see what was inside. ​

We have clear before-and-after proof: the delivery photo shows the boxes sealed in the lobby, the building video shows the guard locking them in the break room, and I have photos and video from when I got them back showing them opened and missing items. I watched the camera footage with our building's Head of Security, and he confirmed the theft and filed an official theft report with his own security company along with removal.

one of our Condo Board members really likes this guard and stepped in to convince the Board to keep him. I had some arguments with the guard since so she and the guard tried to DARVO this that I was intimidating him ​​​​​and this part of some vendetta rather than a legit claim. ​​​​​

Because the Board blocked him from being removed, the security company and our temp property manager (a regional director from the big management company filling in while we don't have a permanent manager) are out of easy solutions and are just stalling and covering their butts for liability.

I've asked the Board and management multiple times to sit down with me and the Head of Security to watch the video footage together, and they refused every single time.

Instead, the temp manager sent me an email trying to brush it off as a "delayed receipt" of my packages, completely ignoring the fact that they were ripped open with items missing. She also claimed that management and the HOA have no power to remove a third-party contractor's employee—which makes zero sense considering her massive management company is the one that contracts and oversees the security vendor, and a Board member is the literal reason he wasn't removed. I'm asking for him to be sent to another site.

The security company brushed it aside and said that they gave him additional training but they returned him to site even during the investigation and after.

​I'm going to file a police report with CPD soon. Back on October 9, I also sent a formal records request under Section 19 of the Illinois Condo Property Act (along with a litigation hold) asking for the security desk logs, the Head of Security's theft report, and the past year of package theft complaints in the building. Management replied saying they saved the video, but according to the HOA's lawyer, they don't have to give me the video or the incident logs without a subpoena or court order because they claim security logs aren't covered by Section 19. Their 10-business-day deadline to hand over the records is up on October 23.

1. ​What kind of civil lawsuits or claims should I consider bringing against the HOA Board, the big property management company, and the security vendor for keeping a guard on duty after their own Head of Security documented him stealing from me?
2. ​Does a Board member stepping in to block the removal of a documented thief—while the property management company hides behind the vendor contract to do nothing—open them up to a lawsuit for breach of fiduciary duty or negligent retention, and would that pierce their D&O insurance protection?
3. ​Since management already told me in writing that they won't turn over the security logs without a court order, is suing them under Section 19 of the Illinois Condo Act after the October 23 deadline my strongest first move to get a judge involved and force them to pay my attorney's fees?