Operator of Pleasant View in Ottawa files for bankruptcy protection

Lutheran Life Communities, which operates Pleasant View in Ottawa and other retirement homes in suburban Chicago, downstate Illinois and Indiana, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection this week, court filings show.

Lutheran Life Communities “has been investigating strategic alternatives for addressing the financial needs of the company and its affiliates, reorganizing their business, maximizing the value of the assets of the company and its affiliates; and protecting the company’s affiliates from the appointment of a receiver,” according to a resolution approved Monday by the nonprofit’s board of directors.

The resolution was included Tuesday in a 19-page Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Chicago. Officials couldn’t be reached for comment Wednesday.

The company has between $10 million and $50 million in liabilities, $10 million to $50 million in assets, and fewer than 50 creditors, the filing indicates.

The largest creditor is listed as Select Rehabilitation, a Glenview firm that offers contract therapy services and holds an unsecured claim of $808,084.

The next largest – with a $446,990 unsecured claim – is the Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services, which provides health care coverage for people who qualify for Medicaid.

Others on the list of creditors include Downers Grove general contractor CR Improvements, which is owed $255,294, and Direct Energy Business, an electricity and natural gas retailer that billed $185,587.

The numbers are far smaller than Friendship Village of Schaumburg’s Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing in summer 2023. The largest continuing care retirement community in the state – since purchased at bankruptcy auction by Encore Healthcare Services of New York – had between 200 and 999 creditors, the largest of which was UMB Bank with an unsecured claim of $75.4 million.

Located at 505 College Ave., Pleasant View announced an expansion of its cottage homes in August 2024. It offers independent residential living, assisted living, short-term rehabilitation, memory support and skilled nursing.

Lutheran Life Communities also operates Luther Oaks in Bloomington, Lutheran Homes in Arlington Heights, and Wittenberg Village in Crown Point, Indiana.

The entities filed individual petitions for bankruptcy relief, but a hearing is scheduled Friday to administer the cases together.

Court filings show the company in May retained the law firm of Squire Patton Boggs to serve as its primary bankruptcy and restructuring counsel. In recent days, officials added McDonald Hopkins as additional counsel. OnePoint Partners was hired in April as financial adviser.

· Daily Herald staff writer Eric Peterson and Shaw Local newsletter editor Emily K. Coleman contributed to this report.

https://www.dailyherald.com/20250205/news/operator-of-lutheran-home-in-arlington-heights-files-for-bankruptcy-protection/