$410K Settlement Reached With Tinley Park, Feds In Housing Suit

TINLEY PARK, IL — The Village of Tinley Park reached a $410,000 settlement Friday with federal authorities stemming from a fair housing lawsuit that involved a failed low-income apartment complex. Along with covering the financial damages associated with the lawsuit, the deal also requires officials to enact measures to guard against future housing discrimination, the U.S. Department of Justice announced Friday.

Tinley Park's federal legal troubles began in 2016 when the Justice Department filed a civil lawsuit against the village, accusing officials of violating the Fair Housing Act by not approving The Reserve, a proposed 47-unit apartment complex for low-income residents at Oak Park Avenue and 183rd Street. The project was indefinitely stalled by the Plan Commission, despite a recommendation by the village's Planning Department, the feds said.

According to the lawsuit, the refusal was "in response to race-based community opposition," a claim village officials have denied. In June, settlement talks were ordered by the presiding judge in the lawsuit.

Of the $410,000 settlement, the village will pay $360,000 in damages to Amy Connolly, Tinley Park's former planning director who was an instrumental part of evaluating The Reserve and placed on leave because she supported the project, the Justice Department said. The settlement's remaining $50,000 goes toward a U.S. civil penalty, according to the feds.

More Patch Coverage:

• Tinley Park Mired in Legal Mess over Apartment Complex
• Justice Dept Sues Tinley Park, Claims Village Violated Fair Housing Act
• Feds Asked Tinley Park To Admit It Has History Of Racist Acts: Filing
• Village Settles Lawsuit With Buckeye Community Hope Foundation
• Tinley Park Wants Federal Lawsuit Tossed
• Tinley Park Sues Former Planning Director
• Feds Want Audio Of Closed Meetings On Nixed Tinley Apartment Plan
  
• Tinley Park, Feds To Talk About Housing Lawsuit Settlement

“Access to housing free from discrimination is a right afforded to all Americans,” U.S. Attorney John R. Lausch, Jr. of the Northern District of Illinois sad in a statement Friday. “This settlement is an example of our office’s continuing effort to enforce anti-discrimination laws that protect those rights.”

The non-financial aspects of the Tinley Park's deal include steps to prevent future housing discrimination in the village. Some of those actions involve training for elected officials, developing fair housing policies, and hiring a fair housing compliance officer.

Last year, Tinley Park and the Buckeye Community Hope Foundation — the developers of The Reserve — reached a $2.45 million settlement. Under that deal, the village paid around $75,000 from its general fund, and Tinley's insurer, the Intergovernmental Risk Management Association, picked up the remaining $684,000 from a legal settlement fund that the insurer had set up for the village.

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