Tinley Park, Feds To Talk About Housing Lawsuit Settlement

TINLEY PARK, IL — Tinley Park officials and the U.S. Department of Justice will meet in late June to try to work out a settlement over a federal lawsuit involving a failed apartment complex. The village was sued by the Justice Department in 2016 for allegedly breaking federal fair housing laws by not approving The Reserve, a proposed 47-unit apartment complex for low-income residents at Oak Park Avenue and 183rd Street. Tinley officials dispute that their actions were discriminatory.

Settlement talks were ordered by U.S. District Court Judge Sara Ellis, who is presiding over the lawsuit, and lawyers on both sides are scheduled to meet June 25, according to the Daily Southtown. David Coar, a retired Chicago U.S. District Court judge and a mediator for Judicial Arbitration and Mediation Services, also will be part of the talks, the report added.

Late last month, Ellis ordered the village to hand over audio recording transcripts involving several closed-door executive sessions from 2016 so that they she can privately read them and determine whether the Justice Department can have access to them. Village officials contend the recordings fall under attorney-client privilege, but the feds argue the privilege doesn't offer such a blanket protection for everything discussed at these meetings.

RELATED: Feds Want Audio Of Closed Meetings On Nixed Tinley Apartment Plan

The Justice Department filed its request for the recordings at the end of May after it couldn't reach an agreement with the village. Originally, the village had until June 7 to turn over the transcripts. Officials, however, have asked for an extension because extra time is needed not only to transcribe the tapes but also make sure the individuals recorded are properly identified, the Southtown reports.

The Village of Tinley Park has been embroiled in legal proceedings connected to The Reserve for nearly two years. In that time, the village has racked up more than $2 million in legal costs connected with those legal actions, according to the Southtown.

In April 2016, the developers of The Reserve, the Buckeye Community Hope Foundation, sued the village after a Plan Commission vote on the ill-fated project was put on hold. The village and the foundation eventually settled the case out of court, and Buckeye withdrew its plans to build The Reserve.

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

That $2.45 million settlement required the village to pay around $75,000 from its general fund, the Southtown reports. Tinley's insurer, the Intergovernmental Risk Management Association was on the hook for the remaining amount, which included about $684,000 from a legal settlement fund that insurer had set up for the village, the report added.

Besides the Justice Department legal action, the village also is involved in another lawsuit connected to The Reserve, but as the plaintiff, not the defendant. Amy Connolly, Tinley Park's former planning director who was an instrumental part of evaluating The Reserve, faces a lawsuit by the village that accuses Connolly of mishandling the process.

A status hearings for the cases are scheduled for June 20. Ellis is presiding over both of them.

More via the Daily Southtown

An artist's rendering of The Reserve, a failed proposal for a 47-unit apartment complex for low-income residents (Image via Village of Tinley Park | Patch archive)