Trial Date Set in Mall Lawsuit
By Heather Gillers, Sun-Times News Group
Copyright © 2006 Sun-Times News Group
Yorkville, Illinois - A lawsuit to stop construction on an 800,000-square-foot shopping mall here will go to trial March 12, a timetable that could allow retailers Target and Kohl's to open in 2007 as planned -- if a judge rules in favor of the $135 million project.
Twenty-four Kendall County residents brought the lawsuit last month in hopes of preserving the rural character of the mall's planned site at U.S. 34 and Cannonball Trail.
City officials had worried the retailers would lose interest if legal proceedings dragged on. But the mid-March trial date set by Judge Thomas Mueller will delay dealings with Kohl's only slightly, said Alderman Marty Munns, chairman of the city's Economic Development Committee.
The store site was expected to change hands March 1, Munns said.
Yorkville City Attorney John Wyeth and the developer, Chicago-based Harlem Irving Cos., have declined to comment on pending litigation.
Carl Buck, a Plainfield lawyer who represents the 24 residents, called the city's concerns about losing the mall because of legal delays a scare tactic.
"If that property is as valuable as they say it is and it's as coveted," Buck said, "that would lead one to the conclusion that whether that project happens now or a year from now it's still going to be profitable."
The residents, who belong to a citizens' group known as the Cannonball Trail Civic League, are challenging the mall on the grounds that it is larger that the commercial development called for in the city's comprehensive plan, and that it does not benefit the community.
City officials maintain that the comprehensive plan is a guide document, not a strict blueprint for development, and argue that residents would benefit significantly from the mall.
The project will net millions of dollars in revenue for both the city and the schools, and possibly delay the need for a school tax increase, officials said. School officials have submitted to the court a letter supporting the mall, which is also expected to create about 2,500 new jobs.
"We have high confidence in our legal position," said Alderman Valerie Burd.
Still, the Yorkville City Council is exercising caution as it moves forward with the project, which it approved by a large majority in August.
Aldermen agreed earlier this month to hold off on selling $10 million in bonds to finance the mall's infrastructure, which will be repaid through sales tax on merchandise. Selling the bonds might be difficult with a lawsuit hanging over the project, said City Administrator John Crois, and postponing the sale agreement means the city would not be bound by it should the mall deal fall through.
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Rathbun, Cservenyak & Kozol LLC is a Will County-based law firm in the practice of civil litigation. The firm consists of eleven (11) attorneys who provide aggressive legal services to industry, governments, insurance companies and individuals. The firm serves clients from Will County and surrounding counties both in state and federal court.
