Darien Sued Over Auto Body Shop

DARIEN, IL – Nearly two dozen homeowners are suing Darien over its approval last month of an auto body shop in their neighborhood.

They are asking a judge to bar the project at the old CVS Pharmacy, which is southeast of Lemont Road and 83rd Street. That is where the city allowed a Gerber Collision & Glass Shop.

The residents in the litigation are between 500 feet and nearly three-quarters of a mile away from the building.

In a 4-3 vote, the City Council approved the shop on Nov. 6. Nearly a month later, the residents sued in DuPage County Court.

Over several meetings, neighbors opposed Gerber, saying it would cause environmental problems, among other things.

The residents' lawyer is Elizabeth Uribe, who objected to the Gerber shop during the hearings. She lives in nearby unincorporated Downers Grove.

Uribe is an associate attorney for Chicago's Stone & Johnson law firm. In the Darien case, she sued the city independent of her law firm, listing her home address, not the firm's.

Uribe has taken a role in public affairs before. Last year, she led the committee that spearheaded the successful campaign for a property tax increase for Center Cass School District 66.

In that campaign, Uribe and her allies locked horns with Darien Alderman Eric Gustafson, who was vocal in his opposition to the tax hike. Last April, a Uribe-run committee contributed to a candidate against Gustafson in the city election, but he prevailed.

Gustafson, whose ward includes the old CVS Pharmacy, voted for the Gerber development.

The lawsuit said he "untruthfully suggested" at the Nov. 6 City Council meeting that the residents of the senior apartment complex Myers Commons, which is next to the old CVS Pharmacy, were fine with the proposed Gerber.

But the lawsuit did not specify the suggestion. At the meeting, Gustafson said he spoke with the complex's "leadership team" about its concerns. He also said Gerber may be better than a restaurant, which he said could cause issues such as noise, parking and garbage in the neighborhood.

In an email to Patch the next day, Gustafson said the leadership team agreed that "something else could be much worse than Gerber." But he did not say the team was fine with the auto body shop.

He said in the email that no Myers Commons residents spoke against the project. While that appeared to be true at the Nov. 6 meeting, some of the complex's residents opposed the project at a Planning and Zoning Commission meeting in October.

The commission voted 7-1 against Gerber.

Gustafson and the city administration declined to comment on the lawsuit. Patch left a message for comment with Uribe.

The lawsuit noted that each resident got only three minutes to speak during the council's meeting, but the city's treasurer, Michael Coren, spoke from the council's dais for five uninterrupted minutes. Coren, who lives near the site in question, favored approval.

According to the lawsuit, Gerber would emit pollutants into the air, soil and water and cause runoff to nearby homes.

It also contended the shop would result in safety issues with truck traffic used to tow disabled vehicles and haul away parts and other scrap materials.

Besides the city, the other defendants are Gerber, D&D Capital Investments and Storebuild.

The plaintiffs are:

• Stacie Wharton
• Bill Wharton
• Paul Cozza
• Elizabeth Cozza
• Richard Jackson
• Cathleen Jackson
• Brandon Esparza
• John Alongi
• James Boyle
• Jean Boyle
• Mark Burr
• Kimberly Burr
• Gerald Busiel
• Sharon Busiel
• Brian Cooper
• Vilma Rivera-Carrero
• John Dillon
• Micheal Dravo
• Susan Dravo
• Thomas Dunlap
• Rae Dunlap
• Alex Hewawissa
• Gary Kersting
• Donna Kersting
• Dana Maksimovich
• Christoper Tomko
• Robin Mitchell
• Patrick Mitchell
• William Nelson
• Patrice Nelson
• Claude Nesbit
• Lauren Robinson
• Joanne Orozco
• David Salem
• Martin Saso
• David Selig
• Tamara Selig
• Jessica Stabley
• Matthew Stabley
• Max Steele
• Susan Steele
• Kevin Sun
• Jenelle Tanaka
• Teresa Taylor
• Brian McIlwee
• Mark Weiss
• Marsha Weiss
• Barry Solomon
• Dale Nickos
• Antonina Kijowski
• Esther Banike
• Lawrence Banike
• Jonathan Matuzak