Candidates Sue Evanston Over Robert Crown Center FOIA Violations

EVANSTON, IL — After Evanston city staff failed to comply with an Illinois Attorney General opinion calling for the release of records related to the financing of the Robert Crown Community Center, two aldermanic candidates last week filed a lawsuit alleging the city violated the state's public records law.

Clare Kelly, a candidate in the 1st Ward, and Mary Rosinski, a candidate for 7th Ward, on Tuesday filed a six-count joint lawsuit against the city in Cook County circuit court stemming from the city's decision to withhold records about the rec center at 1701 Main St. in response to requests under the Illinois Freedom of Information Act they submitted in 2019.

Kelly and Rosinski have filed dozens of public records requests with the city in an attempt to obtain records relating to the construction of the $53 million Robert Crown Community Center and Library project. When borrowing costs are included, the project's price tag comes out to about $70 million. Partial funding for the project has been provided by the Friends of Robert Crown Center, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization.

In June 2019, Kelly submitted a request to the city for records of donations and pledges of $10,000 or more for the $53 million Robert Crown Center. And in September 2019, Rosinski requested copies of letters of acknowledgement and intent connected to millions of dollars in reported donations to the project through the nonprofit group.

Rosinski and Kelly said they filed the requests because they believed the city officials or the associated nonprofit group had misrepresented the amount of money that had been raised, when compared to how much had been pledged.

They also questioned how the city and nonprofit group were counting revenue from agreements involving the rental of the facility's ice rinks — including by private institutions like Wintrust Bank, Northwestern University and Beacon Academy.

Wintrust secured naming rights in exchange for its contribution, according to the nonprofit group. Northwestern would subsequently begin describing the arrangement as a "programmatic partnership agreement." And Beacon withdrew a $500,000 "charitable gift" in 2019 after it was revealed the contribution was dependent on the school getting guaranteed exclusive use of the gym during after-school hours.

The city's law department refused to turn over records of pledges, letters of intent and other correspondence about the terms of donation, arguing they were "pre-decisional and deliberative" draft documents and therefore and exempt from disclosure, according to letters from Assistant Attorney General Theresa Kim.

"Based on this office's review, [Evanston city officials] withheld copies of certain correspondence between [city officials] and donors related to the project. Rather than reflecting draft versions of letters and other documents, the records generally reveal communications between [officials] and donors concerning proposed donations terms," Kim said in a Dec. 10 letter finding the city improperly withheld records from Kelly.

"Here, the records reflect that the donors stood to benefit by negotiating with the City over the terms of the user and naming rights agreements. Because the donors had their own interests in the agreements, the records are not inter- or intra-agency, pre-decisional deliberative materials of the City," she added.

Related:
Aldermen Approve 2nd Round Of Robert Crown Center Funding
New Robert Crown Center Library Branch Opens To Public
Beacon Academy Withdraws $500,000 Robert Crown Center Pledge

In a similar determination letter last month finding city officials had failed to make a case for withholding the records Rosinski requested, Lim pointed out purely factual information about pledges to the project do not constitute deliberative material, as the city's attorneys had argued.

Kelly and Rosinski requested the city comply with the attorney general's non-binding opinion in December and January, respectively, "in an effort to avoid litigation," according to the 28-page complaint filed Tuesday on their behalf by attorney Merrick Wayne, of the firm Loevy & Loevy.

"All people are entitled to efficient access to all public records, especially when the records pertain to the funding of the new Robert Crown Center," Wayne told Patch in an email. "These FOIA requests should never have been denied, and the Attorney General's Office confirmed that the City cannot withhold these records."

Evanston now faces a potential civil penalty of between $2,500 and $5,000 per FOIA violation — on top of legal fees — if a court sides with Rosinski and Kelly in the suit.

City Manager Erika Storlie has not responded to an inquiry about why city staff declined to abide by the requests from the state attorney general's office.

A spokesperson for the city manager's office said city officials had not yet been served with a copy of the complaint.

As for the plaintiffs, Kelly said she was "delighted" that the attorney general's office had sided with her and Rosinski after more than a year.

"This is about our tax dollars and transparency. The recreation center project expanded over time into an exorbitantly expensive project, in fact, the most expensive project in Evanston’s history, growing from $18 million to $54 million. It became one of the most, if not the most, expensive municipal rec centers in the nation," Kelly said in a statement. "Residents have been left in the dark about transactions and agreements surrounding the financing, costs and programming of the recreation center. Questions need to be answered."

Rosinski told Patch it is problematic any time city officials handle the public's money in a questionable way.

"I want all our public projects to be completely transparent," Rosinski said. "We must never go down this path again with taxpayer dollars. That's really what it's about to me."

In the April 6 City Council elections, Kelly is running against incumbent 1st Ward Ald. Judy Fiske, while Rosinski is challenging incumbent 7th Ward Ald. Eleanor Revelle.

Read more: Full Complaint For 'Clare Kelly, Mary Rosinski v. City of Evanston' »