Lawsuit Aims To Stop NorthPoint Joliet Project

JOLIET, IL — Erin Gallagher and attorney Bob Fioretti say that a new civil lawsuit against Joliet and NorthPoint Development is another sign that momentum continues to build in their favor to prevent the controversial development from happening near the Route 53 corridor.

On behalf of the grassroots Stop NorthPoint coalition, Gallagher and Fioretti led a Thursday morning news conference inside the Stone City VFW hall at Route 53 and Laraway Road.

"We're challenging the city's authority to annex at this point," remarked Gallagher, who is the volunteer spokesperson for Stop NorthPoint.

Fioretti, who works in Chicago, was several minutes late for the 10:30 a.m. news conference because he got stuck in Joliet's truck traffic.

Once he arrived, the Chicago lawyer it may take a year to 18 months before a judge decides whether the NorthPoint project can be stopped by those on his side.

"This complaint is about safety, health and welfare of the citizens of Joliet and the people of the county of Will," he said.

(Article continues below this image of the lawsuit.)

In essence, Fioretti argues the NorthPoint project should not move forward because it's a public and private nuisance. "The plaintiffs here in this case are from all walks of life," he added.

Joliet Patch has previously reported that Joliet City Councilwoman Sherri Reardon received a $1,000 donation, prior to the council's vote, from NorthPoint. Thursday's news release from Gallagher indicates that veteran Joliet City Councilman Larry Hug received $22,763 from the Chicago Land Operators Joint Labor Management PAC, following a donation from NorthPoint Development to the same Chicagoland Operators PAC in the amount of $23,200.

Gallagher noted that the $23,200 was NorthPoint's only contribution to any political action committee. Hug's next highest political contribution besides money he donated to his own campaign was $3,500.

"Big money is controlling this development here," Fioretti told reporters Thursday.

The Stop NorthPoint lawyer also told reporters that the opposition movement continues to grow even though the city of Joliet approved the project last spring.

"I'm hearing all over as I go through Will County and Joliet that (people) say they are against this development and think this affects their health, safety and welfare," he said.

Added Gallagher, "the momentum is tremendous. We are very excited .... we are a tremendous grassroots organization."

She said that members of Stop NorthPoint include people from Manhattan and Elwood as well as Joliet Township and city of Joliet residents.

Opponents of NorthPoint say the project approved by the Joliet City Council in a 6-3 vote in April will bring irreversible harm to the southern border of Joliet as well as to Elwood, Manhattan and Jackson Township.

The Stop NorthPoint lawsuit argues that the NorthPoint Development would be detrimental to the Abraham Lincoln National Cemetery and force a financial burden on residents of Joliet and neighboring towns for widening and repairing roads, sewers, plus additional police and fire services.

Furthermore, the project jeopardizes the safety of area school children and will diminish and destroy the value of area properties and farms in the area, their lawsuit contends.

The new lawsuit alleges that Mayor Bob O'Dekirk and Joliet's corporation counsel at the time, Marty Shanahan, conducted illegal public meetings on North Point's pre-annexation proposals back in April. Their lawsuit also cites multiple examples of NorthPoint's false promises at its existing logistics park in Kansas. Similar problems will happen here in Joliet, if the construction moves forward, the plaintiffs maintain.

Gallagher reminded reporters at the Stone City VFW news conference that the proposed NorthPoint project for Joliet is nearly five times the size of Midway Airport.

"I think the judge will make the right determination, whoever it is assigned to and we'll go from there," attorney Fioretti remarked.