Tinley Park Sues Former Planning Director

TINLEY PARK, IL -- The village of Tinley Park has sued its former planning director, placing the blame on Amy Connolly for being named in Fair Housing Act lawsuits initiated by both the Buckeye Community Hope Foundation and the United States. Connolly - now the development director for the city of Racine, Wisconsin - is the lone defendant named in the lawsuit that seeks $75,000 in addition to punitive damages. Her attorney says all claims against her lack merit.

The village contends that Connolly made numerous “intentional misrepresentations” to village trustees in indicating that the Buckeye foundation met all village zoning requirements in their effort to build a 47-unit affordable housing development at 183rd Street and Oak Park Avenue known as “The Reserve.”

“Connolly decided that she would do whatever was necessary to secure such a development, including breaching her fiduciary duties to the Village by, among other things, making numerous intentional misrepresentations to Village Trustees and employees and third parties,” reads the lawsuit that was filed on May 1, the same day a new mayor and set of trustees were sworn in.

“Connolly represented to the Village that The Reserve met all Village zoning code requirements. Connolly knew this was false because Connolly knew that The Reserve did not meet the Street Level Commercial Requirement in place at the time.”

The street level commercial requirement was put into place in 2009 as part of the village’s Legacy Code that sought to enact a plan for the village downtown, of which “The Reserve” location was set to go up on the southern end. Buckeye’s plan - one that lacked a street-level commercial plan - was denied by the village for that reason. They responded by suing the village in a case that was recently settled for just under $2.5 million.

READ MORE: Buckeye Lawsuit Settlement Reached

The lawsuit says Connolly also “engaged in a pattern of willful, deliberate conduct that was adverse to the Village’s interests, violated Village policies, procedures and Rules of Conduct/Code of Ethics, and was intended solely to benefit Connolly’s self-interest” by preparing a motion to review and consider amending a section of the Legacy Code that would change the street level commercial requirement.

But Patrick Walsh, the Chicago attorney representing Connolly in the case, says all the allegations of misconduct against her in the case are “categorically false.”

“The lawsuit is retaliatory and I personally find it to be politically grandstanding,” said Walsh. “The Inspector General office looked at what Amy did and found no misconduct. The Department of Justice looked and Amy’s conduct and found no misconduct and Buckeye found that Tinley Park committed fair housing act violations. Tinley Park is the group responsible for the violations that they are accusing Amy of.”

Walsh also disputes the claim in the village lawsuit that Connolly’s motivation in concealing the street-level requirement as part of the zoning code was to bring in development as a response to an alleged poor job performance.

“As director of planning, she had no responsibility or interest in new development,” Walsh said. “So the motivation stated is completely false. That’s an indication of what the lawsuit is.”

The retaliation claim Walsh makes in response to the lawsuit is explained by a claim Connolly made through the Department of Housing and Urban Development against the village.

Further, Walsh said the current lawsuit against Connolly was made to “embarrass her.”

“In 99.9 percent of all federal lawsuits… they are served through certified mail,” he said. “In this case, the defendant received it at work.”

“It was done to embarrass her at her job. I’ve never dealt with a situation like that.”

Walsh also said it's the first time he can recall a municipality suing one of its employees or former employees.

Connolly has worked in Racine since May 2016, when she resigned from her job in Tinley Park while on mandatory leave over the Buckeye debacle. She worked for the village for nine years in the planning role.

The village, in the lawsuit, said Connolly concealed the street-level amendment as part of “text amendments,” of which she allegedly told then-Trustee and now Mayor Jacob Vandenberg that the only significant ones dealt with tobacco-based restrictions.

But Walsh shared a January 2016 Facebook post from the Concerned Citizens for Tinley Park in which Vandenberg indicated all village codes and regulations had been met.

“The developer was able to secure HUD financing, and has submitted architectural renderings to the Village of Tinley Park that are 100% conforming to ALL Village Codes and Regulations.,” read the post signed by Vandenberg and Trustee Brian Younker.

In claiming the village would not have been sued by Buckeye and the U.S. under the Fair Housing Act had Connolly not conspired to change the Legacy Code, the village requests a jury trial.

In a request for comment on the lawsuit, Tinley Park Village Manager Dave Niemeyer said it “speaks for itself” and that its filing on the same day Vandenberg was sworn in as mayor was a coincidence.

“The new administration did not have any part in this,” he said. “The timing is a coincidence.”