The Illinois Attorney General’s Office is looking into a complaint filed by a resident who is claiming Oak Park village officials violated the Illinois Open Meetings Act while discussing the Lake and Forest tower project.
Resident David Barsotti filed the complaint earlier this month, alleging the village board discussed the developer’s request for a permit extension during a closed session meeting Nov. 22. Attorney General Lisa Madigan’s office notified the village in a letter last week that the office would be reviewing the allegation.
The extension was passed on the consent agenda, a long list of items passed with a single vote, typically without discussion or comment. Barsotti and Lynn Kessen, an opposition candidate for the village board, spoke out against the project before the vote, but the board did not discuss the issue. Barsotti also is accusing the board of slipping the item on the agenda in the last minute.
“It seemed like the decision was made (during the closed session,)” Barsotti said Wednesday. “There was no info given up until the meeting. It just doesn’t seem right.”
Because of the vote, Lake Street Investors now has until March 15 to submit permits for the 20-story project, which will feature a 140-room hotel, 85 condos and a new 510-space parking garage. The previous deadline was in December. It was also the second extension granted by the board. The first pushed back the demolition of the current structure, which was torn down in August.
The request for review is not an accusation or implication of wrongdoing, but an indication that the Attorney General’s Office needs more information and will be looking into the matter, said spokeswoman Maura Possley. The office is seeking audio recordings and minutes from the meeting and a copy of the notice and agenda.
The review takes up to 60 days and there are three possible outcomes: a finding that no violation occurred, an informal mediation from the office where the office works with the public body to correct a violation, or a binding opinion if a violation occurred. The office cannot issue fines, but can take a public body to court if they ignore the binding opinion.
“We typically ask the public body to undo what was done (if a violation occurred), such as taking another vote in a public meeting,” Possley said.
Oak Park Village Attorney Ray Heise dismissed the accusation. He said the extension was one of many issues discussed in the closed session, most importantly the possible sale of the Forest Avenue garage to the developer, which is part of the overall agreement. He said the discussion of the sale of the public property is allowed under executive session rules, making the entire development conversation legal under the Open Meetings Act.
“The developer asked the village for an extension of the original time frame agreed upon,” he said. “Those time frames were about to expire and would have voided the entire agreement. As it turns out, because of the time crunch, the only thing we were able to accomplish was the extension.”
Heise said they will deliver any information the Attorney General’s Office needs, but said the board did not do anything wrong.
“The process is working as it is intended to work,” he said.
jjaworski@tribune.com
