Date: 08-26-2018

Case Style:

Case Number: 16-cv-10848-SLE

Judge:

Court: United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois (Cook County)

Plaintiff's Attorney: John R. Lausch, Jr. and John Gore

Defendant's Attorney:

Description: Chicago, IL - Justice Department Obtains $410,000 Settlement of Housing Discrimination Lawsuit Against Tinley Park, Illinois, for Refusing to Approve Low-Income Housing Development

The Justice Department on August 24, 2018announced that it settled a lawsuit against the Village of Tinley Park, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago, alleging that it violated the Fair Housing Act when it refused to approve a low-income housing development in response to race-based community opposition.

The suit, filed in U.S. District Court in Chicago, Illinois, in November 2016, alleged that the Village of Tinley Park discriminated against prospective tenants of a proposed development when it refused to approve the project, despite the Tinley Park Planning Department’s finding that the project was in “precise conformance” with the applicable building requirements. Under Tinley Park’s zoning ordinances, Tinley Park’s Plan Commission should have approved the project and allowed construction to begin. Instead, the lawsuit alleged that in response to race-based community opposition, Tinley Park trustees requested the Plan Commission table consideration of the project. The Plan Commission did so, stalling the project indefinitely.

Under the settlement, the Village will pay a total of $360,000 in monetary damages to the Village’s former planning director who was placed on leave because of her support for the project, as well as a $50,000 civil penalty to the United States. In addition, the Village will also take a number of actions to guard against further housing discrimination, including training elected officials and individuals involved in the planning process, developing a fair housing policy, and hiring a fair housing compliance officer. The developer of the property reached a separate settlement with the Village in April 2017.

“Increasing access to housing, including through affordable housing, is important to the development of our communities,” said Acting Assistant Attorney General John Gore of the Civil Rights Division. “The Justice Department will continue to enforce federal civil rights laws, and protect against discrimination, including on the basis of race, with respect to access to affordable housing.”

SETTLEMENT AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA AND
THE VILLAGE OF TINLEY PARK, ILLINOIS
I. RECITALS
1. The United States initiated this action on November 23, 2016, seeking to enforce the Fair
Housing Act, Title VIII of the Civil Rights Act of 1968, as amended (“the Fair Housing
Act” or “the FHA”), 42 U.S.C. §§ 3601-3631. In its Complaint, the United States alleges
that the Village of Tinley Park (“Village” or “Tinley Park”) has made unavailable or
denied dwellings to persons on the basis of race or color in violation of 42 U.S.C.
§ 3604(a) of the FHA and has interfered with the exercise or enjoyment of rights under
the FHA in violation of 42 U.S.C. § 3617.
2. In February 2015, Buckeye Community Hope Foundation (“Buckeye”) contacted the
Village with a proposal to construct a 47-unit multi-family affordable housing
development on a site for which it held a purchase option in the southern end of the
downtown area of Tinley Park. Financing for this development was to be provided under
the federal Low Income Housing Tax Credit Program (“LIHTC”), 26 U.S.C. § 42.
3. In October 2015, Buckeye submitted the proposal to the Village Planning Department.
The United States alleges in its Complaint that in January 2016 the Planning Department
found that it met the requirements of the zoning code and was ready for site plan approval
by the Plan Commission. The Village denies this allegation.
4. The Plan Commission held its first public meeting on the proposal on January 21, 2016.
5. In February 2016, the Plan Commission tabled consideration of the project.
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6. The United States’ Complaint alleges that the Village’s Plan Commission refused to vote
on Buckeye’s development in response to community opposition to the proposed
development that was based on race or color.
7. The Complaint further alleges that Tinley Park took this action with the intent and with
the effect of discriminating against prospective African-American tenants of Buckeye’s
proposed development. In so doing, the Complaint alleges that Tinley Park has engaged
in a pattern or practice of discrimination on the basis of race or color, and a denial of
rights to a group of persons that raises an issue of general public importance, in violation
of the FHA.
8. In its Answer to the Complaint, Tinley Park has denied the foregoing allegations and the
material allegations of the Complaint, in particular that it undertook any actions that
constitute a violation of the Fair Housing Act, 42 U.S.C. § 3601, et seq. The Village
denies that any of its actions were undertaken with any discriminatory motive, intent, or
result, and further contends that the proposed Buckeye development did not meet the
requirements of the Village’s Legacy Code.
9. In order to avoid the costs and risks of further litigation, the United States and the Village
have agreed to the terms of this Settlement Agreement.
10. In consideration of, and consistent with, the terms of this Settlement Agreement, the
Parties will move jointly for dismissal of this action, consistent with the terms set forth in
Paragraphs 30 and 33.
11. No provision of this Settlement Agreement is intended to be, nor shall any provision be
construed as, an admission by the Village that its actions with respect to Buckeye’s
proposed affordable housing development have violated the FHA.
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IT IS HEREBY AGREED:
II. DEFINITIONS
12. The following terms when used in this Settlement Agreement, shall have the following
meaning:
(a) “Affordable housing” means housing, any portion of which is incomerestricted
and rent-restricted and is designed to serve low-to-moderate
income persons. This includes, but need not be limited to, housing
financed through the federal Low Income Housing Tax Credit Program
(“LIHTC”). 26 U.S.C. § 42 et seq.
(b) “Multifamily Housing” means four or more dwelling units, including
modular homes, attached along and sharing one or more common walls
between any two units and/or stacked one above another.
(c) “The Village” and “the Village of Tinley Park” refer to the Village of
Tinley Park, its elected or appointed officials, including the Board of
Trustees, Mayor and Plan Commissioners, its employees, officers, agents,
consultants.
III. GENERAL NONDISCRIMINATION PROVISIONS
13. Defendant agrees that, as required by the Fair Housing Act, it will not:
(a) make unavailable or deny a dwelling to any person because of race or
color;
(b) interfere with any person in the exercise or enjoyment of, or on account of
his having exercised or enjoyed, or on account of his having aided or
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encouraged any other person in the exercise or enjoyment of, any right
protected by the Fair Housing Act; or
(c) interfere with the funding, development, or construction of any affordable
housing units because of race or color.
IV. FAIR HOUSING POLICY
14. Within thirty (30) days of execution of this Settlement Agreement, the Village shall adopt
a “Fair Housing Policy,” the text of which is in the form of Appendix A. The Fair
Housing Policy shall list the name and contact information for the Village’s Fair Housing
Compliance Officer (Section VI). The Village shall include the Fair Housing Policy in
all literature and information or application packets to residential developers, including
developers of Multifamily Housing projects. The Village shall include the Fair Housing
Policy as a readily accessible link on its website.
15. Within thirty (30) days of the execution of this Agreement, the Village shall place the
phrase “Equal Housing Opportunity” or the fair housing logo on its website. The Village
shall place the same in all future published notices and advertisements related to
development of Multifamily Housing in the Village, and submit copies of all such notices
and advertisements to the United States within six (6) months of publishing, as required
by Section VII.
V. FAIR HOUSING TRAINING
16. Within sixty (60) days of the execution of this Settlement Agreement, the Village shall
provide in-person training on the requirements of this Settlement Agreement and of the
FHA to all Village employees who have duties related to the planning, zoning,
permitting, construction, or occupancy of residential housing, including all members of
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the Planning Department. Within ninety (90) days of the execution of this Settlement
Agreement, the Village shall provide in-person training on the requirements of this
Settlement Agreement and of the FHA to all Village officials who have duties related to
the planning, zoning, permitting, construction, or occupancy of residential housing,
including, but not limited to, the Mayor and all members of the Board of Trustees and all
members of the Plan Commission.
17. The training shall be conducted by a qualified, independent third-party person or
organization that has been approved by the United States in advance. The Village shall
bear all costs associated with this training.
18. The Village shall provide a copy of the attendance log evidencing that those persons
required to receive such training hereunder have done so. Each person attending the
training shall provide his or her original signature on the log. Such log shall be provided
with the Village’s reports pursuant to Section VII.
19. Within thirty (30) days of the date a Village official or employee is newly hired for a
position or undertakes new duties that would require him or her to attend fair housing
training under the terms of this Settlement Agreement, the Village shall distribute to each
such person a copy of this Settlement Agreement and copies of all written materials from
the most recent fair housing training session.
VI. COMPLIANCE AND RECORD-KEEPING
20. Within thirty (30) days of execution of this Settlement Agreement, the Village shall
designate a Village employee or official as its Fair Housing Compliance Officer
(“FHCO”). In addition to any responsibilities set forth above, the FHCO shall be the
Village official designated to receive complaints of alleged housing discrimination
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against the Village, participate in fair housing meetings and training, and coordinate
compliance with the Settlement Agreement. The FHCO shall maintain copies of the
Settlement Agreement, the Fair Housing Policy, the HUD Complaint Form, and the HUD
pamphlet entitled “Are you a victim of housing discrimination?” (HUD official form 903
and 903.1, respectively) and make these materials freely available to anyone, upon
request, including all persons making a fair housing complaint.
21. During the term of this Settlement Agreement, the FHCO shall report every six months
on his or her activities taken in compliance with this Settlement Agreement. The Village
shall, in its first Compliance Report, as set forth in Section VII, notify the United States
of the name, address, and title of the FHCO.
22. For the duration of this Settlement Agreement, the Village shall notify counsel for the
United States in writing within thirty (30) days of receipt by the FHCO of any complaint,
whether written, oral, or in any other form, against the Village of Tinley Park, or against
any of its employees or agents, regarding discrimination based on race or color in
housing. If complaints are made verbally, the Village shall make a contemporaneous
written record of those complaints. The Village shall inform counsel for the United
States of any efforts the Village undertook or plans to undertake to resolve each
complaint, and shall promptly inform the United States of the terms of the resolution of
the complaint or the failure to resolve the complaint.
23. The Village shall preserve all records, including, but not limited to, electronic records and
files created in association with complying with this Settlement Agreement. The Village
shall be responsible for maintaining and preserving, or supervising the maintenance and
preservation of, these records.
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24. The Village will notify individual Trustees and Plan Commissioners of their obligation to
maintain and preserve records related to compliance with this Settlement Agreement.
VII. REPORTING
25. The Village shall be responsible for the preparation of semi-annual reports, beginning six
months after the execution of this Settlement Agreement, to be submitted to counsel for
the United States identifying all actions taken by the Village to comply with the terms of
this Settlement Agreement. These reports will include, at a minimum:
(a) A copy of the Fair Housing Policy distributed by the Village of Tinley
Park pursuant to Paragraph 14, and a print-out from the Village’s website
showing a link to this Policy;
(b) Representative copies of the advertising, notices, and print-out of the
website showing the “Equal Housing Opportunity” logo or language
referenced in Paragraph 15;
(c) The training log referenced in Paragraph 18;
(d) The name and contact information for the FHCO as set forth in Paragraph
20, and any reports prepared by the FHCO for the Village, as required by
Paragraph 21;
(e) Any complaints of housing discrimination based on race or color made to
the Village, as described in Paragraph 22; and
(f) Any written requests for any type of action by the Village related to
Multifamily Housing during the preceding six months, and, if known,
whether such Multifamily Housing includes any Affordable Housing
units.
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26. Upon reasonable notice to counsel for the Village, the United States shall be permitted to
inspect and copy any records associated with compliance with this Settlement Agreement
or, upon request by the United States, the Village shall provide copies of such documents.
VIII. CIVIL PENALTY
27. Within thirty (30) days after the entry of this Settlement Agreement, the Village shall pay
a total of $50,000 to the United States as a civil penalty, pursuant to 42 U.S.C.
§ 3614(d)(l)(C) and 28 C.F.R. § 85.5. This payment shall be delivered to counsel for the
United States, by overnight mail, in the form of a cashier’s check payable to the “United
States Treasury.”
IX. AMY CONNOLLY
28. The Department of Justice claims Amy Connolly is an “aggrieved party” under 42
U.S.C.A. § 3602(i). The Village disputes this. The Village and Amy Connolly have
resolved all claims between them, and the Village approved the payment of $360,000 in
monetary damages, pursuant to a separate agreement.
X. IMPLEMENTATION, ENFORCEMENT, AND DISMISSAL OF THE
UNDERLYING ACTION
29. The United States and the Village shall endeavor in good faith to resolve informally any
differences regarding interpretation of and compliance with this Settlement Agreement.
After such good faith efforts, if the United States contends that there has been a failure by
the Village to perform in a timely manner any act required by this Settlement Agreement,
or otherwise to act in conformance with any provision thereof, whether intentionally or
not, the United States will notify the Village in writing of its concerns. The Village will
have fifteen (15) days from the date of notification to cure the breach.
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30. If the Parties are unable to reach a resolution within fifteen (15) days, the United States
may seek appropriate relief from the Court prior to dismissal of the United States’ action.
If the action has been dismissed pursuant to Paragraph 33, the United States may file a
separate action for breach of this Settlement Agreement, or any provision thereof, in the
United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. In any action filed under
this paragraph, the Village agrees not to contest the exercise of personal jurisdiction over
them by this Court and not to raise any challenge on the basis of venue.
31. In an action or proceeding brought by the United States to enforce this Settlement
Agreement, the United States may seek, and the Court may grant as relief, any or all of
the following: (1) an order mandating specific performance of any term or provision in
this Settlement Agreement, without regard to whether monetary relief would be adequate;
(2) an award of reasonable attorneys’ fees and costs incurred in bringing an action or
proceeding to remedy breach of this Settlement Agreement; and (3) any additional relief
that may be authorized by law or equity.
32. Failure by the United States to enforce any provision of this Settlement Agreement shall
not operate as a waiver of the United States’ right or ability to enforce any other
provision of this Settlement Agreement.
33. After the payments in Paragraphs 27 and 28 have been made, the Parties shall jointly
move the Court for dismissal with prejudice of the underlying civil action.
XI. DURATION, EXECUTION, AND OTHER TERMS
34. The effective date of this Settlement Agreement is the date of the last signature below.
The Settlement Agreement may be executed in multiple counterparts, each of which
together shall be considered an original but all of which shall constitute one agreement.
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Facsimiles of signatures shall constitute acceptable, binding signatures for purposes of
this Settlement Agreement.
35. This Settlement Agreement shall remain in effect for three (3) years after the effective
date. The United States and the Village agree that in the event the Village engages in any
future violation of the Fair Housing Act, such violation shall constitute a “subsequent
violation” pursuant to 42 U.S.C. § 3614(d)(l) (C)(ii), regardless of whether there was
sufficient evidence to establish an initial violation. This provision applies to any future
violation, whether resolved voluntarily or through judicial proceedings.
36. This Settlement Agreement, including Appendix A, constitutes the complete agreement
between the Parties relating to the claims made in the Complaint. No prior or
contemporaneous communications, oral or written, or prior drafts shall be relevant or
admissible for purposes of determining the meaning of any provision herein or in any
other proceeding.
37. All Parties and signatories to this Settlement Agreement represent that they freely and
voluntarily enter into this Settlement Agreement without any degree of duress or
compulsion. The Parties agree that each Party and its representatives have acted
consistent with the duty of good faith and fair dealing.
38. The undersigned represent and warrant that they are fully authorized to execute this
Settlement Agreement on behalf of the persons and entities indicated below.
39. The provisions of this Settlement Agreement shall apply to the Village and their officers,
employees, agents, successors and assigns.
40. This Settlement Agreement is governed by and shall be interpreted under the laws of the
United States. For purposes of construing or interpreting this Settlement Agreement, it
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shall be deemed to have been drafted by all Parties and shall not be construed or
interpreted against any Party for that reason in any subsequent dispute.
41. Except where this Settlement Agreement expressly conditions or predicates performance
of a duty or obligation upon the performance of a duty or obligation by another party, the
performance of one party’s duties or obligations under this Settlement Agreement shall
not be discharged or excused by the actual or alleged breach of the duties and obligations
by another party.
42. Should any provision of this Settlement Agreement be declared or determined by any
court to be illegal or invalid, the validity of the remaining parts, terms or provisions shall
not be affected thereby and the illegal or invalid part, term or provision shall be deemed
not to be a part of this Settlement Agreement.
43. The Parties agree that they will defend this Settlement Agreement against any challenge
by any third party. In the event that this Settlement Agreement or any of its terms are
challenged by a third party in a court other than the United States District Court for the
Northern District of Illinois, the Parties agree that they will seek removal and/or transfer
to the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois.
44. This Settlement Agreement may be modified only with the written consent of the Parties.
Any modification must be in writing and signed by the Parties through their authorized
representatives.
45. This Settlement Agreement is a public document. The Parties agree and consent to the
United States’ disclosure to the public of this Settlement Agreement and information
about this Settlement Agreement.


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APPENDIX A
NONDISCRIMINATION POLICY
It is the policy of the Village of Tinley Park (“the Village”) to comply with Title VIII of
the Civil Rights Act of 1968, as amended, (commonly known as the Fair Housing Act) by
ensuring that its zoning and land use decisions do not discriminate against persons based on race,
color, religion, national origin, disability, familial status or sex. This policy means that, among
other things, the Village and all its officials, agents and employees will not discriminate in any
aspect of housing based on these protected class characteristics, including by:
(a) making unavailable or denying a dwelling to any person based on race or color;
(b) discriminating against any person in the terms, conditions or privileges of a dwelling, or in
the provision of services or facilities in connection therewith based on race or color;
(c) making, printing, or publishing, or causing to be made, printed, or published any notice,
statement, or advertisement, with respect to a dwelling that indicates any preference, limitation,
or discrimination based on race or color;
(d) representing to persons because of race or color that any dwelling is not available when such
dwelling is in fact so available;
(e) interfering with any person in the exercise or enjoyment of, or on account of his having
exercised or enjoyed, or on account of his having aided or encouraged any other person in the
exercise or enjoyment of, any right protected by the Fair Housing Act;
(f) interfering with the funding, development, or construction of any affordable housing units
because of race or color; and
(g) discriminating on the basis of race or color in any aspect of the administration of its zoning,
land use, or building ordinances, policies, practices, requirements, or processes relating to the
use, construction, or occupancy of dwellings.
Any person who believes that any of the above policies have been violated by the Village
may contact the Village’s Fair Housing Compliance Officer at _________________. That
person may also contact the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development at 1-888-799-
2085, or the U.S. Department of Justice at 1-800-896-7743 or 202-514-4713.

“Access to housing free from discrimination is a right afforded to all Americans,” said U.S. Attorney John R. Lausch, Jr. of the Northern District of Illinois. “This settlement is an example of our office’s continuing effort to enforce anti-discrimination laws that protect those rights.”

Individuals who believe they have been victims of housing discrimination practices may file a complaint with the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) or a lawsuit in federal or state court. Individuals must file their complaint with HUD within one year of a housing discrimination incident or file a lawsuit in federal or state court within two years of an incident. For more information about housing discrimination laws, call (202) 514-4713 or visit the Department of Justice website at https://www.justice.gov/crt/housing-and-civil-enforcement-section

Outcome: See above

Plaintiff's Experts:

Defendant's Experts:

Comments: