Lawsuit filed
Please Help!
The last few months have been very trying as we’ve attempted to get Galena’s Zoning Board and City Council to consider serious concerns about the proposal to build a large commercial resort development in town.
Galena and area residents, including many of you, have stepped up to speak about those concerns at hearings and meetings and in letters and calls to city officials. We have all tried to show the City the high level of community concern through petitions, yard signs, and simply showing up at every meeting.
We have taken every opportunity available to us to ask the Zoning Board and City Council to hear our concerns, to consider the numerous serious issues associated with the proposed development, and to follow the required steps. Instead, they have rushed to approve every decision related to the resort proposal, with virtually no meaningful discussion. For many of us it has been shocking to witness the Board and Council repeatedly choose to not address issues that will have a negative effect on the safety and well-being of residents, including the people who live immediately next to the proposed development.
Many of you are aware that Wendy Clark, one of the immediate neighbors of the proposed resort, hired an attorney with expertise in municipal law to provide guidance through the City’s processes, and to speak as a professional to the Zoning Board and City Council about the need to adhere to specific legal requirements. Recently, on the advice of her attorney, Wendy filed a lawsuit against the City of Galena for its failure to comply with city ordinances and state laws that govern review and approval of developments such as the Parker.
Those of us who know Wendy are aware that she did not take this action lightly. Unfortunately, after months of hard work trying to avoid getting to this point, there was simply no other option. The legal complaint is based on the city’s failure to meet the requirements of city codes and state law. It includes several “counts” based on specific decisions made by the City, and on the city ordinances or state laws that were violated. The complaint states that it is requesting the court to invalidate those decisions.*
Wendy is the plaintiff in the lawsuit, but if it is successful it will benefit all the residents of Galena and Jo Daviess County who have expressed disappointment, anger, and frustration over what they have witnessed in City Hall these last few months. It will benefit visitors who rely on the City to keep Galena the special place that it is.
This process is going to be very expensive – it’s reasonable to estimate that legal bills may exceed $25,000. Park the Parker stands behind Wendy in this lawsuit, and will be providing financial assistance to help defray legal expenses.**
Thus far, over $6,100 has been generously contributed to Park the Parker***. Some of that has been used to place ads in the Galena Gazette to inform and mobilize residents in the hopes of not getting to this point.
If we wish to ensure that the financial burden of trying to get the City to do its job properly doesn’t fall entirely on Wendy, we will need to raise quite a bit more money. Please help with as generous a contribution as you can afford.
Checks can be made out to Park the Parker, P.O. Box 311, Galena, IL 61036. Please email us if you are in need of alternative methods for making a contribution.
Thank you, and keep the faith that this issue is far from over. The spirit of Galena is worth fighting for.
The Park the Parker organization is not-for-profit, although it is not registered as an official nonprofit entity, and therefore contributions are not tax deductible.
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**The full complaint is filed at the Jo Daviess County courthouse, and interested persons can request a copy from the Clerk of the Circuit Court. Note that it is a lengthy, technical document and that details of the suit may change as it proceeds.
** The Park the Parker organization has a three-member board that makes decisions on expenditures and two individuals who are not part of that board and are responsible for payment of authorized expenditures. Although Wendy has assisted with Park the Parker efforts previously, she does not have a vote in how funds are spent. Any payments that Park the Parker makes will be made directly to the law firm or to reimburse Wendy after confirmation of her payments to the law firm.
*** Of the $6100 contributed to Park the Parker to date, $800 has been spent on ads in the Galena Gazette. Other expenses -- yard signs, bumper stickers, and website and domain fees --have been paid for by members of the Park the Parker organization out of their personal funds in order to prevent the other donations from being depleted.