2008 Press Release: Federal Jury Trial Ends in Verdict For the City of Des Plaines

For immediate release
April 14, 2008

In late 2004 Covenant Media filed suit in the U. S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois against the City of Des Plaines, complaining that its rights to obtain billboards were stymied by the City.

The case was assigned to U.S. District Judge Joan Lefkow. In 2006, the Judge Lefkow granted summary judgment for the City of Des Plaines, but later reversed herself as to one sign location. The trial focused on this location. Attorney Ellen Emery, of the Ancel Glink law firm tried the case on behalf of the City. Adam Webb, of Atlanta Georgia, tried the case on behalf of Covenant Media of Illinois.

A jury was selected Monday, April 7, 2008 and the trial began that same day. The evidence showed that Covenant first filed its lawsuit, then filed an incomplete application for the billboard. At the conclusion of the trial on April 9, 2008 the case went to the Jury for deliberation. The jury deliberated for approximately an hour and fifteen minutes. The jury verdict in the City's favor was announced upon its return to the Courtroom.

"This is a huge victory for the City. The City acted appropriately and treated all applicants for billboards fairly. We are extremely pleased with the jury’s review of the facts and their verdict for the City", said City Attorney David R. Wiltse. Wiltse was a witness at the trial.

The agreement provides for the City to declare a surplus sharing of $ 3,000,000 in funds from TIF district # 1 to be shared with the three Districts as follows: $ 1,500,000 payable in 2008 and $ 1,500,000 payable in 2009. The City also agreed to share 10 % of the property tax revenues beginning in the 11th year of TIF district # 4 and 20 % of the property tax revenues beginning in the 21st year of TIF district # 4. Finally, the City will share 8 % of its share of the sales tax revenues from the new businesses established in TIF district # 4. The City also agreed to remove a number of properties from the proposed TIF district and reduced the size of the proposed TIF district by approximately 20 acres.

"We are pleased that our other taxing bodies understand that by careful use of the TIF district, blighted or underdeveloped areas can blossom, providing new jobs, a new look, and significant revenues in the long run," City Manager David Niemeyer said. "But we also recognize that for those same districts, the "long run" could present a problem when the tax revenues available to the districts stay at the level before the TIF was adopted. The revenue sharing agreement addresses this concern and provides an estimated $ 12 to $ 15 million dollars of additional revenue to the taxing bodies during the life of the TIF district," Niemeyer said. "This is the first time the City has agreed to share tax revenues in connection with establishing a TIF district. We hope this will usher in a new period of cooperation between the City and the other local governments that serve the residents of the City of Des Plaines," Niemeyer said.

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