December 2008 Archives

Fix Wilson Yard, a registered Illinois Not-For-Profit organization made of concerned citizens in Uptown and surrounding Chicago neighborhoods who protest the creation, execution and implementation of the Wilson Yard Tax Increment Financing District and the Wilson Yard Redevelopment Plan, had their day in court in pursuit of a Temporary Restraining Order against the City of Chicago and Peter Holsten, the developer of Wilson Yard.

While Fix Wilson Yard was unable to secure the TRO, the group feels they have made a significant impact on the the project.

Defendants, the City of Chicago and Peter Holsten, pleaded with the court, citing that the extremely tenuous financing that has allowed construction to move forward would be destroyed, the developer would be in default and incur $50,000 per day in fines and add exponential costs to the overall development. Additionally, the City attorneys demanded that if a TRO was granted that the community group must put up $100 million dollar bond.

Judge Mary Katherine Rochford stated her difficulty in making her decision. She began by acknowledging the strong case presented by the Plaintiffs, and that she would never ask a community group to post a construction bond. However, her decision not to grant the TRO was heavily based on the significant financial harm to the developer.

"Although we were unable to attain the TRO, we are very pleased with the Court's reaction to our case and believe we will win the first groundbreaking lawsuit against the City of Chicago for TIF violations," said Molly Phelan, Fix Wilson Yard President, outside the Daley Center Court House. "This was just this first battle in a very long war. It is nowhere near over yet."

Read the entire press release from Fix Wilson Yard here.