La Grange Man 'Begging' Village To Drop Legal Bill

LA GRANGE, IL – The old expression is "You can't fight City Hall." In La Grange, you can try, but it may cost you thousands of dollars. At least that's what a resident says his experience indicates.

Resident Jonathan Robinson proposed changes to the zoning code. To get a Plan Commission hearing, he had to pay $1,500, which he did.

But he has since been charged another $2,871 to cover the village's attorney costs. That brings Robinson's total tab to $4,371.

This is part of the "text" amendment process that many Illinois towns offer. The procedure is mainly used by developers and businesses, often assisted by lawyers, to change the zoning code to make their projects a reality.

Robinson was without an attorney. He proposed that the Plan Commission record meetings, require developer meetings with neighbors and restrict developments near single-family houses.

The village's staff recommended against all of Robinson's ideas, but the Plan Commission agreed with recording meetings and mandating neighbor meetings.

Before the January commission meeting, Robinson said he sought a meeting with village staff for help with the process. But he said he was unable to get a significant phone conversation, let alone a meeting.

He said he was told the village doesn't assist in such matters.

Robinson said he believed the village until he attended the January meeting. That is when he said he learned that another applicant for a text amendment, Dr. Alex Georgiou, a chiropractor, got assistance from the village.

Georgiou proposed setting up a chiropractor's business on the first floor of a downtown building, which the Village Board voted down Monday.

During Monday's board meeting, Robinson noted statements during the January commission session that he said indicated Georgiou got much more help.

At one point in the January hearing, La Grange's community development director, Charity Jones, told Georgiou, "We're here to facilitate the process for everyone involved."

And she also said, "We can certainly meet with you. We'd be happy to schedule something."

At another point, Georgiou said he and officials had been in talks about his request since last year.

Robinson said he was charged for the nearly three hours that the village's attorney, Benjamin Schuster of Chicago's Elrod Friedman law firm, attended the hearing.

Earlier the same day as the January hearing, Schuster spent about 1.8 hours with village officials, including Jones and the Plan Commission's chairman, to discuss Robinson's proposals, according to the law firm's bill.

If the earlier meeting had been for Robinson's benefit, he would have been invited, he said.

Robinson said he assumed the previous session was to "handle me."

"That's completely inappropriate," Robinson said. "I didn't need handling. I needed help from the beginning."

Village President Mark Kuchler asked Robinson, "What exactly are you asking for?"

Robinson said he wanted the village to move forward with the two proposals that the Plan Commission liked – without his being "excessively billed."

He also said he was "begging" for the village to drop the latest $2,871 bill.

Robinson got involved in village affairs last year because he and his wife live next to a proposed 39-unit condo complex that the Village Board approved in January. It would replace the old Jackson Square antique mall.

Village documents stated that the developer's proposal would "violate" the Robinson home's setbacks.

Robinson and many other residents opposed the project.

Last month, Robinson set up the "Eyes of La Grange IL" YouTube channel. He now video-records village meetings.

He also obtained audio recordings of a few earlier meetings from the village, posting them to the channel.