U.S. Attorney Morris Pasqual | U.S. Department of Justice
U.S. Attorney Morris Pasqual | U.S. Department of Justice
CHICAGO — The U.S. Attorney’s Office in Chicago has sought to file a complaint in intervention in a pending lawsuit against Itasca, Ill., alleging the village engaged in unlawful disability discrimination. The complaint concerns the village's review and denial of a zoning request filed by a non-profit health care provider to use its property as a treatment center for people with substance-use disorders.
Haymarket DuPage LLC contracted in 2019 to purchase a hotel in Itasca with plans to repurpose it into a specialized treatment center offering services for substance-use disorders and related mental health disabilities. Haymarket’s main treatment center is located in Chicago’s West Loop neighborhood, providing various services, including detoxification support, inpatient and outpatient treatment programs, primary medical and pediatric care, and a program allowing mothers in treatment to remain with their children. Haymarket has aimed to expand into DuPage County due to the urgent need for treatment centers in Chicago’s western suburbs.
The complaint in intervention that the U.S. Attorney’s Office seeks to file contends that the village engaged in disparate treatment by employing highly anomalous tactics to frustrate Haymarket’s application for zoning approval. The complaint alleges that village officials created a pretextual narrative that the treatment center would impose severe economic harms on the region while issuing numerous public statements disparaging Haymarket and its supporters. Additionally, the complaint asserts that the village failed to fulfill its accommodation obligations under the Americans with Disabilities Act before denying Haymarket’s zoning request.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office's motion to intervene in the lawsuit was filed Thursday in federal court in Chicago. This move was announced by Morris Pasqual, Acting United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois. The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jordan A. Rosen, Sarah F. Terman, and Patrick W. Johnson.
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