$1.5 Million For Outside Legal Fees In 2020: Exclusive (2024)

Joliet Patch obtained Joliet's outside legal bills to keep you better informed on how your tax dollars are being spent by city officials.

Posted Mon, Nov 30, 2020 at 11:45 am CT|Updated Mon, Nov 30, 2020 at 2:18 pm CT

Although Joliet has its own law department at City Hall, the city's legal staff has been in a state of turmoil since former interim city manager Steve Jones fired Marty Shanahan as corporation counsel in May. These days, the city's two remaining full-time in-house lawyers are Chris Regis and Sabrina Spano.

By August, Jones left Joliet. In early November, Jones' replacement as interim city manager, Jim Hock, proposed a settlement of nearly $123,000 to avoid a wrongful termination lawsuit from Shanahan.

When it came time for the vote, the proposed settlement with Shanahan failed in a split vote. Two days later, a Naperville lawyer filed a lawsuit against Joliet and Steve Jones on behalf of Marty Shanahan.

Shanahan's lawsuit may cost the city of Joliet taxpayers tens of thousands of dollars for more outside legal bills, regardless of whether Shanahan prevails or not. However, at the time of the vote on the proposed settlement, Councilwoman Bettye Gavin suggested Shanahan still has to beat his former employer in court.

"Well, he's got to win his case .... He's got to win the case," Gavin told her colleagues.

In September, Joliet Patch produced an exclusive in-depth report, revealing the Joliet Police Department remained involved in 12 federal lawsuits, including a few lawsuits that were filed by members of the police department.

A number of the outside law firms being paid by Joliet in 2020 are law firms hired to defend the city in several of these police department lawsuits. But that's not true for all the outside legal expenses. For instance, one Joliet law firm has been paid several hundred thousand dollars to handle the city's prosecution traffic citations and misdemeanor cases.

Five of the 11 outside law firms have made at least $100,000 so far this year from Joliet, Patch found.

The following data, obtained as a result of a Freedom of Information Act request to City Hall, reveals the law firm, the amount of money it has been paid so far this year and the reason city of Joliet officials say they hired the outside law firm:

• Hervas, Condon & Bersani, based in Itasca, Ill., "Defending and representing local governments for over 30 years," the law firm website proclaims. Through November, Hervas, Condon & Bersani has been paid $318,933 for handling "federal litigation, general litigation and employment litigation" matters for the city of Joliet.
• Castle Law, "a general practice law firm based in the southwest suburbs of Chicago with offices in Joliet and Crest Hill." Castle Law, located at 1 Fairlane Drive, has been paid $315,479 for handling "traffic and misdemeanor cases" for the city of Joliet's legal department.
• Knell O'Connor Danielewicz. Officers in Chicago, Springfield and Joliet. "Knell & O’Connor handles all aspects of workers’ compensation claims, and is prepared to represent clients before the Illinois Industrial Commission, Circuit Courts of Illinois, Illinois Appellate Courts, and the Supreme Court of Illinois," its website reads. Knell O'Connor Danielwicz has been paid $179,595 to handle workers compensation legal cases for the city of Joliet in 2020.
• Clark Baird Smith. Based in Rosemont, Ill. "A law firm comprised of some of the Midwest’s foremost attorneys practicing labor and employment law on behalf of public and private sector management clients," its profile states. Clark Baird Smith has been paid $174,887 for handling federal litigation and general employment matters for the city of Joliet in 2020.
• Day Robert & Morrison. Based in Naperville. "A law firm with a focused concentration in real estate and municipal law. The firm has extensive experience in eminent domain, zoning and a broad variety of real property litigation, including appellate work," its profile reads. Day Robert & Morrison has been paid $142,013 to handle infrastructure matters for the city of Joliet in 2020.
• Spesia & Taylor attorneys at law. Based in Joliet at 1415 Black Road. Spesia & Taylor has been paid $113,057 to handle federal litigation and general litigation involving the city of Joliet in 2020.
• Rathbun, Cservenyak & Kozol. Based in Joliet at 3260 Executive Drive. "A full-service civil litigation firm that represents individual, corporate and municipal clients in both state and federal court in Will, Grundy, DuPage, Cook, Kane, and Kendall counties," its profile reads. Rathbun, Cservenyak & Kozol has been paid $59,398 so far this year to handle matters of general litigation involving Joliet.
• Tressler LLP. A national law firm with local offices in Chicago and Bolingbrook. "Tressler has one of the most experienced and multi-faceted government law practices in Illinois," its profile states. Tressler has been paid $58,579 so far this year to represent Joliet in federal litigation and general litigation matters.
• Rosario Cibella & Associates. A Joliet law firm at 2561 Division St. "Rosario Cibella & Associates LTD is a litigation firm formed and located in Joliet, Illinois 13 years ago. The firm concentrates its practice solely on the defense of workers’ compensation claims in the states of Illinois and Indiana," its profile reads. Rosario Cibella & Associates has been paid $53,403 so far this year to represent Joliet on cases involving workers compensation matters.
• Laurie & Brennan, a construction law firm based in Chicago. "Our focused and experienced team is equipped to handle all aspects of our clients’ construction needs from project inception to completion, including pre-construction transactional representation, contract drafting and negotiation, avoiding and/or resolving disputes, real time project advice, preparation and defense of claims, alternative dispute resolution proceedings and litigation," the firm's bio announces. Laurie & Brennan has been paid $56,640 to represent Joliet on legal matters involving infrastructure so far in 2020.
• Ancel Glink, a full-service law firm that represents government entities. "Ancel Glink attorneys have the experience and expertise in a variety of practice areas relating to local governments, serving as both general counsel as well as special counsel for numerous municipalities across the state," the firm states. Ancel Glink has been paid $38,086 from the city of Joliet so far in 2020 to handle federal litigation and workers compensation cases for Joliet.