Bobby Buonauro Methadone Clinic

[OakParkSpartan]

'So the Methadone four got out smarted by the Mayor"....

I fail to understand your logic, the suit was caused by the mayors actions
previous to the vote. His political grandstanding and use thereof for gain
is also cited in the suit.

I won't speculate any further, we will have to see how this plays out.

Then, after a "personal and political crusade" orchestrated by Berwyn Mayor Michael A. O'Connor to organize community opposition, the City Council reversed its decision and rejected the substance abuse clinic proposal.

That is a quote from the link you posted.

So the Mayor organizes the community opposition.  The Methadone Four decide they better change their vote because of public outrage (orchestrated by the Mayor). Because they REVERSE their decision (due to maneuvering by the mayor), the city gets sued.

If they had the guts and brains to stick to their original decision, wouldn't this lawsuit have been avoided?  So either they didn't understand the ramifications of their actions, or they were outsmarted by the mayor, causing them to change their vote.  In either case, can you really trust their judgment or principles (as Skryd so eloquently said "I just want to be reelected")?

[ZORBA]

A "personal and political crusade" has NEVER been a cause of action in a Federal lawsuit. Never has been, never will be. It's simply an unsubtantiated factual allegation in a lawsuit.

[Ted]

There is an item on this Tuesday's city council agenda to settle the lawsuit brought forth by the owner's of the The Bobby Buonauro Clinic, Inc., Elizabeth Buonauro and Sal R. Sottile.

The proposed settlement is for $650,000.  It is case 2008-CV-6687.

[Ted]

Something I've been wondering - Was it worth it?

Was it worth it to spend legal fees and have $650,000 in tax payer money go to the methadone clinic as a judgment?

  Would the city have been better off allowing the metadone clinic in a pediatrician's building in the Depot Distict?

Or, do people think it was worth $650,000 to not have the methadone clinic in a pediatrician's building in the Depot District?

 

[OakParkSpartan]

Something I've been wondering - Was it worth it?

Was it worth it to spend legal fees and have $650,000 in tax payer money go to the methadone clinic as a judgment?

  Would the city have been better off allowing the metadone clinic in a pediatrician's building in the Depot Distict?

Or, do people think it was worth $650,000 to not have the methadone clinic in a pediatrician's building in the Depot District?

I'm sure the people in the depot district think it was well worth it.

What neighborhood did it land in?

[Ted]

I'm sure the people in the depot district think it was well worth it.

What neighborhood did it land in?

On the eastern end of Cermak Road (in the 5th ward).

[~LL~]

I'm sure the people in the depot district think it was well worth it.

What neighborhood did it land in?

On the eastern end of Cermak Road (in the 5th ward).

6200 block/Cermak

[Ted]

Wow.  The settlement barely passed in the city council last night.

Did Santoy, Skryd or Avila give any reason why they voted no?

Story in the Life:

http://www.mysuburbanlife.com/berwyn/newsnow/x919892666/Berwyn-methadone-lawsuit-could-cost-city-650K 
 
  Berwyn City Council passes methadone clinic settlement, barely

By Brett Schweinberg, bschweinberg@mysuburbanlife.com
Berwyn Life
Posted Jul 24, 2012 @ 09:27 PM

  Berwyn, IL — The Berwyn City Council passed a decision to award a lawsuit settlement of $650,000 to the owners of a methadone clinic the city council had attempted to block from opening in the city's Depot District.

The measure passed by a 4-3 vote. Aldermen Michele Skryd, Cesar Santoy, and Rafael Avila voted against the measure, while aldermen Jeff Boyajian, Marge Paul, Theodore Polashek and Nora Laureto voted for the measure. First Ward Alderman Nona Chapman was absent from tonight's meeting.

A federal judge ruled in May that the city had violated the American with Disabilities Act by first denying the methadone clinic a business license and later trying to pass zoning ordinances to restrict where it could open.

The settlement finalizes the issue permanently and the city no longer has a right to appeal the decision.

Polashek, the Sixth Ward alderman, said that he was not happy with the settlement, but voted for the measure to maintain a consensus the council came to in closed session.

Although the council initially voted to allow the clinic to open in 2008, it quickly reversed its decision amid public outcry. In November of that year, the clinic's proprietors, Elizabeth Buonauro and Sal Sottile, sued the city seeking a court order to open the facility along with compensatory damages.

Although the city had tried to set up specially zoned areas to restrict where a methadone or rehab clinic could be opened, a federal judge ruled that the city must allow clinics to open anywhere it chooses. The judge also ordered the city to allow Buonauro and Sottile to open a clinic at 6201 Cermak Road, where they currently hold a lease, according to court documents.

[Bonster]

Something I've been wondering - Was it worth it?

Was it worth it to spend legal fees and have $650,000 in tax payer money go to the methadone clinic as a judgment?

  Would the city have been better off allowing the metadone clinic in a pediatrician's building in the Depot Distict?

Or, do people think it was worth $650,000 to not have the methadone clinic in a pediatrician's building in the Depot District?

I'm sure the people in the depot district think it was well worth it.

Perhaps they should pay the entire $650K and see how they like it.

[Bonster]

Something I've been wondering - Was it worth it?

Was it worth it to spend legal fees and have $650,000 in tax payer money go to the methadone clinic as a judgment?

  Would the city have been better off allowing the metadone clinic in a pediatrician's building in the Depot Distict?

My thoughts exactly.  It was purely a NIMBY effort.  I didn't see them hootin' and a-hollerin' about the new location.