Burr Ridge Eatery Gets Unique Government Benefit

BURR RIDGE, IL — Burr Ridge's popular Capri Ristorante is the only business in the suburbs that has been granted free long-term use of a parking lot owned by the Pace suburban bus agency.

The restaurant at 324 Burr Ridge Parkway has cited the 2015 agreement with Pace in zoning matters before the village government, showing that it has enough space for customers' cars. The restaurant's valet service parks cars in the nearby lot.

The agreement came up recently when Capri's owner, Filippo "Gigi" Rovito, proposed the Are We Live lounge in County Line Square, where Capri is. An attorney representing opponents of the lounge questioned the Pace agreement. It lasts for a decade and can be revoked by either party.

In a public records request, Patch asked for three examples of agreements granting private businesses free use of Pace parking lots. At one point, Pace's senior attorney, Christopher Lyons, suggested in an email that the request was "over broad" or "unduly burdensome." But he finally answered the request.

Lyons produced two agreements from the past few years — one with a nonprofit organization and the other with a machinery company. Both were for one day's use, nowhere near the 10 years under Capri's agreement. The third was a shared land use agreement with the city of Aurora and the former Walter Payton's Roundhouse. It appeared to be the result of a parking lot dispute among the parties.

None of the agreements resembled what Capri got — a nonexclusive license for free use of a Pace park-n-ride facility. The parking is between 6 p.m. and 11 p.m. at Lincolnshire and McClintock drives.

The agreements granting one-day use are four pages long, while the one with Capri Ristorante is just one. The one-day contracts require the users to present certificates of insurance. No such mandate is in the 10-year agreement.

Capri's agreement is more informal, beginning with "Dear Mr. Rovito." It was signed by Pace's executive director, Thomas "T.J." Ross, who retired in 2018.

The other signatory is listed as "president," but the signature is blacked out, which is often done to protect people's personally identifying information. Both Patch and Neal Smith, the neighbors' attorney, have requested the signatory's identity, which is likely Rovito. But Pace has declined to reveal the information.

Rovito did not return a message for comment. Burr Ridge Mayor Gary Grasso, who was Rovito's attorney during past zoning matters, has said he was not involved in seeking the 2015 Pace agreement.

"It is not a contract, nor does it bind PACE in any way," he said in an email to Patch last month.

In an interview in early June, Pace spokeswoman Maggie Daly Skogsbakken said the agreement with Capri "originated with the Village of Burr Ridge."

"I'm assuming the contract is more for our protection if there is any liability, if anything could get damaged or stolen," she said at the time. "Pace has worked with communities on various requests before and, when we can, we work with communities to help as needed. Community requests are handled on a case-by-case basis."

She said she wouldn't call the type of agreement common, but that it wasn't unusual for one governmental body to assist another.

She did not say who in the Burr Ridge government helped Rovito get the agreement. Grasso served as mayor from 2005 to 2012, leaving when he was elected to the DuPage County Board. He returned as mayor in 2019. While he was away, his wife, Janet, won a four-year village trustee term in 2015, a month after the agreement was signed.

Grasso's son, Michael Grasso, owns BLU Valet, which provides valet services for Capri.

In an email to Mayor Grasso in May, attorney Smith said Pace indicated to him that the contract was entered into without the board's approval and without any other authorization.

"No minutes, resolutions, or records show that the agreement was actually approved by PACE," Smith said in the email. "In other words, all appearances indicate that the (document) is an invalid contract, and as such it should certainly not be used to justify any zoning decisions made by the Village of Burr Ridge."

Smith said it appeared the contract allowed private use of public property with no payment involved. That, he said, violated the Illinois constitution, which states, "Public funds, property or credit shall be used only for public purposes."

Last month, the Village Board approved a permit for the Are We Live lounge.