Stop NorthPoint Group Hires Lawyers, Plans to File Suit

JOLIET, IL — Stop NorthPoint, LLC., has one goal.

"We are working in tandem with the other Northpoint groups," Erin Gallagher, community liaison and owner of Erin Gallagher and Associates, said. "We are here specifically to stop NorthPoint; we have no other agenda."

Throughout the time that NorthPoint has approached the city of Joliet to build an intermodal development, numerous groups and individuals have come together to oppose the project and a couple have filed lawsuits. Stop NorthPoint, LLC. has hired legal counsel and will be taking legal action against the City of Joliet.

"The group, Stop NorthPoint LLC, is an all-volunteer organization, comprised of numerous people, including many with Joliet and Manhattan ties," a written release from the organization stated. "Founding members include Manhattan resident Ron Adamski, and Manhattan Township resident John Kieken."

Gallagher is the spokesperson for the organization. Stop NorthPoint held a press conference July 14 at Joliet City Hall, 150 W. Jefferson St., to introduce Chicago Civil Rights Attorneys Bob Fioretti and Mark Roth as part of the Stop NorthPoint group.

Fioretti clarified right away that the group is aware of and working with the individuals and attorneys who have filed suit regarding the proposed development and the various groups who are working to oppose it.

"We're not duplicating efforts," he said. "We are aware of what's going on with the other legal proceedings."

One such suit was filed by Julia Baum-Coldwater, who filed suit against the Village of Elwood in December 2017. Her case is still in court. She was in attendance at the press conference.

"I'm a Coldwater, so we're one of the farmers who will be probably most impacted by this," she said. "They seem to think they can go through our land for the loop."

The loop she is referring to is a roadway proposed to help navigate truck traffic to NorthPoint. The land is currently in Elwood, but the city of Joliet has proposed annexing it. Ulimately, Coldwater wants the same thing as Stop NorthPoint. She described a positive outcome.

"NorthPoint goes away and never comes back and Joliet doesn't annex any farther south than they have," she said. "I pray that every day."

In June, the Village of Elwood filed suit against the City of Joliet to stop the development. That suit was given an Oct. 5 court date.

Stop NorthPoint has not yet filed suit, but intends to do so. Fioretti said he cannot estimate a timeframe before that happens because he wants to be thorough in discovery.

"You never know what you will find in documents," he said in an interview after the press conference.

He also noted that the group was going to be transparent in what they found.

"It was clear that the citizens were against this project from the beginning," he said at the press conference. "A pre-annexation agreement is something that is really unheard of, in a sense. When you annex this, you have to cross your Ts and dot your Is.

"We're going to make sure that everyone understands the full scope."

Gallagher said part of the reason for the development of the Stop NorthPoint group was that citizens wanted to come together to file suit.

"A lot of people have come to us and said, 'we would like to come together for a lawsuit,'" she said. "All of our efforts are 100 percent volunteer."

Lawyers have also been working pro-bono, but a legal fund that individuals can donate to has been created.

"Mr. Fioretti and his team have been generously working with us pro-bono since before Easter to help ascertain and assist with legal council," Adamski said in a written release. "It is now time for us, residents who oppose NorthPoint, to put our money where our mouth is and start raising funds for a proper legal attack."

Interested individuals can donate at any BMO Harris Bank by going to a branch and asking to donate to the Stop NorthPoint checking account.

The organization's website is also regularly updated.