Lawsuit Over Parking Meter Deal Joined By State’s Attorney Investigation

Clint Krislov, the attorney bringing the lawsuit against the City of Chicago and State of Illinois on behalf of taxpayers over its 75-year parking meter privatization deal is not the only lawyer acting in the public interest applying heat to the sweetheart arrangement.

The office of Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan is also conducting its own investigation into the “transaction and implementation” of the deal, even as the office represents the state in the Krislov lawsuit, brought on behalf of IVI-IPO.  Clout City reporter Mick Dumke reports:

The suit, filed last month, alleges that the meter deal is illegal because it uses taxpayer money to benefit a private company, delegates police power to the private firm, and restricts the City Council’s ability to set parking policy in the future. Click here to read a PDF of the original complaint.

Most of the suit’s charges were against the city, but it also named the offices of the Illinois comptroller and secretary of state, saying that they didn’t have the right to use public funds to strip anyone of driving privileges as a result of tickets issued at privatized meters. The purpose of Friday’s hearing was to determine if the plaintiffs had grounds to sue the state officials, and Judge Richard Billik answered with a yes and no: the suit could proceed, but he removed the secretary of state as a defendant because it technically wouldn’t be the office to spend any of the money at issue.

Parking meter lawsuit stayin’ alive | The Blog | Chicago Reader.