Hispanics United v. Village of Addison, Ill., 94 C 6075.

• Decision Date: 22 December 1997
• Docket Number: No. 94 C 6075.,No. 95 C 3926.,94 C 6075.,95 C 3926.
• Citation: 988 F.Supp. 1130
• Court: U.S. District Court — Northern District of Illinois
• Parties: HISPANICS UNITED OF DuPAGE COUNTY, et al., Plaintiffs, v. VILLAGE OF ADDISON, ILLINOIS, Defendant. UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff, v. VILLAGE OF ADDISON, ILLINOIS, Defendant.

988 F.Supp. 1130

HISPANICS UNITED OF DuPAGE COUNTY, et al., Plaintiffs, v. VILLAGE OF ADDISON, ILLINOIS, Defendant.

UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff, v. VILLAGE OF ADDISON, ILLINOIS, Defendant.

No. 94 C 6075.

No. 95 C 3926.

United States District Court, N.D. Illinois, Eastern Division.

December 22, 1997.

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Robert L. Graham, Edward Jacob Lewis, II, Thomas Charles Buchele, Dan Avram Rosenbaum, Jennifer A. Burke, Jenner & Block, Chicago, IL, Dana Helene Sukenik, Gessler, Hughes & Socol, Ltd., Chicago, IL, for Plaintiffs Hispanics United of DuPage County, Leadership Council for Metro. Open Communities, Hispanic Council.

Matthew J. Piers, Jonathan A Rothstein, Charles James Holley, Gessler, Flynn, Fleischmann, Hughes & Socol, Ltd., Chicago, IL, Theresa Ann Amato, Elmhurst, IL, James Gerard Bradtke, Jennifer Kay Soule, Soule & Bradtke, Chicago, IL, Dana Helene Sukenik, Gessler, Hughes & Socol, Ltd., Chicago, IL, for Plaintiffs Leopoldo Alcaraz, Debra J. Cagle, John J. Cagle, Marcella Carrillo, Rojelio Carrillo, Carl Conti, Maudie Conti, Rita Gonzalez, Oralia Herrera, Martin Hurtado, Camille Husby, Marvin Husby, Estela Ibarra, Francisco Ibarra, Salbadoe Ibarra, David Sanchez, Jose Angel Rivera, Maria Torres, Elisa Vargas, Marcelino Vargas, Jose Villanueva, Maria Villanueva, Amparo Rojas, Jose Rojas, Jesus Rojas, San Juan Rojo, Guadalupe Solis.

Norma Jean Guess, Barry L. Moss, Daniel C. Shapiro, Moss & Bloomberg, Ltd., Bolingbrook, IL, James L. DeAno, Norton, Mancini, Argentati, Weiler & DeAno, Wheaton, IL, Daniel E. Reidy, James R. Daly, Steven Allen Wright, Jones, Day, Reavis & Pogue, Chicago, IL, Stuart David Gordon, Zukowski, Rogers, Flood & McArdle, Chicago, IL, Thomas R. Mancini, Argentati, Weiler & DeAno, Chicago, IL, Roger Kevin O'Reilly, Law Offices of Roger Kevin O'Reilly, Wheaton, IL, for Defendant Village of Addison, Ill.

MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER RULING ON FAIRNESS OF PROPOSED SETTLEMENT

CASTILLO, District Judge.

                TABLE OF CONTENTS
                I.   BACKGROUND .............................................................. 1135
                     A. Relevant Procedural History ........................................... 1136
                     B. Relevant Facts ........................................................ 1136
                        1. Addison, Green Oaks and Michael Lane ............................... 1136
                        2. The Camiros Study .................................................. 1137
                        3. Village Action Affecting Green Oaks and Michael Lane Before
                             1994 ............................................................. 1138
                        4. Kane McKenna's Findings ............................................ 1138
                        5. Racial Composition of the TIF Districts ............................ 1139
                        6. The TIF Adoption Process and Village's Course of Action ............ 1139
                           (a.) The Army Trail/Mill Road TIF .................................. 1139
                           (b.) The Michael Lane TIF .......................................... 1140
                        7. Evidence on Conditions in Green Oaks and Michael Lane .............. 1141
                           (a.) Housing Code Violations ....................................... 1141
                           (b.) Lack of Property Maintenance .................................. 1142
                           (c.) Density/Lack of Green Space ................................... 1142
                        8. Village Awareness of Green Oaks and Michael Lane's Racial
                             Composition ...................................................... 1143
                II.  THE PROPOSED CONSENT DECREE .............................................. 1144
                     A. Ban on Housing Discrimination by the Village of Addison ............... 1144
                     B. Redevelopment Plan .................................................... 1144
                     C. Monetary And Other Compensation ....................................... 1146
                

                     D. Relocation Assistance ................................................. 1148
                     E. Fair Housing Education ................................................ 1149
                     F. Time Period and Enforcement of Consent Decree ......................... 1149
                III. THE STANDARDS FOR JUDICIAL APPROVAL OF CLASS ACTION
                       SETTLEMENTS ............................................................ 1149
                     A. The Strength of Plaintiffs' Case ...................................... 1150
                        1. Legal Standards Applicable to Fair Housing Act Claims .............. 1150
                        2. The Parties' Arguments on Discriminatory Impact .................... 1152
                        3. Applying the Arlington Heights II Factors .......................... 1153
                           (a.) Discriminatory Effect ......................................... 1154
                           (b.) Evidence of Discriminatory Intent ............................. 1157
                                (i.)   TIF Boundaries and Activities .......................... 1158
                                (ii.)  Legislative History of and Events Surrounding Adoption
                                         of the Army Trail/Mill Road TIF ...................... 1158
                                (iii.) Village Knowledge of Green Oaks and Michael Lane
                                         Demography ........................................... 1159
                           (c.) The Village's Interest in Taking the Actions Producing
                                 Discriminatory Effect ........................................ 1159
                                (i.)  Burden of Proof ......................................... 1160
                                (ii.) The Village's Interests In Its Actions .................. 1162
                           (d.) Relief Requested .............................................. 1163
                        4. Balancing the Arlington Heights II Factors ......................... 1163
                     B. Comparison of Uncertain Litigation Results to Consent Decree .......... 1164
                     C. The Village of Addison's Ability To Pay ............................... 1166
                     D. Complexity, Length and Expense of Further Litigation .................. 1166
                     E. Amount of Opposition To The Settlement/Class Members' Reactions ....... 1166
                     F. Presence of Collusion in Reaching A Settlement ........................ 1169
                     G. Adequacy of Compensatory Damages ...................................... 1170
                     H. Opinion Of Competent Counsel .......................................... 1170
                     I. Stage Of the Proceedings And The Amount Of Discovery Completed ........ 1170
                CONCLUSION .................................................................... 1171
                

I. BACKGROUND

The hallmark of a great society — a true racially and ethnically integrated community — is an elusive goal that unfortunately still has not been achieved in most urban and suburban communities. The consolidated lawsuits pending before this Court involve one suburban community's struggle with the issue of racial and ethnic diversity. In 1994, the Village of Addison began purchasing and demolishing multifamily residential structures in two of the Village's largest Hispanic neighborhoods. Claiming that these areas and their surrounding environment were "blighted," the Village implemented the powers of acquisition and condemnation granted it by Illinois' Tax Increment Allocation Redevelopment Act, a tool for financing municipal redevelopment projects. Residents and property owners in these two districts, along with organizations working to eliminate housing discrimination against Hispanics, promptly sued the Village alleging, inter alia, that the Village's prior and planned acquisition and demolition had a disparate impact on Hispanic residents and constituted intentional discrimination in violation of the Fair Housing Act, 42 U.S.C. § 3601 et seq.

This three-year-old, hotly contested housing discrimination case is presently before the Court on the parties' joint motion for final approval of a proposed settlement for the plaintiff class. Pursuant to the Court's preliminary approval of the proposed Consent Decree ("the Decree"), appropriate notice was given in both the English and Spanish languages to all class members via both publication and direct mail notice. Thereafter, on October 30, 1997 at 7:00 p.m., this Court held a class fairness hearing in Addison, Illinois. The Court departed from the normal practice of holding this hearing during normal working hours in the downtown federal courthouse because it wanted to ensure that all interested persons could easily testify at this hearing. This was especially important because the Decree directly affects only residents of the Addison, Illinois community. This Court also inspected the neighborhoods affected by the litigation and the Decree with the attorneys for the parties on the afternoon of October 30, 1997, in preparation for the fairness hearing.

Before proceeding to describe the proposed settlement, it is important to set the context by reviewing the relevant procedural history and facts that surround this litigation.

A. Relevant Procedural History

On October 6, 1994, the lawsuit entitled Hispanics United of DuPage County, et al. v. Village of Addison, et al., No. 94 C 6075, was filed and assigned to this Court. Thereafter, the defendants agreed to a "stand still/status quo" order that would prevent any demolition of buildings in Addison without approval of this Court. On April 21, 1995, this Court granted the plaintiffs' motion for class certification. See Hispanics United of Dupage County v. Village of Addison, Ill., 160 F.R.D. 681 (N.D.Ill.1995).

On July 7, 1995, the Department of Justice filed its related lawsuit, United States of America v. Village of Addison, No. 95 C 3926, and this action was consolidated with the Hispanics United suit. From early 1995 to the present, the parties have concentrated on two principal activities: (1) preparing the consolidated lawsuits for trial and (2) determining whether any settlement could be achieved. The Court set two different firm trial dates in this case. The first firm trial date of April 22, 1996 was vacated on April 11, 1996 based on a...