Tinley Park official quietly tried to kill controversial apartment project: report

A Tinley Park official worked behind the scenes to kill a controversial low-income apartment project, according to a report from the Cook County Sheriff’s Inspector General.

Jacob Vandenberg, now mayor of the southwest suburb, was a village trustee in 2016 when the alleged incident happened, according to the Daily Southtown. At the time, Buckeye Community Hope Foundation was trying to win approval for The Reserve, a 47-unit apartment building that would have carried rents of $400 to $1,500 a month, the Southtown reported.

But as community opposition to the project grew, Vandenberg told village planning director Amy Connolly to advise the Tinley Park Plan Commission to kill the project, according to the inspector general’s report obtained by the Southtown.

The commission ended up shelving the project, leading to lawsuits by the developer and the U.S. Department of Justice, alleging violations of the Fair Housing Act. Connolly also sued the village in the wake of the controversy, claiming she was fired because she wouldn’t go along with plans to kill the project.

The village in 2017 settled the Buckeye suit for nearly $2.5 million, and last year approved a $360,000 settlement with Connolly and the Justice Department.

The Reserve would have been a couple of blocks from where A&R Katz is looking to sell The Edenbridge rental complex for $31 million. Nearby, K. Hovnanian is also leading an effort to try to build 800 housing units on the former Tinley Park Mental Health Center site. [Daily Southtown] — John O’Brien