Developer's lawsuit moving forward against city

Jan. 11—A lawsuit filed almost a year ago in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of Illinois in Springfield claiming city officials retaliated against local general contractor Paul Offutt for supporting a past political opponent of Danville Mayor Rickey Williams Jr. continues to move forward.

A judge ruled last month against dismissing the lawsuit.

Offutt of Danville is the primary agent and president of Offutt Development Inc. and Security Ventures Inc. He's operated general contracting businesses in the Danville area for about 40 years.

Williams was elected mayor in 2019 after winning in a four-way race with James McMahon, Steve Nichols and Donald Crews.

In addition to the lawsuit being against the city and Williams, it also names as defendants Danville City Engineer Sam Cole, Assistant City Engineer Eric Childers and Community Development Administrator Logan Cronk.

According to the allegations, Williams, Cronk, Cole and Childers violated Offutt's rights under the U.S. Constitution with respect to five different properties.

Offutt alleges the city forged his signature on a property easement, titled to Offutt Construction Inc., to construct a new sewer line in Denvale West. Offutt alleges the forged signature after he refused to agree to an easement in a January 2020 meeting with Cole and Childers.

Offutt also alleges that in September of 2021, he met with Cole and Cronk about obtaining a zoning variance for a 50-acre property at Bowman and West Newell Road. Offutt resubmitted a nine-acre petition after the zoning commission denied the original petition, but he pulled it prior to city council action due to city officials not telling the council about the changed petition, he alleges.

Other allegations are on a 600 block of North Gilbert Street property where a house was demolished. The city hadn't signed off on the demo completion causing Offutt to incur utility charges. A property at 3600 Southgate Drive also was intended for a Sygma truck cleaning facility. Permits weren't initially issued to Offutt, but to subcontractors with the same plans, the lawsuit alleges.

Lastly, in October of 2021, Offutt requested Williams' permission to place a memorial statue in front of the Fischer Theatre to memorialize two deceased benefactors of the theater's restoration, one of whom was Offutt's deceased wife. Williams refused the request stating in part concerns about pedestrian flow with large crowds in and out of the theater.

These city actions were all alleged to be in retaliation against Offutt for his support of a previous political opponent of Williams.

According to a media release from Chicago Attorney Jeffrey Kulwin, who is one of the attorneys representing Offutt and who has represented a former city employee who settled with the city over a discrimination lawsuit, "The City of Danville lost its attempt to dismiss a lawsuit brought by general contractor Paul Offutt alleging that city officials violated rights guaranteed by the constitution by retaliating against him for his political activity, taking his property without providing just compensation, and singling him out for irrational and intentional discrimination."

Kulwin and his law firm filed the case in January 2022.

"In a written ruling, the court stated the alleged facts, when taken as true, state 'a claim for relief that is plausible on its face.' As a result, the court denied the defendants' motion to dismiss the complaint. The defendants must now answer the lawsuit's allegations.

"The lawsuit accused city of Danville Mayor Rickey Williams and other high-ranking city officials of retaliating against Offutt and his companies because Offutt supported Williams' opponent in the 2019 election. Offutt lives in Danville and operates general contractor companies for commercial and residential projects. Offutt actively supported Williams' opponent in the 2019 election. The complaint alleged that, after Williams won the election, city officials perpetuated a campaign of retaliation which included taking a portion of Offutt's property without compensation using a forged easement, refused to grant routine zoning variances for Offutt's projects and delayed issuing building permits for time-sensitive projects. According to the complaint, after the election, Williams warned that he intended to be 'all over' Offutt's construction projects.

"The court rejected the defendants' argument that the events alleged in the complaint came too long after the election occurred. The court stated the complaint alleged that a 'campaign of unlawful retaliation' that began since the April 2019 election and, in any case, 'the mere passage of time is [neither] legally conclusive proof against retaliation' nor a 'conclusive bar to an inference of retaliation.' The court stated that, in this case, Offutt 'alleged a pattern of behavior in which (city officials) intentionally singled them out and treated them differently than other individuals in Danville ...'

"The court also rejected arguments that defendants did not take Offutt's property because defendants have not 'built anything' on the property. The Court stated the 'Supreme Court has repeatedly recognized that an easement imposed by the government without permission by the property owner constitutes a taking' under the constitution. The ruling stated that an easement with an alleged 'forged signature does not render the easement any less of a taking' of property.

"The lawsuit alleged that defendants intentionally violated Offutt's constitutional rights under the First, Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments to the Constitution. Under the First Amendment, government officials may not retaliate against citizens based on their political activity. The Fifth Amendment requires that the government justly compensate individuals when taking property for public use. The Fourteenth Amendment protects individuals and businesses from being irrationally singled out by the government. Under the federal rules of civil procedure, the defendants are required to answer the complaint in writing approximately 30 days. Thereafter, the case will proceed to the discovery where the evidence on the claims will be collected by the parties. The case was filed in the United States District Court for the Central District of Illinois and captioned as Paul Offutt et al. v. the City of Danville, et al., Case No 22 C 2027."

Williams called the lawsuit "ludicrous" and said his and Offutt's reputations precede them.

"I believe justice will be served," Williams added. He also said he believes the lawsuit should be thrown out.

He said in his position as mayor, he's supported many people who don't support him, financially and otherwise.

Kulwin said they are looking forward to getting to the bottom of the case.

An answer from the city is next due by mid-January. The lawsuit's next discovery phase would include documents asked between the parties and testimony taken from witnesses.

"To me, I think the case involves some serious allegations of the abuse of government power against a citizen," Kulwin said.

Why does the city have a forged easement in its possession, Kulwin asked, saying it's not Offutt's signature.

Kulwin said the truth is, Williams has a long history in Danville, just as Offutt does, to some degree. Kulwin thinks they're going to get to the bottom of why Offutt and his business has been treated differently than others.