State Rep. Bob Rita sues Tinley Park, Orland Township, says he’s blocked from community events

State Rep. Bob Rita, D-Blue Island, is suing Tinley Park and Orland Township as well as village and township officials in federal court, alleging his constitutional rights have been denied because he’s been blocked from taking part in or holding community events.

The lawsuit was filed Friday and cites a “consistent and systematic campaign” to prevent Rita from taking part in events such as the National Night Out Against Crime, scheduled for Tuesday in Tinley Park.

Rita alleged his right of free speech as well as his right to due process under the constitution were violated and had sought an emergency order from a federal judge asking that he be allowed to take part in the National Night Out event, which a judge Friday denied.

U.S. District Court Judge Manish Shah said while Rita had sought to have a table, identifying himself at the National Night Out event, he was not barred from taking part in a public event whatever his capacity.

Rita is “allowed to attend the event, speak to his constituents there, and express his views,” Shah wrote in the brief decision, noting a temporary restraining was not warranted.

Patrick Walsh, an attorney representing Tinley Park, said Rita was always welcome to attend the event and it was “never the village’s intention to restrain anyone’s speech.”

The lawsuit also alleges village officials twice denied applications by Rita to hold shredding events last year in Tinley Park, something he had organized for several years.

The complaint alleges village officials cited traffic and safety concerns in denying a special event permit for the shred event.

Simmering in the background is Rita’s involvement in recent legislation, awaiting the governor’s signature, that would transfer the former Tinley Park Mental Health Center to the Tinley Park-Park District, a site the village has also long coveted for redevelopment.

Tinley Park officials had been in talks with the state about gaining ownership of the 285-acre property, northwest of Harlem Avenue and 183rd Street.

Rita’s daughter, Ashley Rubino, is Park Board secretary and the tussle over the state property has centered on political differences between the village and district.

Regarding the upcoming National Night Out, Rita, in the lawsuit, said he had an email exchange with Tinley Park police Chief Matthew Walsh, in which Walsh told the legislator he had been approved to participate.

The lawsuit cites an email Rita received this week from Walsh reversing course, telling the legislator the National Night Out event is meant to “honor law enforcement and I respectfully request that we refrain from any politics.”

Rita alleges the reversal came following pressure from Mike Glotz, Tinley Park’s mayor, and Paul O’Grady, Orland Township supervisor. They are both named as defendants in the lawsuit.

Rita alleges he was also unfairly shut out last year from an Orland Township event, the annual Pet Palooza, which seeks to help the township’s pet pantry, and was also denied arranging for a table at the village’s Boo Bash last year because he was deemed “a political group rather than a local business.”

The defendants “have wholly failed to justify their denials, or, justified their efforts through false or fabricated excuses,” the lawsuit claims.

The denials Rita cites are similar to issues Park District officials said they were experiencing after declaring its interest in the state-owned land.

The legislator’s lawsuit doesn’t mention the property nor any family connections to the Park District as reasons for obstacles he cites.

This year, for instance, the district was denied a permit to hold its annual Running O’ the Green 8k race on March 5, the same day as the village’s Irish Parade. The district said it had for many years held the race on the same day as the village parade but the race instead took place March 12.

Before that the district said it had to find other sources of fuel for district vehicles and de-icing salt for Park District properties after Tinley Park cut off long-standing supply agreements for both products.

The Park District canceled its annual July 4 fireworks show after Tinley Park officials opted to hold a display July 3, co-opting an event the Park District had held for decades.

The property that would be transferred for $1 to the Park District has considerable environmental issues attached to it, with any plans to redevelop the site carrying costs estimated in the millions to remediate problems such as asbestos and tainted soil.

The district anticipates getting state money to help with the cleanup, and there are funds earmarked in this year’s state budget, and envisions uses on part of the property including multipurpose sports fields and a domed soccer stadium.

Park District officials in a letter to the village earlier this year claimed the district was the victim of “retaliation and punishment” because it was also going after the mental health center property.

mnolan@tribpub.com