by Joseph Omoremi
CHICAGO, IL The All Nations Assembly Church (ANAC) and Roseheart Renewal Center are demanding a jury trial in the five-counts unfair housing discrimination charges against the Village of Olympia Fields before the U.S. District Court, Norther District in Chicago.
The charges occurred after the Village of Olympia Fields refused to grant a special use permit and map amendment to develop an alcohol and drug rehabilitation center on a 22-acre site at 20300 Governors Highway in Olympia Fields, Illinois.
The defendants which includes the Village of Olympia Fields, its Board of Trustees as well as the Plan Commission of the Village proposed between 7-14days for the jury trial.
The plaintiffs also demanded a response to the discrimination charges to enable the court set the timetable for the disposition, written and oral discoveries, expert schedule testimonies among other things.
It would be recalled that the Village of Olympia Fields requested for a-21-day extension to respond to the charges after the defense attorney Brandon K. Lemley travelled out of two for two weeks as a result of the the death of his father-in-law thereby missing the deadline to respond to the discrimination charges.
The parties, however, hinted the court that settlement negotiations are on going and may need the court’s help for settlement conference to gear up both parties because settlement negotiations are at a preliminary stage, and the Parties anticipate that a decision on whether to request a settlement conference is likely within the next 30 to 45 days.”
Existing facilities in the complex include a chapel, offices and meeting rooms, a kitchen, dormitories and apartments.
The apartment has 39 bedrooms. More than $367,000.00 had been expended to repair the alarm sprinkler system across the complex and additional $4,200 and $5,000.00 in the order for the repair of the sanitary sewer and trash recharged.
It will be recalled that Pastor Akano was one of the three founding pastors of RCCG in Chicago. Others are Pastors Bayo Adewole of RCCG in Chicago and Pastor Wale Akinosun of RCCG in Schaumburg.
He was the first to set up another parish of RCCG in Rogers Park in the early 2000 and subsequently moved to Southwest La Grange from where the church bought Olympia Fields property from Catholic church.
Otherwise known as the multipurpose Tolentine Monastery, the church was used to train Catholic Church Reverend Fathers in North America before the sale to Vintage Healthcare Services in 2013.
