Apartments' attorneys still want injunction against barricades

Despite the brave face put on by Rolling Meadows city officials this week, attorneys for owners of the 12 Oaks apartment complex Wednesday say the sudden removal of traffic barricades at the complex is proof positive the city was just plain wrong and knew it.

"It was their intention to do this (keep the barricades up) the whole summer," said Blake Horwitz, an attorney for owners of the apartments in the area. "What's obvious is that they knew they were wrong … and that's why they took the barricades down a day before the hearing."

The complex filed a lawsuit last week against the barricades, and a hearing had been scheduled for Wednesday afternoon on its request for a court order to remove them.

The city had sealed off 13 of the 14 entrances to the complex and used the remaining entrance to conduct police checkpoints, stopping every car that entered the complex just southwest of Route 53 and Algonquin Road.

City officials claimed the move was done to reduce crime and increase police visibility at the complex. The apartment complex owners claimed the police were devaluing their property, making it hard to rent and harassing residents. Tuesday, suddenly, the city began removing the barricades.

With the barricades down -- or at least in the process of being removed -- by 1 p.m. Wednesday, the apartment complex's motion for a temporary restraining order mandating their removal became moot and was not ruled on by U.S. District Judge Blanche Manning. Instead, she set a timetable for filing briefs on the still-pending motion for a permanent injunction.

"The permanent injunction seeks to prohibit Rolling Meadows from putting back up these barricades, period," said Elliot Richardson, another attorney for the apartment owners.

At least as of Tuesday, however, city fathers were still insisting there was nothing wrong with their action, and they intended to vigorously defend the lawsuit.

"We still think it was the right thing to do," City Manager Tom Melena said Tuesday.

Melena and attorneys for the city could not be reached for comment Wednesday.