Critic sues Metra over records

Lawyers for a critic of Metra's plan to build new commuter station just outside Crystal Lake are suing the agency over claims it is interfering with access to public records.

The suit, filed by the Woodstock firm Gummerson Rausch Wand Gray Wombacher, says the agency is a week late on turning over documents related to its proposed Ridgefield station, even after receiving a nearly two-week extension on the records request.

The delay, the suit alleges, is a violation of the state's Freedom of Information Act and a "deprivation of and interference with the plaintiff's rights." Records being sought include all concept plans for the Ridgefield station and a copy of an appraisal Metra conducted for land owned by the firm's client, Craig Steagall.

The suit asks a judge to order Metra to release the documents, impose a $2,500 to $5,000 fine and require the agency to pay the firm's legal costs.

Metra spokesman Michael Gillis declined to comment because the agency had not yet received a copy of the lawsuit.

Steagall has been a critic of the Metra plan since the agency this summer opted not to buy his property for the proposed station, and instead paid $1.54 million for 17 acres partly owned by McHenry County Board Chairman Ken Koehler.

Metra officials say they paid fair price for the property best suited for the project, but Steagall - who this year ran unsuccessfully for a Republican nomination to the county board - claims Koehler's political standing influenced the choice.

Firm partner Jamie Wombacher said Steagall wants the documents to see how long Metra had been focused on Koehler's site and whether the agency conducted a legitimate appraisal of his own land.