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Judge in RICO suit needs time

Federal Judge Ronald A. Guzman said Wednesday needs more time to review pretrial motions before setting a trial date in the racketeering lawsuit filed by Mount Prospect business and property owner Tod Curtis against village officials.

The judge did not say when he would finish reviewing the motions, said Mount Prospect Village Attorney Everette "Buzz" Hill. Curtis, owner of Ye Olde Town Inn in downtown Mount Prospect, says village officials have been conspiring to drive him out of business for years and want to proceed with a downtown development without him.

In response, he is pursuing a civil racketeering lawsuit against Mayor Irvana Wilks, several municipal employees and a local developer, claiming they have formed an "ongoing enterprise and scheme" against him for nearly a decade. Racketeering lawsuits under the federal RICO statute are typically used to charge organized crime rings and corrupt politicians but have broad applications.

According to Curtis, village officials "employed endless harassing inspections of the property." Village officials deny all of Curtis' claims. A few weeks ago, village officials announced they were abandoning the eminent domain suit against Curtis after three years of trying to obtain his property at 18 W. Busse Ave.