Politics & Government

Exclusive: Oak Lawn Served With Federal Grand Jury Subpoena

The federal subpoena asks for all records related to hiring of current village legal counsel, Querrey and Harrow, from 2009.

Federal prosecutors are looking into the events surrounding Oak Lawn's use of village attorneys, Oak Lawn Patch has learned.

An attorney representing the Village of Oak Lawn has confirmed that the U.S. Attorney’s office served the village with a federal grand jury subpoena.

, who is leading the investigation into possible overbillings and malpractice by the village’s former legal counsel, said the village was served with the federal subpoena on June 24.

Find out what's happening in Oak Lawnwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

The federal grand jury subpoena requests meeting minutes and audio tapes from the Oak Lawn Village Board's executive sessions between May and August 2009, as well as information relating to the changing of village attorneys in 2009.

“The village has no knowledge regarding the scope or substance of the federal investigation beyond what is on the face of the subpoena,” said Wilson, an attorney with Godfrey and Kahn’s white-collar defense and investigations group.

Find out what's happening in Oak Lawnwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Tressler, Soderstrom, Maloney & Priess, LLP served as the village’s legal counsel between 2005 and 2009. The firm was released after some village board members raised concerns that the village’s legal fees had tripled during Tressler’s employ.

Querrey & Harrow was hired by the village board in 2009 to replace the former village attorneys, who have since been portrayed as botching major litigation and charging twice for legal work in an

Wilson said the village is fully cooperating with the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

“All we know is we got a subpoena and we’re cooperating,” Wilson said.


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