While his congressional campaign team positions him as a well-intentioned man of the people, Republican Marty Ozinga's legal troubles seem to just keep growing.
Last Friday, Circuit Court Judge John Barra allowed two more plaintiffs to challenge
a land deal between Ozinga Bros. Cement and the town of Henry, IL. As
we've previously reported, the town entered into a contract with the company
to develop a mine and a port on the Illinois River. Part of that deal
included an agreement by the town to give Ozinga Bros. what amounted to sole
access to the new port. Local farmers Raymond Kunkel and Bill Maupin
are joining the previous plaintiff, Kenin Edwards, in challenging Henry
over that provision. The plaintiffs believe the town doesn't have the
right to give Ozinga port access, while shutting out small businessmen
like themselves:
The city's agreement with Ozinga bars the movement of mined materials through the port unless they come from property annexed or under an annexation agreement [between Henry, and Ozinga Bros.] The lawsuit alleges those terms amount to an "unconstitutional taking" of such property by preventing its full economic potential.
We've repeatedly noted Ozinga Bros.' ongoing legal battles with Henry residents, which follow the company's attempts to buy local land for the purposes of mining and transporting gravel (used to make cement).
The trouble began when Ozinga Bros. filed a lawsuit against Kunkel, an 83-year-old family farmer, alleging that he had sold property optioned by the company. When asked to give a deposition on the matter, Marty Ozinga claimed to have never had any direct communication with Kunkel regarding the deal. But he was subsequently contradicted by five witnesses who all recounted how he met personally with the farmer. Ozinga then submitted to a deposition, but shifted his version of events during the interview. The information that came to light in the depositions of both Ozinga and his company's vice president also lead to accusations that the company misled the town of Henry with regards to its plans for the farmland it was buying.
Post new comment