legal counsel for local governements

Odelson & Sterk, Ltd. provides strategic and cost-effective solutions for matters related to municipal law.

Our firm serves as legal counsel for many units of local government, including municipalities, park districts and townships in Cook and the surrounding counties.  Our firm advises mayors, boards, and city councils on all general corporate matters ranging from budgets to bonds.  As new state and federal laws are passed, we inform our clients on the impact and effect of these laws and develop innovative solutions for compliance.  We pride ourselves in building strong working partnerships with the municipalities, park districts, townships, fire protection districts, and other governmental clients that we represent in order for them to more effectively represent the citizens they serve.

As counsel to numerous local governments and political subdivisions, our attorneys assist and advise city councils, planning commissions, county boards, supervisors, city managers, executive directors, other administrators and municipal department staff on a broad, and virtually unlimited, spectrum of legal issues affecting public agencies.  Our clients include cities, counties, towns, villages, housing authorities, public risk management authorities, and other government agencies.

The following are some of the many services we provide our municipal clients:

  • Municipal finance, including bonds, budgets, and property tax appeals (both defense  and petitioner).
  • Land use and zoning, including representation of planning and zoning commissions, comprehensive plans, zoning changes, and new development.
  • Economic development, including TIF districts, economic incentive agreements, and other County and State initiatives.
  • All real estate transactions, including acquisition, condemnation, annexation, demolition, new construction contracts, and building permits.
  • All aspects of public employment law and labor, including negotiations, grievance and arbitration disputes, and unfair labor practices.
  • All litigation at all levels of the State and Federal court systems with decades of experience in the municipal liability areas.
  • Election law and all related areas, including candidates’ petitions, referendum questions, and clerk matters.
  • All aspects of municipal law, including ordinance and resolution preparation, professional service contracts, prosecution of law suits, aggressive and proactive memos advising of new laws, potential threats and new technology, direct access to members of the General Assembly, and attendance at regular and special meetings.
  • All prosecutions in traffic court and adjudication proceedings.