PEORIA, Ill. (WMBD) — Another hearing and another delay in the matter of a beleaguered Downtown high-rise that has sat empty for two years.
Peoria County Judge Alicia Washington paused proceedings on the 20-story Riverview Plaza high-rise for 60 days after the building’s owners, MJ Illinois Inc., appealed a decision she made Friday to a higher court.
The 4th District Appellate Court in Springfield has jurisdiction over the case, not the Peoria County Circuit Court.
Washington had decided on Friday that she would not grant a temporary restraining order or a continuance to allow one of the Riverveiw Plaza attorneys to get caught up on the case.
This caused MJ Illinois to file its interlocutory appeal with the appellate court on Monday, according to a clerk in the court’s Springfield office. Such an appeal occurs when one side wants a higher court to review a decision in the middle of the proceeding.
What will happen now is that a record of the case will be sent there by Aug. 17.
Then, briefs or written arguments will be filed by both sides, and it’s possible a panel of three judges there could hear the case by early to mid-September. It is also possible that they could decide the case based on the briefs filed by the two parties.
That time frame is about 60 days out, which is the same amount of time Washington paused the case.
At issue are alleged repeated violations of an agreement reached last summer between the two parties to bring the building into compliance with its fire suppression systems.
The case so far
At the hearing last month, Washington learned that work on the building’s sprinkler system isn’t complete, the fire alarm system isn’t operational, and there is apparently no plan to have the heating system online by winter to prevent further pipe freezing.
The two sides have appeared in court several times over the past two years following a “catastrophic” water pipe break that rendered the building uninhabitable.
City code inspectors found the building’s sprinklers and fire alarms weren’t working after the February 2024 incident. The building’s parking deck has been blocked off to prevent people from using it.
The alleged violations regarding that claim are a “number of areas where there is fallen concrete that could damage property or injure someone,” city officials have said.
City Hall was set to impose fines back then, but held off after an agreement last summer requiring MJ Illinois, Inc., to deposit more than $500,000 into an escrow account for repairs.
The agreement came after the owners pleaded guilty to 18 violations. It was to be completed by March 2026, but according to the city, that hasn’t happened.
As such, in early June, city officials asked Washington to reinstate fines. The evidentiary hearing is part of that request. The city is seeking at least $2.2 million and possibly up to $8.2 million from MJ Illinois.
Response from MJ Illinois
Thomas Leiter, the building owners’ attorney, pushed back on the allegations that people were living in the building or even using it as a work facility. Pictures of converted offices, bedrooms, workout equipment, and other things that would indicate habitation were shown at the hearing in June.
The attorney said after Tuesday’s hearing that no one was in the building who shouldn’t be there. Riverview Plaza was under 24-hour watch with guards and cameras, he said.
People must be approved to come into the building, he said. When asked about social media posts of people who were on the top floor filming themselves, Leiter said he hadn’t seen those but also said they would be there criminally and as such, his client wasn’t responsible for their illegal actions.
WMBD TV first reported this story. You can read the original story online at CIProud.com.
