Itasca’s rejection of Haymarket drug treatment center draws federal investigation

The Haymarket drug treatment center’s more-than-two-year attempt to open a rehab in Itasca took another turn Thursday when officials said U.S. Attorney John Lausch has launched an investigation into whether the village’s rejection of the center was in keeping with the Americans with Disabilities Act.

Mayor Jeff Pruyn released a letter Lausch sent last week, in which he announced the probe and noted that the ADA protects people with disabilities — including substance use disorder — from discrimination.

The Village Board last month turned down Haymarket’s proposal to put a 240-bed treatment center in a former Holiday Inn hotel, saying the town of 9,000 can’t afford the projected public safety costs it would entail.

That capped a process that began in 2019 and created plenty of resistance among Itasca residents, who marched in the street by the hundreds and peppered the DuPage County suburb with lawn signs to protest the plan.

Haymarket has argued that the continuing overdose crisis shows the need for additional rehab services in the suburbs. Its attorneys have contended that turning down the center would constitute an ADA violation, and Pruyn said in a letter to residents that the U.S. attorney’s letter came as no surprise.

“Since receiving the communication, the village has informed interested party taxing bodies and is complying with the department’s request for information,” he wrote.

A village spokeswoman said Pruyn would have no additional comment.

Lausch asked village officials to produce a raft of documents within the next 30 days, including zoning bylaws, internal emails related to Haymarket and any relevant communications with the local fire protection district and school systems.

A spokesman for the U.S. attorney’s office declined to comment.

Haymarket President and CEO Dan Lustig, meanwhile, issued a four-word statement: “We welcome an investigation.”

jkeilman@chicagotribune.com

Twitter @JohnKeilman

©2021 Chicago Tribune. Visit chicagotribune.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.