Latest news with #Barnes&Thornburg
Chicago Tribune
25-05-2025
- Business
- Chicago Tribune
Portage RDC starts work on bond to open 450 acres to development; Marquette Greenway segment is included
The Portage Redevelopment Commission started the process of issuing a $10 million bond to pay for a bridge and other infrastructure improvements to open up about 450 acres on the city's north side for development. The RDC adopted a preliminary resolution for the bond Thursday, the first step in borrowing the money. The resolution covers hiring Barnes & Thornburg to do legal work for the bond. Redevelopment Director Dan Botich said the work includes connecting Burns Parkway to U.S. 12 from the Northwestern Indiana Regional Planning Commission office on Southport Road in the Ameriplex complex. The work is important not just for opening land for development but also for extending the Marquette Greenway, which will eventually stretch from Chicago to New Buffalo, Michigan. The roadway will become a boulevard similar to national park roads, Botich said. The $10 million would be the local share of the project's total cost. Botich is still looking for funds for the remainder, including a potential federal RAISE grant or state READI funding. Once the road is completed, the city could see a $450 million to $500 million investment in that 450 acres, Botich said. The state requires the city to have 'skin in the game,' he said, so the bond is needed. Further along in the process, specific projects will be listed, Botich said. Mayor Austin Bonta said the city investigated other avenues for funding the road and trails, and the bond seemed the most appropriate option. 'You don't have to go for the maximum,' Botich said, if other funding sources arise. The $10 million figure sets a maximum amount to borrow, just as the maximum interest rate for the 20-year bond would be 7%. Portage Township School Board member Wilma Vazquez, a nonvoting member of the RDC, asked about the RDC's outstanding bond obligations. That's going to be spelled out in a work session next month, and it's listed in the RDC's annual report, Botich said. The RDC is also looking at residential tax increment financing districts for future subdivisions, including Bauer Farm and Sandy Trail, Botich said. The RDC delayed action on the proposal for another month while the city works out details with developers. Botich said the TIF plan calls for the developers to pay a fee to the city up front that would be used for a variety of purposes, including raises for police officers approved by the City Council this month. That annual fee would disappear when the subdivision is considered fully built out, meaning 90% of the lots have been developed. The fee would vary for each subdivision. 'The numbers will be different because of the size of the neighborhoods and the investment involved,' Bonta explained. Developers hope to see the program details ironed out within 30 days, Botich said. The RDC also agreed to budget up to $300,000 next year for the north side sewer interceptor project. That helps pay for relocating the planned major sewer line away from north side acreage so the property retains its high dollar value. The RDC purchased that property shortly before the city went to bid on the project, utilities department General Superintendent Tracie Marshall said. The city had built in $500,000 for that contingency, but the actual cost turned out to be up to $800,000. With the RDC paying the extra amount next year, the work can go forward. 'I want to stress it's not because utilities did anything wrong,' Bonta said. The city had designed the interceptor in the most cost-efficient way, but running the interceptor down the middle of that parcel would devalue the property, he said.
Business Wire
01-05-2025
- Business
- Business Wire
Barnes & Thornburg Secures Decisive Victory on Behalf of Bitcoin Exchange Operator Maximiliano Pilipis
INDIANAPOLIS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--A team of Barnes & Thornburg attorneys in the White Collar, Compliance and Investigations practice secured a full dismissal of all criminal and civil charges on behalf of their client Maximiliano Pilipis, an early adopter of Bitcoin and former operator of a virtual currency exchange. 'This is a monumental win for our White Collar, Compliance and Investigations practice,' said Andrew J. Detherage, Firmwide Managing Partner at Barnes & Thornburg. 'This result reflects the strength and sophistication of our team when navigating highly complex disputes.' Mr. Pilipis operated AurumXchange, a virtual currency exchange, during the cryptocurrency industry's formative years. Although the Department of Justice (DOJ) began investigating him in 2010, Mr. Pilipis was not indicted until 2024, when prosecutors seized or froze nearly all of his assets. The government alleged that Mr. Pilipis operated an unlicensed money services business from 2009 to 2013 and then laundered the proceeds beginning in 2018, years after AurumXchange closed. Barnes & Thornburg's team argued in a motion to dismiss the indictment that Mr. Pilipis's business was not subject to registration requirements under the regulations in effect at the time, and therefore, no criminal conduct occurred. Judge Jane Magnus-Stinson, a senior district judge for the United States District Court for the Southern District of Indiana, granted the motion to dismiss the indictment in an order issued February 13, 2025, finding that AurumXchange was not subject to registration requirements at the time it operated. After initially appealing the dismissal, the DOJ ultimately withdrew its challenge and moved to dismiss both the criminal and civil forfeiture cases in full. On April 23, 2025, Judge Magnus-Stinson granted those motions and dismissed the criminal and civil cases with prejudice. Barnes & Thornburg is currently working to secure the return of Mr. Pilipis's assets. The Barnes & Thornburg team representing Mr. Pilipis includes partners Katie Matsoukas, Josh Minkler and Aly Hughes, along with counsel Katie Mills and associate Anne Parrish. 'We're proud to clear Mr. Pilipis's name after years under a cloud of investigation and prosecution,' said Katie Matsoukas, White Collar, Compliance and Investigations Co-Chair. 'As digital currencies emerged while regulations lagged behind, early adopters who operated in good faith had to navigate evolving legal frameworks. Mr. Pilipis should never have been subject to this retroactive enforcement and unjust application of the law.' 'This victory puts an end to an incredibly difficult process which spanned many years. It is personally impactful, but it is also a meaningful moment for the Bitcoin community and for others working to innovate with integrity in emerging spaces within uncertain legal or regulatory environments,' said Pilipis. 'I'm appreciative of the Barnes & Thornburg team's tireless dedication to my defense.' The case is United States of America vs. Maximiliano Pilipis, case no. 1:24-cr-00009-JMS, argued before the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Indiana, Indianapolis Division. With more than 800 attorneys and other legal professionals, Barnes & Thornburg is one of the largest law firms in the country. The firm serves clients worldwide from offices in Atlanta, Boston, California, Chicago, Delaware, Indiana, Michigan, Minneapolis, Nashville, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Philadelphia, Raleigh, Salt Lake City, South Florida, Texas and Washington, D.C. For more information, visit us at
Indianapolis Star
21-04-2025
- Business
- Indianapolis Star
Lawmakers try to stop Fishers, Carmel rental caps ahead of city council votes, in 11th-hour move
Show Caption Carmel and Fishers' controversial plans to regulate the number of rental properties in their communities could be squashed by the Indiana legislature. In an 11th hour move, language to prevent local governments from putting caps on rentals was added on Monday morning to House Bill 1389, a bill limiting local governments ability to restrict vehicle and outdoor equipment sales. The language that would impact the Hamilton County cities wasn't discussed in committee prior to Monday's conference committee on HB 1389, during what's supposed to be the final week of the legislative session. The Fishers ordinance could be voted on at a city council meeting Monday night. 'It really fits in 1389 because we're talking about local regulations,' said Rep. Jim Pressel, who authored the legislation. '(It's) what units of government should be able to regulate and what they shouldn't frankly." Fishers officials have said its first-of-its-kind proposal is an effort to curb large corporate investors from buying swaths of single-family homes and converting them to rentals. Some homeowners and renters in Fishers have been joined by real estate interests in pushing back against the ordinance, which would place a 10% cap on the number of rentals allowed in a subdivision. In Carmel, the discussion is just getting under way. Carmel's ordinance would limit rental units to 10% of all homes within any subdivision or the City of Carmel as whole. That ordinance will be introduced at Carmel's city council meeting Monday night. Both city's ordinances would establish rental property registries. Brian Burdick, an attorney with Barnes & Thornburg, spoke on Fishers' behalf during Monday's conference committee. '(Fishers) has had an incredible problem over the last five or six years where a number of significant hedge funds have moved in and have purchased up nearly half of the homes in neighborhoods to turn into rental properties,' Burdick said. Fishers' ordinance is about preventing a barrier to first-time home buyers, who are getting outbid for homes by hedge funds, he added. 'There's a lot of constitutionality issues around the issue,' Burdick said. 'Our firm has drafted the ordinance with constitutional lawyers to get around this very issue and to balance property rights.' Amy Krieg, the government affairs director with Accelerate Indiana Municipalities, also spoke against the legislative add on. 'We aren't supportive of this language at this time, and it is important communities retain the tools to create cohesive and livable neighborhoods,' said Krieg, whose organization advocates for hundreds of Indiana municipalities. On the other hand, representatives of several interest groups spoke in favor of the legislative provisions that would stop Fishers' and Carmel's ordinance before they even took effect. 'As an organization, we have a longstanding position of supporting private property rights and we also are an inherently free market organization,' said Maggie McShane, representing the Indiana Association of Realtors. Families with young children and young people trying to save to buy a home would be impacted by the rental restriction ordinances, McShane said. Representatives from the Indiana Apartment Association and the Indiana Builders Association both spoke in support of adding language to House Bill 1389 that would squash Fishers' and Carmel's ordinances. "We from our standpoint believe this is bad housing policy,' said Brian Spaulding, president of the Indiana Apartment Association, of the Fishers ordinance. 'It's going to result in increases in the cost of rent overall when you're capping that supply.' A Fishers spokesperson said Mayor Scott Fadness was unavailable for immediate comment but was talking with legislators to sort out the implications of the General Assembly's action. Lawmakers from both chambers still need to sign off on the proposed final language in HB 1389, so the bill could still change before it crosses the finish line.
