Chicago-Area Local Government Law Attorneys

Informed Legal Guidance for Municipal Corporations, Elected Boards, & More

Airdo Werwas, LLC’s Local Government Law Practice Group has extensive experience representing townships, other units of local government, and municipal corporations. Airdo Werwas assists local elected boards, officials, and employees in handling unique and complex legal issues as they occur.  

Our lawyers represent and advise local governments on a variety of legal matters and compliance with local, state, and federal statutes. We give counsel to our clients on matters of government accountability, transparency, record retention and disposal, and ethics and conflicts of interests, including the requirements of the Illinois Open Meetings Act (“OMA”), the Freedom of Information Act (“FOIA”), and the Local Records Act, to ensure that our clients are in compliance with these complex and critical statutes to better serve the public.  

We review local government board meeting materials to ensure compliance with all necessary procedural and parliamentary requirements.  In addition, we assist our local government clients with the following:

• Preparing for and attending local government board and committee meetings, including ensuring that all due process requirements are satisfied. 
• Drafting and analyzing ordinances, resolutions, and proclamations of the board and chief elected officials. 
• Crafting, revising, and advising governments on policies, procedures, and protocols. 
• Drafting, negotiating, and reviewing intergovernmental agreements, construction contracts, development agreements, and other government contracts.
• Authoring legal opinions on various matters affecting our local government clients.

Our Local Government Law Practice Group assists municipalities with the efficient and effective use of the land within the municipality’s boundaries and in uses regarding zoning, eminent domain, and condemnation. Airdo Werwas, LLC provides our clients legal guidance in the implementation of a variety of civil engineering and construction projects, including matters regarding financing such initiatives, as well as initiating bids and complying with the requirements of the bidding process. We also assist our clients with financial matters and taxation issues. 

Our attorneys are well-versed in the numerous laws governing public finance, such as the Municipal Budget Law, the Truth in Taxation Act, and the Property Tax Extension Limitation Law. We have extensive experience in counseling public officials and employees in all facets of the annual budget cycle from the preparation of budget and appropriation ordinances to the calculation and preparation of tax levies. We also frequently assist clients in navigating the complex legal requirements related to the implementation of the various special purpose tax levies authorized under state law.

We handle personnel matters, including labor and employment issues, collective bargaining agreements, and constitutional and civil rights matters that face local governments on a regular basis. In conjunction with the firm’s other practice area specialists, our Local Government Practice Group defends our local government clients in a range of civil actions and are well-versed on the matters of premises liability, negligence, and tort immunity. 

Airdo Werwas has unique expertise in the representation of townships as a critical unit of local government.  We understand townships and work to ensure that the three primary functions of townships are satisfied.  First, we have direct experience in assisting township supervisors as they execute their obligations to serve the needs of the community through “general assistance.” Second, our lawyers work with assessors in carrying out their obligations to assess real property in their townships. Finally, we assist road district commissioners in fulfilling their maintenance duties on all roads and bridges within their jurisdiction. 

Our lawyers also work with our township clients where they provide services outside these three mandated areas.  For example, we have advised townships on matters concerning senior citizens and aging programs, youth and family service programing, assistance to the disabled, reserves and recreational facilities, food pantries, emergency services response, medical and mental health services, veterans’ assistance, local transportation, open space, and cemetery maintenance.

Airdo Werwas, LLC, has the unique experience of working with many Mental Health/708 Boards. The term 708 refers to the section of the Illinois Constitution that describes these boards and their duties, compositions, and responsibilities. Our lawyers advise mental health boards, which are composed of volunteers from the community appointed by a township supervisor. These boards are responsible for allocating funding each year to support services and programming for residents in the areas of mental health, intellectual/developmental disabilities, and substance abuse.

Additionally, Airdo Werwas advises local governments on the use of nonprofit foundations to provide additional resources beyond those that can be offered by the government itself.  Our work in this area includes all phases of a foundation’s life cycle, including considerations for establishing a foundation, formation, governance, and, if necessary, dissolution.  We are especially cognizant of and well-versed in assisting government officials navigate and avoid the types of conflicts that can often arise with these 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporations and their leadership.

Contact Us

The local government group at Airdo Werwas, LLC handles litigated matters on behalf of local governments in state and federal court and before many state and local agencies.

To speak with our local government lawyers in Chicago, send us a message or call (312) 506-4450.