Derke J. Price

Derke works with all forms of government, including the State of Illinois, counties, municipalities, park districts, school districts, townships, libraries, and special intergovernmental agencies. His practice includes appeals and trial work in both federal and state courts and concentrates in construction, land use and development, and environmental matters. Derke serves as regular corporate counsel for the Village of South Elgin and the City of Geneseo and he is also special counsel to Rock Island County and Lee County and numerous other municipalities including the Cities of Evanston, Charleston, Peoria, Greenville and Mattoon. He is also corporate counsel to the Park Districts of Naperville, Batavia, Bloomingdale, Carol Stream, Downers Grove, Geneseo, Glen Ellyn, Glencoe, Glenview, Kenilworth, LaGrange, LaGrange
Park, Lemont, Oswegoland, Park Ridge, Streamwood, Sugar Grove, and Sycamore as well as special counsel to the firm’s numerous other park districts. He is the attorney for select private entity clients including Vulcan Construction Materials, Ranch Cryogenics, Inc., and Kluber, Inc.

Derke also has considerable experience in pollution control facility matters. He is corporate
counsel for the Solid Waste Agency of Northern Cook County and the Solid Waste Agency of
Lake County. He has done specialty pollution control facility work exclusively for the units of government including service as the Hearing Officer for Transfer Station Siting applications before: McLean County; City of West Chicago; and the Village of Rockdale; and as Hearing Officer for Winnebago County on a landfill expansion siting application. He has advised the City of Princeton on the sale and service contract for City-owned Transfer Station and several private clients with respect to CCDD operations and facilities.

He served more than 6 years on the Naperville Plan Commission and was Chairman from 2006
through 2008.

Particular highlights of Derke’s practice include:

• Created legal strategy for reclamation of polluted gun range park property, opening property to public use for first time in 20 years
• Created a public-private partnership to reclaim and use 100 year old quarry, including pioneering land-use regulations on reclamation, master plan for properties, and coordination of property transfers and use
• Successful application on behalf of private client for rezoning of 230 acres of property to an industrial use with 60 year land use plan
• Negotiate and draft energy savings contracts for multi-million dollar overhaul of park district facilities