Thomas R. Burney

Thomas Burney is a partner with Schain, Burney, Banks & Kenny, Ltd. where he practices in the areas of land use, zoning, litigation, municipal law, developer incentives and government relations. He has represented residential, commercial and industrial developers on land use, zoning, subdivision and annexation issues. He has prosecuted declaratory judgment and injunction actions and disconnection and annexation actions on behalf of land developers in the Circuit Courts of Cook, Lake, DuPage, Kane and McHenry Counties. He has also represented clients before the First and Second Appellate Court Districts and the Illinois Supreme Court.

Serving as one of the Village Attorneys for Palatine from 1990 - 2002, Mr. Burney successfully defended the village in a civil rights lawsuit brought by the United States Department of Justice in connection with a Fair Housing Act complaint. The case of United States v. Palatine stands as a landmark case in the Fair Housing Act field.

Mr. Burney co-authored Chapter Nine of the 2004 Illinois Institute for Continuing Legal Education Land Use Law handbook entitled, "Litigation of a Zoning Case" and has been a guest speaker at numerous land use seminars.

As an Adjunct Professor at the Loyola University Chicago School of Law, Mr. Burney has been a lecturer on land use law since 2008.

Practice areas:
Land use, zoning, litigation, municipal law, developer incentives and government relations

Education:
JD, 1977, Loyola University Chicago School of Law
BA, 1972, University of Wisconsin - Madison

Bar Admission:
Illinois

tburney@sbbklaw.com