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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 

NORTHERN DISTRICT OF ILLINOIS – EASTERN DIVISION 

Powers and Sons Construction Company 

Incorporated, an Indiana Corporation, 

Plaintiff, 

v. 

Hales Franciscan High School, Inc., an Illinois 

Not for Profit Corporation; Hales Franciscan 

Title Holding Corporation, an Illinois Not for 

Profit Corporation; Providence Bank & Trust, 

as successor in interest to Urban Partnership 

Bank, as successor in interest to South Shore 

Bank of Chicago; Global Signal Acquisitions 

IV LLC, a Delaware Limited Liability 

Company; Crown Castle GT Company LLC a 

Delaware Limited Liability Company; and 

Bronzeville Academy Charter School, an 

Illinois Not for Profit Corporation, 

Defendants. 

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Case No. 20-01561 

Judge Edmond E. Chang 

 

JOINT STATUS REPORT CONCERNING STAY OF 

MORTGAGE FORECLOSURE PROCEEDING 

 Plaintiff Powers and Sons Construction Company (“Powers”) and Defendants Hales 

Franciscan High School, Inc. and Hales Franciscan Title Holding Corporation (“Hales 

Franciscan”), Global Signal Acquisitions IV LLC, Crown Castle GT Company LLC, and 

Bronzeville Academy Charter School (“BACS”) (collectively the “Parties”), pursuant to the 

Court’s October 26, 2020 minute entry (the “October 26 Minute Entry”) hereby file this joint status 

report regarding Hales Franciscan’s ongoing efforts to sell its real estate (the “Real Estate Sale”) 

that secures the mortgages that Powers is seeking to foreclose on in this litigation and Powers’ and 

Hales Franciscan’s efforts to effectuate a global settlement of this litigation. 

 On October 22, 2020, Powers and Hales Franciscan filed their Stipulation to Stay Deadlines 

[Docket No. 51], which stayed all deadlines in the above-captioned case (the “Stay”), subject to 

Case: 1:20-cv-01561 Document #: 53 Filed: 01/15/21 Page 1 of 4 PageID #:247
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terms and conditions agreed to by Hales Franciscan and Powers. By its October 26 Minute Entry, 

the Court approved the Stay and ordered the Parties to file a joint status report by January 15, 2021. 

 BACS holds a possessory interest in, on and across the Real Estate pursuant to a lease 

agreement with Hales Franciscan for a portion of the school facility located thereon (the “Lease”). 

BACS operates a charter school on a portion of the Real Estate and has expressed to Hales 

Franciscan its strong interest in purchasing all or a portion of the Real Estate. In November 2020, 

BACS prepared and submitted to Hales Franciscan a letter of intent to purchase the Real Estate. 

Subsequently, BACS revised upward and resubmitted its written proposal to purchase the Real 

Estate on two separate occasions. Hales Franciscan’s broker responded to BACS that it would 

“keep [its] offer in mind as we progress through Contract discussion.” As the sole tenant with an 

existing lease that extends for another 2.5 years, BACS requests that it be kept informed of the 

status of the Real Estate Sale and be involved in the negotiations between Hales Franciscan and 

Powers to settle this litigation. Hales Franciscan disputes that it has any obligation to keep BACS 

informed of the Real Estate Sale or to involve BACS in the global settlement negotiations. 

On December 23, 2020, Hales Franciscan executed a letter of intent for the purchase of the 

Real Estate and, as such, is currently in the process of negotiating definitive transaction documents 

to document and close the Real Estate Sale. Additionally, Hales Franciscan and Powers have 

continued to work together in a manner designed to allow Hales Franciscan to expeditiously 

progress its efforts to close the Real Estate Sale and to allow the Parties to effectuate a global 

settlement of this litigation. Among other things, Hales Franciscan and Powers have worked 

towards these goals by participating in a standing weekly conference call to discuss the status of 

the Real Estate Sale, implementing a go-forward strategy to close the Real Estate Sale, and 

otherwise engaging in good faith negotiations to settle this litigation following the closing of the 

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Real Estate Sale. Given these efforts, Hales Franciscan and Powers are hopeful that the Real Estate 

Sale will close and a global settlement of this litigation will be effectuated during the middle of 

the third quarter of 2021. 

Dated: January 15, 2021 

By: /s/ David E. Buls 

David E. Buls (Atty. #90785190) 

KRIEF DEVAULT LLP 

8001 Broadway, Suite 400 

Merrillville, IN 46410 

T: (219) 227-6015 

F: (219) 227-6101 

Alexander E. Porter (ARDC # 6316936) 

33 North Lasalle Street, Suite 1140 

Chicago, IL 60602 

Telephone: (312) 800-4011 

Counsel for Powers and Sons Construction 

Company, Inc.

 

By: /s/ Thomas S. Kiriakos

Marc R. Kadish, Esq. (ARDC # 1378872) 

Thomas S. Kiriakos, Esq. (ARDC # 6184699) 

Alexander F. Berk, Esq. (ARDC # 6329444) 

MAYER BROWN LLP 

71 S. Wacker Drive 

Chicago, IL 60606 

Telephone: (312) 782-0600 

Pro Bono Counsel to Hales Franciscan High 

School, Inc. and Hales Franciscan Title 

Holding Corporation 

By: /s/ Ian H. Fisher 

Ian H. Fisher (ARDC # 6224920) 

HAHN LOESER 

200 West Madison Street 

Suite 2700 

Chicago, IL 60606 

Telephone: (312) 637-3060 

Counsel to Global Signal Acquisitions IV 

LLC and Crown Castle GT Company LLC

By: /s/ Charlotte Huffman 

Charlotte Huffman (ARDC # 6296779) 

Nicole Castillo (ARDC # 6272038)

 NEAL & LERO,Y LLC 

20 S. Clark Street, Suite 2050 

Chicago, IL 60603 

Telephone: (312) 641-7144 

Counsel to Bronzeville Academy Charter 

School 

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CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE 

The undersigned, an attorney, hereby certifies that on January 15, 2021, he caused to be 

served, a true and correct copy of the foregoing document upon those parties set forth on the below 

service list. Registered members of the Court’s CM/ECF system that are participants in these proceedings 

received electronic notice of this filing.

Dated: January 15, 2021 /s/Alexander F. Berk 

Alexander F. Berk 

SERVICE LIST 

Electronic Mail Notice List 

The following is the list of parties who are currently on the list to receive email notice/service for 

this case. 

Powers and Sons Construction Company 

 David Andrew Buls dbuls@kdlegal.com 

 Alexander Edmund Porter aporter@kdlegal.com 

Global Signal Acquisitions IV LLC 

 Ian Howard Fisher ifisher@hahnlaw.com

Crown Castle GT Company, LLC 

 Ian Howard Fisher ifisher@hahnlaw.com

Bronzeville Academy Charter School 

 Charlotte Huffman chuffman@nealandleroy.com 

 Nicole Castillo Hasan ncastillo@nealandleroy.com 

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