Chicago Office
140 S. Dearborn Street, 6th Floor
Chicago, IL 60603

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Direct Phone:  312.604.9182
Fax:  312.782.0943

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Practice Areas
Local Government
Land Use
Elections
Land Use Litigation
Education
J.D., University of Hawaii, William S. Richardson School of Law
B.A., Illinois State University
Bar & Court Admissions
Illinois
Northern District of Illinois
Central District of Illinois
Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals
Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals
Memberships
American Bar Association, Co-Chair Land Use Committee

The Legacy Project, Advancing Women In Local Government

Adjunct Professor, The John Marshall Law School
American Law Institute Land Use Institute 
American Planning Association, Amicus Committee and Planning and Law Division

Our People

Julie A. Tappendorf
Equity Partner

Reliable, responsive, and relatable, Julie provides practical advice and offers creative solutions on local government and land use issues.

Julie focuses her practice on local government and land use matters, counseling clients on land use, FOIA, open meetings, ethics, social media and many other topics.  She regularly attends board and commission meetings on behalf of the firm’s government clients. She has extensive experience negotiating annexation and development agreements, drafting zoning and other development regulations and approvals, and negotiating development projects, including TIF and special service area financing transactions. She also represents clients in land use disputes and defends clients in lawsuits brought in state and federal courts.

Julie currently serves as City Attorney for Lake Forest and Park Ridge, and Village Attorney for Glenview, Gilberts, and Lindenhurst. She serves as counsel to numerous Illinois municipal libraries and library districts. She also serves as special counsel to government clients on FOIA, zoning and land use, social media, litigation and related matters.

Julie is the author of the local government blog, Municipal Minute, where she writes about current cases, laws, and other topics of interest to local government officials and employees. She is also the editor of Ancel Glink Today, an e-newsletter distributed to firm clients twice each month. Julie is co-chair of Ancel Glink's land use practice. She serves on the Board of Directors for the Illinois Institute for Continuing Legal Education (IICLE).

Prior to her law career, Julie served for eight years in the United States Army, Military Intelligence Branch, as a Korean cryptologic-linguist.

Experience

Particular highlights of her recent practice include:
  • Advise and train government employees and officials on FOIA, Open Meetings Act, meeting rules of procedures, government use of social media, ethics, and the conduct of zoning hearings, among many other legal issues
  • Comprehensive rewrite of zoning, subdivision, sign, and other development regulations
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Presentations

Julie is a frequent speaker at local and national conferences on a variety of local government and land use issues, including the following:  
  • Legal and Ethical Issues With Social Media Use by Local Governments
  • First Amendment Audit Training
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Publications

Julie has published on a variety of land use, local government, and related matters, including the following: 
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Honors & Awards

  • Chair of the Chicago Bar Association/Chicago Bar Foundation's Pro Bono Week (2007)