HARVEY, Illinois (WLS) — Friday, there’s an update on an I-Team investigation into cement blocks barricading businesses. A federal lawsuit has now been filed over Harvey city officials shutting down access to businesses in the south suburb.

The city says it uses cement barricades to shut down businesses that refuse to pay huge fines to reinstate their business licenses. They said this is all happening because the businesses are delinquent on their county property taxes.

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A federal lawsuit calls it a “scheme” and “extortion.”

A chain and giant cement blocks placed by the city of Harvey stop Benecia Gonzalez from operating her auto shop. The blocks have been placed in front of her business and others for refusing to pay a $20,000 annual fine for a “one-year” business license, which is usually around $250, depending on the size of the business . The businesses were denied their licenses and told to pay those “fines” in settlement offers because they are delinquent on Cook County property taxes.

“That the Cook County treasurer has to collect, not the city of Harvey,” said attorney Rob Hanlon of the Netzky Olswang Law Group. “And so what they’re trying to do is get around the statutory scheme, just so they can extort money from people for something they don’t have the power to do.”

Hanlon recently filed the lawsuit on behalf of Gonzalez and other business owners. The lawsuit alleges the effort by city officials is a “scheme” to “extort money from local businesses.”

“You’ve got a government unit that’s just gone crazy,” Hanlon said.

He pointed out that even if businesses pay that “fine” for licenses, that money doesn’t go toward property taxes.

“It’s unconstitutional,” Hanlon said. “Because it’s depriving every one of those properties or every one of those businesses of their rights to be given due process of law in the courtroom.”

The City of Harvey strongly denies the claims, saying they are erroneous and baseless, and that the City stands for transparency, fairness and the law.

“Claims that business license fines and enforcement efforts, including the use of cement barricades, constitute ‘extortion’ or a ‘scheme’ are patently false,” the city said in a statement.

The city says it relies on county property taxes to operate and that when businesses don’t pay their fair share, the burden is shifted to homeowners, who end up having to pay more, adding that hundreds of commercial properties are in trail, holding more than $12. millions in property taxes.

READ MORE | Giant concrete blocks obstruct Harvey’s businesses; the city says the owners are delinquent on their property taxes

“A small business owner will say, ‘Hey, if I have to pay $20,000 to keep my business license, how am I going to make ends meet?'” Harvey Mayor Christopher Clark said. “Again, if he had been a good corporate citizen and done what he was supposed to do, he would have already paid his taxes and if he had paid his taxes, he wouldn’t be in this situation.” .

The federal lawsuit also says the business owners who rent the buildings paid for business licenses they couldn’t get because their landlords are delinquent on their property taxes. The suit also alleges that some citizens who voiced their concerns at public meetings were wrongfully arrested.