CARBONDALE, ILL., PAYS $400,000 TO END SUIT

CARBONDALE, Ill. -- A Carbondale developer was paid $400,000 to end his four-year lawsuit against the city for a failed development project.

Although the deal with developer Stan Hoye was cut in 1990, it was only revealed recently after The Southern Illinoisan went to court to get the information.

Carbondale officials had refused to say how much they paid Hoye, who filed a $7.25 million breach of contract lawsuit against the city in 1986. He had proposed developing a $14 million downtown conference center and hotel but plans fell through.

Jackson County Circuit Judge George Oros ruled Aug. 18 that the city must release the settlement amount and also pay the newspaper's $6,240 legal fees.

Under a deal reached between the city and The Southern Illinoisan, Carbondale will pay $3,000 to the Illinois Press Foundation Legal Defense Fund instead of paying the paper's legal fees.

Publisher Richard Johnston said the settlement shows newspapers can take action to keep the public's business public.