R Kelly has ended a feud with the residents of a village in Illinois where he has a rather large house. The R&B star pissed off village officials in Olympia Fields, a village just south of Chicago, by building a security guard 'shack' at the edge of his property without getting the appropriate permission. The village subsequently sued Kelly, pointing out that not only did fail to apply for permission, but he wouldn't have got it anyway because the village does not allow guard shacks.
Kelly countersued, arguing the village should make an exception in his case because he is "a nationally known, Grammy Award-winning recording artist". It was a demand that didn't get much sympathy among the population of Olympia Fields. Anyway, Kelly has agreed to back down, dropping his lawsuit and demolishing the guard house. He has also agreed to pay the village $20,000 to cover their legal fees. Village officials have now also dropped their litigation in relation to the dispute.
R Kelly's lawyer John Touhy told reporters that his client had backed down because he "wants to be a good neighbour". Village officials welcomed Kelly's decision, stressing that the matter was "never personal". Possibly in a bid to prove that the village didn't have any general issues with its R&B star resident, Village President Linzy Jones added that Kelly's Christmas decorations last month were just swell, telling reporters: "He had streams of lights running up and down the roof of this huge house, lights on the trees, all kinds of stuff - it was spectacular".
Kelly, of course, still awaits trial with regard to child porn and under age sex charges which have been pending trial for such a long time now I've kind of forgotten what they are all about, except to say that Kelly will plead not guilty if the case ever does actually reach court.